The sense around the PC basketball program after a disappointing 7-4 non-conference slate would be for them to get at least one of their first two games of the Big East schedule to save their season. After a heartbreaking loss to Butler in double overtime, 113-110, the Friars still had an opportunity with the 10-1 Seton Hall Pirates coming to town to get one.
Instead, another frustrating close game loss that now has the Friars at 7-6 on the season and a 0-2 start to league play. PC opened the game making only two of their first twelve shots from the floor. They would settle in offensively but let the defense slip, and Hall entered halftime with a 7-point lead.
After a timeout early in the second half, Providence finally made their push, even taking a 46-45 lead. Seton Hall behind their stout defense punched back and got their lead to the halftime margin of 7 with 5 minutes to go. Providence then made one final push taking a 67-66 lead after two Jaylin Sellers free throws with 1:16 remaining. That would be the last point PC would score as Seton Hall closed the final 76 seconds on a 6-0 run.
Providence absolutely needs this one to keep the season afloat. At 7-5 and 0-1 in conference, this is a Quad 2 game at home that should realistically remain a Quad 2 game the entirety of the season unless Seton Hall completely falls off. With a road game against St. John’s immediately after followed by a home game against the Connecticut Huskies, Providence needs this win badly or the vultures will start circling. It’s a “got to have” game, and I hope English is reiterating that all week after the Butler loss.
While Oswin Erhunmwunse is only a sophomore, the hunt for his successor is already on. Theo Edema, a 6’11 big man in the 2027 class, may be the recruit who could potentially fill that role for the Friars. Edema is taking an official visit this upcoming weekend from December 19 – 21st, and Providence will get a feel for where they stand in this recruitment post visit.
Edema is a bona-fide blue chip recruit and would be another feather in the cap of Providence head coach Kim English, who has shown himself to be one of the best recruiters in Providence in quite some time. Edema is considered a consensus Top 50 recruit in the 2027 class. The 247Composite ranking has him 42 overall in the 2027 class, the #6 overall Center, and #1 player in Massachusetts.
If you recall, I was particularly bullish on Providence pushing for Ryan Moesch, a 2026 4 star point guard who ultimately signed with Siena over the Friars, and him being teammates with Edema was a big reason for that. I was thinking the long game here, but regardless, Edema has to see the fit, immediate playing time, and learning under a veteran in Oswin as huge selling points.
There are rumors of potential reclassification with Edema, and I think Providence would absolutely be open to taking Edema in the 2026 or 2027 class. You don’t pass up on talent like Edema, so if he is able to enroll early, you welcome that.
Providence after this year does have depth with Oswin and Peteris Pinnis in the frontcourt, but as we saw this past offseason with the departures of Bonke and Essandoko, a roster can rapidly turn over. I also would like another body at the 5 position, as going into the 2026 season with just Pinnis as your one alternate to Oswin is a potential recipe for disaster. He’s still such an unknown despite showing spurts of quality play in limited minutes this season. It is in the best interest of coaching staffs these days to recruit like there won’t be continuity, and you worry about playing time and rotations after signing these recruits.
Below we breakdown Edema’s game and how he would fit with the Providence Friars.
In a game that Providence needed to have to turn the tide on the season, the Friars metaphorically and literally let the game slip out of their grasp on the road against Butler. Providence ultimately fell to Butler in double overtime 113-110 in a game where offense was easy to come by and defense was entirely optional. A missed open three by Stefan Vaaks would have tied the game with seconds remaining, but rimmed out. The Bulldogs go to 8-2 on the season and 1-0 in conference while Providence slips to 7-5 and 0-1 in Big East play.
Providence’s offense continues to be a borderline elite national unit (12th nationally at 91.7 points per game), with its star transfers Jason Edwards and Jaylin Sellers combining for 58 points, with double digit efforts by Vaaks, Floyd Jr., Jones, and Powell complementing them.
If you were to tell me that six Providence players scored in double figures, the dynamic duo above totaled 58 points, and Providence’s bench outscored Butler’s bench 53 – 22, I would have assumed a rather comfortable margin of victory for the Friars. Not so fast, my friend.
Unfortunately, it was the defensive efforts and rebounding woes that did the Friars in, just like it has all season. At some point, the shift has to come from the coaching staff and players that winning games by trying to outscore an opponent is not a viable long term plan. Defense needs to come first. Until that happens, we’ll be seeing more outcomes like this.
Butler had to have about 7 or 8 lay-ups off back-door cuts, and it is like the Friars have never defended that offensive set before. I understand trying to defend the 3, but you cannot be so aggressive as to leave the back-door wide open. The defender was too busy ball-watching instead of putting themselves between their man and the rim. Basketball 101.
