The Providence Friars are back on the court Sunday at noon when they host the school across town in Brown. This will be the 125th meeting between the Friars and Bears and first meeting since 2017. For the Friars, they are looking to bounce back from a rough game at Oklahoma, while Brown is coming off a win at URI earlier this week. Based off what Oklahoma did Saturday against Arkansas, as they dominated them from start to finish, that loss by the Friars may not be as disastrous as initially perceived. Oklahoma may be a sleeper Final 4 squad, but I digress…
PC is closing out their non-conference schedule with this game and at home vs Sacred Heart next Saturday and could ill afford to drop either. So let’s take a look at what they’re up against Sunday…
Turnovers – The Friars were awfully sloppy against OU early on as they came out of the gates with 4 quick turnovers and 10 for the half. The Friars would finish with 14 for the game, but their early giveaways dug them into a deep hole. Brown is averaging 7.2 steals per game so it will be imperative for the Friars to take care of the basketball.
A sobering stat: Providence is 257th in the nation on turnovers per game at 13.6 turnovers. A game in the single digits for turnovers, with Pierre and Hopkins particularly doing their part in taking care of the basketball, would go a long way.
On the flip side, Brown has had their own turnover issues, so the Friars should use their athleticism to force turnovers and create easy offense in transition.
Brown’s Guard/Big Duo- The Bears are paced by a junior guard and forward duo. Kino Lilly Jr and Nana Owusu-Anane combine to average 34.5 ppg, 10.7 rpg and 4 apg. They essentially do it all for Brown, and the Friars will want to try and keep one or both in check. This is where the plus defense comes into play for the Friars.
An interesting statistic: Oklahoma is averaging 84.8 points per game. PC’s defense actually did a quality job on Oklahoma, holding them to 72. It was the offense that didn’t show up.
Don’t Let ‘Em Hang Around- Despite Brown being 3-8 on the season, they’ve been in a ton of games. The Bears have already had 5 games this season decided by 5 points or less. Unfortunately for them, they’ve only won one of those. They also were competitive against USC, dropping that one by 11. Brown seems to be better than their record but for Providence it’s about building a big lead and not letting them feel they’re in it.
Backcourt Bounce Back- The young guards really struggled in their first true road test of the season. As stated on the pod and our recap article Corey Floyd Jr, Garwey Dual and Jayden Pierre combined for 4 points and 1 assist in 60 minutes of action. They have to get better guard play out of them for the Friars to reach their ultimate potential. Sunday against Brown is a great opportunity for them to bounce back and show out.
Predictions
Crier: Things can go from bad to worse if the Friars were to drop this game. So far the best part of the Friars resume is that they have no bad loses. A loss to Brown would probably come close to nullify their best win of non-conference against Wisconsin. However, I don’t see this happening. The Friars responded well to adversity in the Bahamas when they beat Georgia after losing to Kansas State and losing two guards in the process. Look for Bryce Hopkins to have a mismatch against Brown’s Kalu Anya. PC 84 Brown 67
BOC: Let’s get back on track. PC wins this one 81 – 68. Pierre plays a quality game with 8 assists and only 2 turnovers. Go Friars
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