You saw it start to come together in the late minutes of the first half. Providence began passing up looks from deep and started hunting their man on offense by attacking him off the dribble. PC closed the half down 46-45, but you saw the tenor of the entire game shift once Providence recognized the lack of size Creighton possessed that allowed the Friars to finish with success at and above the rim.
The message to carry over that offensive shift in philosophy was well received by Providence at halftime, as they went on to build a double digit lead in the second half by relentlessly driving to the tin and daring Creighton to stop them, which they couldn’t end up doing.
Coach McDermott, the excellent coach that he is, pivoted once he realized his team couldn’t keep up with the Friars man to man and went to a zone which befuddled the Friars. Providence again began chucking up 3’s as they tried unsuccessfully to break down this zone. This led to Creighton clawing back into the game, but it was Jamier Jones who kept the Blue Jays at bay with his acrobatic finishes time and time again. Despite almost handing the game over to Creighton in the final moments with turnovers a la the Connecticut Huskies game, Providence held on for a win 93-88 to improve to .500 and 2-5 in league play.
These games are fun to watch because there isn’t much riding on the game given the Friar’s record, but you are looking to see if Providence can find something that they can build off of as January comes to a close. I do, truthfully, think English found something late in the first half, carried it over to the second half with flawless execution for most of the 2nd, and will lean on this offensive strategy moving forward.
It wasn’t just the passing up of 3’s and playing downhill that led to this win. It was that, in doing this, Providence was able to flex its muscles a bit more on the glass. Providence out-rebounded Creighton 46-36 and were plus 5 on the offensive glass. Oswin, in particular, had one of his best nights all season, and I don’t think it is a coincidence that this game came when they stopped asking him to set picks around the perimeter. He was able to play close to the rim and gobbled up a multitude of offensive rebounds that coincided with second chance putbacks if the attempt at the rim by his teammates wasn’t initially successful. Oswin finished with 14 points and 13 rebounds, a season high in rebounds. Not a surprise.
By attacking the rim and getting a step on their man, it forces the primary guy guarding Oswin to slide over and potentially contest a shot, which puts Oswin in pristine position to get a rebound off a miss and finish the put-back.
Defensively, it is no shocker that Providence’s defense improved in the 2nd half once this offensive strategy shifted. If you’ve ever played basketball, you know your effort defensively is going to improve if you are being physical on the offensive end because you are playing through contact and mixing it up with the opposition in the paint. Things get chippy once the physicality ensues, and that can be a good thing for your motor.
We saw Creighton players complaining to the refs about foul calls and the physical play at various points in the game. It is this intensity and effort on both ends that I’ve grown to love as a Providence alum and Friar fan, and we saw shades of that last night. While this may just be a flash in the pan, I hope English and staff realize they may have found something with this shift in offensive play. They should lean into this strategy because there aren’t many Big East teams with the athleticism of Providence that can defend Jones, Vaaks, and Mela 1:1.
We break down the game further below.
Continue reading “2nd Half Barrage: Shift in Offensive Philosophy Sparks Offense and Defense in Creighton Win”