Providence was only outrebounded by 5 boards, but this is a case where the stats don’t tell the true story. It was the 2nd half and overtime segments that really highlighted the weaknesses of the Friars that have plagued them all season long. Even when Providence was able to string together a defensive stop, which was a tall task in and of itself, Butler was able to secure an offensive rebound for a second chance opportunity. If a clean rebound by the Bulldogs didn’t transpire, a 50/50 loose ball would occur, and Butler seemingly ended up with the ball every time. You are watching the game ready to pull your hair out as every loose ball slipped through the hands of the Friars and ended up with the Bulldogs. Squeeze the basketball!
There was no play that more encapsulated this issue than the Edwards offense rebound in the second overtime where he somehow lost the ball trying to draw a foul. I admire the savvy attempt by the veteran to bait the ref into calling a foul (I don’t think it was a foul, for what it’s worth), but I cannot for the life of me understand how he lost the ball to Ajayi with Edwards initially having possession and two other Friars close by. How does Ajayi get that ball?! It defies logic.
If you rewatch the play, Ajayi pounces on the fumble by Edwards. Watch a bit closer. Hargrove and Vaaks are standing over Ajayi ball-watching while he lunges to the floor for the ball. They stand there like a deer in headlights as he gathers the ball and finds an open man. It ultimately found a Bulldog for an open 3 that ended up being the game winner. There weren’t enough plays in the 2nd half of this game where Providence was getting floor burns, diving on the court, and digging out the ball like Ajayi did on this one.
Providence is used to winning these close games under the prior regime, but it seems the tides have turned, and Providence has been on the losing end of these 1 possession games too frequently.
Devastating loss for Providence.
As well as they played on offense, they lost almost every single 50/50 ball, with Butler corralling seemingly every board. It almost defies logic.
Providence needs to regroup quickly with game against Seton Hall at home.
Providence has to bounce back quickly against a defensive juggernaut in the Seton Hall Pirates. The Friars need to protect home court if it looks to make a miraculous turn around in Big East play.
We revisit the keys to the game below and where the Friars go from here.
The coaching staff at Providence has forgotten more about basketball than I know, but I do think it is a fun exercise to dissect what improvements the 7-4 Friars can make as they head into the meat grinder of the Big East schedule. No team is without flaws, and clearly this season hasn’t gone as expected.
I put together something similar after the Colorado game (see tweet thread below). After 11 games, I have a few thoughts and recommendations that could help this team incrementally improve and make the push into the NCAA Tournament.
I’d also love to hear the thoughts of the readers on this topic too.
Monday Morning Thoughts: If I’m going to be critical of the Friar squad, I at least should offer some recommendations on what I would fix. That’s only fair.
This staff has forgotten more about basketball than I know, but here is what I would tweak
Providence at 7-4 is about to dive headfirst into the deep-end with the start of Big East conference play. Providence has left itself with little to no margin for error the rest of the season. If PC wants to make the NCAA tournament, they need to, at a minimum, win 13 games in conference to get on the likely right side of the bubble. As we saw with Seton Hall two years back, even 13 wins doesn’t lock you in, so you are likely looking at needing 14 conference wins to feel extremely confident at landing an NCAA tournament bid as an at-large even if there are a plethora of bid stealers. A tall task, no doubt, but this is the path the Friars have charted for themselves.
The resume of the Friars in the non-conference is pretty binary at this point. They are 0-4 in Quad 1 and 2 games, but 7-0 in Quad 3 and 4 games. They’ve beaten the teams they should beat, but have lost to the teams ahead of them in the NET. No bad losses, which is a silver lining, but no resume boosting wins either. Thus, the Friars need to be both consistent in conference play, especially at home, and get a few quality road wins.
You wouldn’t have thought it at the start of the season, but Butler and Seton Hall ironically provide Providence with two resume building opportunities. Both schools have drastically outperformed their preseason expectations, and that is great for those two programs, Providence, and the Big East as a whole.
Butler on the road is a potential Q1 win for Providence, while Seton Hall at home will be a Q2 opportunity. With St. John’s on the road to start 2026 (Q1 opportunity) with Connecticut at home shortly thereafter (Q1 opportunity), Providence really can change the ENTIRE trajectory of its season in a four game stretch. Providence couldn’t ask for a better opportunity to erase the memory of the non-conference and put itself in a prime position for an at-large bid. Get to 3-1 in those 4 games, and I’ll begin discussing playing in the Tourney.
Below, we’ll provide an overview of the Butler program, who to watch for, and what Providence needs to do to secure a road victory to kick off Big East play.
The Friars wrapped up their 2025 non-conference schedule on Tuesday night but it wasn’t in the emphatic fashion fans were probably hoping for. The Brown Bears (5-7) came to town and although it was essentially a wire-to-wire win for PC, the Bears gave the Friars more than they bargained for. Head Coach Mike Martin had his team ready to go in this one and despite the Friars extending their lead countless times the Bears kept punching back.
PC raced out to a 9-2 lead, Brown tied it. PC would extend their 5-point halftime lead to 13 at 55-42, Brown responded with a 16-7 run. PC responded to push it back to 9 but then the Bears scored the next 5 points. Ultimately the Friars would get the 86-79 victory over Brown ending their non-conference slate with a 7-4 record.
Friars win 86-79 to round out non-conference to 7-4.
Offense continues to be a top national unit; however, the defense still leaves a lot to be desired, and the turnovers continue to hurt this squad.
We’re going to learn a lot about this team the rest of the way in 2025.
Providence is looking to claim Ocean State Supremacy on Tuesday night with a victory over the Ivy League Brown Bears. With a win over Rhode Island on Saturday and win against Brown Tuesday, they can lay claim to this mythical title (schedule Bryant in the future…Why not!).
This game is important to Providence because it will put them on a 3 game winning streak heading into Big East conference play. This would be the first 3 game winning streak since their victory against Hampton on 11/12/24. With this aforementioned winning streak, they’d conclude their non-conference at 7-4 and staring at a need to go 13-7 or 14-6 in the Big East to get into the NCAA tournament. A long road ahead, but the Friars are at least digging themselves out of the hole they put themselves in early in the season.
Below, we provide an overview of this Brown team and what we are looking to see from the Friars.
The Ocean State Rivalry renewed for the 134th time on Saturday at the AMP with an unfamiliar feeling going in. The Friars entered the weekend with a 5-4 record and in desperate need for a victory. URI, on the other hand, was off to a 7-2 start and had solid footing in the metrics. It was a rare situation where Providence arguably had more to gain in this one than Rhode Island.
Providence would answer the call, especially in the second half, where a 49-34 advantage would allow them to cruise to a 90-71 victory.
We break down the game and what we took away from it for the Friars moving forward.
With the in-state rivalry, you can throw records out the window. It is a battle for state supremacy in the Ocean State, and both teams are looking to claim bragging rights.
For the Providence Friars, the game this year is unique for a variety of reasons. Usually, Providence is the heavy favorite, and this game doesn’t do much for resume purposes. It’s perceived as a “must win” because of the rivalry but also because it could potentially be an anvil on their resume with a loss. This year, that couldn’t be further from the truth.
Rhode Island is currently a Top 100 KenPom team (99 overall) and 74 in the NET rankings. Providence, for comparison’s sake, is 71 in KenPom and 115 in the NET.
For Providence, a decisive win at home could actually bolster their metrics along with improve their resume come tournament time. This is the ideal scenario for an in-state rivalry game. This game has significance beyond both teams residing in the same state, and that is simply a fantastic development.
We provide an overview of the Rhode Island Rams team and key players on their team. We’ll then provide a breakdown of what we are looking to see and what Providence needs to do to secure a victory.
After a disastrous Thanksgiving weekend that saw the Friars drop games to Wisconsin and Florida and gave up 100 points in regulation for the first time since 2009, the team was in dire need of a “cupcake” on the schedule to get the season back on track. Luckily for the Friars the FDU Knights, who entered Tuesday’s contest 1-6 (0-5 against D1 competition), came to town.
Right out of the gate the Friars jumped on the Knights with a 18-5 start, having the Knights burn their first timeout before the first media timeout. PC would finish off their best first half of the season with a 52-21 lead.
The Friars would extend the lead to as many as 36 points but they let go of the leash a bit and FDU responded with a 10-0 run. Some of the defensive lapses that have plagued PC all season long crept back up again, but all in all the Friars would get a 94-64 win and had their best defensive effort of the season.
It’s December 1st, and the majority of the PC fanbase has already written the obituary for the 2025-2026 Providence Friars. At 4-4 and .500 on the season, this team has not come anywhere close to meeting the preseason expectations, but there is still A LOT of season left to get this thing back on track before heading into conference play. A tune-up game against the 1-6 Fairleigh Dickinson squad where Providence is favored by 27.5 should be just watch the doctor ordered.
Below, we’ll preview what we are looking to see in this game so that we can gain some semblance of an understanding on what this Friar team will look like moving forward.
