Year: 2023

Providence Avoids the Hangover, Escapes with a Win Against St. Johns 83-80

How do superior teams lose to inferior teams? A short list includes overlooking your opponent, being careless with the ball and not doing the easy things like make free throws. Well, Providence did all of that and more. The crazy thing? They still came away with a win. Good teams find a way to win even when they aren’t playing their best basketball. PC was able to gut out another close victory at home despite playing subpar basketball and having to overcome a Bynum absence.

We recap how the Providence was able to grab a victory from the jaws of defeat. In case you forget, Providence is 14-3, atop the Big East at 6-0, and awaiting an AP national ranking on Monday.

Continue reading “Providence Avoids the Hangover, Escapes with a Win Against St. Johns 83-80”

Friars Looking for their 9th Straight Win- Host Struggling St. John’s

The Friars return to action Saturday at 12pm EST when they host St. John’s on FS1. It’s a tale of two teams seemingly headed in opposite directions. PC is looking to follow up an impressive performance vs #4 UConn and secure their 9th consecutive win. St. John’s, after an 11-1 start to the season, have dropped 4 straight and currently sit 8th in the conference. Providence could have a Husky hangover and the Johnny’s have to be real desperate to turn their season around. Let’s take a look at the matchup.

Continue reading “Friars Looking for their 9th Straight Win- Host Struggling St. John’s”

The Friars Make A Statement – Providence Beats Up On Connecticut 73 -61

The Friars have heard about the Connecticut Huskies endlessly all year. How many times have we heard some iteration of, “Connecticut is the dominant team in the Big East, they are back to the glory days under Calhoun, etc.”? Push came to shove Wednesday night, and Providence made a statement to the Connecticut program that talk is cheap. At least for now, the Big East still runs through Providence.

Providence was everything that Connecticut thought it was: tough, hard nosed, and the bullies of the Big East. Providence, despite the massive size disadvantage, out-scrapped the Huskies, beat them to 50/50 balls, and welcomed with open arms the physical nature of the game. The Friars hit the Huskies in the mouth, and Connecticut had no answer.

Below, we detail how Providence was able to upset the #4 team in the nation and what this win says about the trajectory of this team and season.

Continue reading “The Friars Make A Statement – Providence Beats Up On Connecticut 73 -61”

A Classic New England Battle – Providence vs. UConn Game Preview

When Connecticut returned back to the Big East, these are the type of games that were to be expected. The Huskies are #4 in the nation after a road loss to Xavier, but make no mistake: this Connecticut team is the Big East favorite and has a serious chance to win it all come March.

Providence is no slouch, however. They are building out quite a hot streak of their own, winners of 7 straight and atop the Big East at 4-0. Their last two games have been road wins of 15 and 20 points, and it is safe to say that the Friars are playing their best basketball of the season.

Layer on the raucous home environment of the AMP with an 8:30 PM tip-off and general disdain between these two programs, and we have the makings of a game environment that should rival the Nova home game from last year. If you recall, Villanova won that one on a dagger Colin Gillespie three, but the crowd was at a capacity that even the Dunk security had problem containing. I expect a very similar environment.

Below, we discuss the Connecticut team, what makes them such an elite squad, and what Providence needs to do to pull off the upset.

Continue reading “A Classic New England Battle – Providence vs. UConn Game Preview”

Friars Ring in the New Year in Style! Defeat DePaul and Sweep Midwest Trip

This is a tradition that I could get used to. For the second straight year, the Friars delivered a double-digit victory at DePaul on New Year’s Day. PC lead in this one wire-to-wire and built the lead up to 22 points in the second half before settling in for a 74-59 victory. With the win, the Friars are now 4-0 in conference, with three of those wins on the road. The Friars came back from Christmas break locked in and focused. They sweep the two-game Midwest road trip (Butler and DePaul) and they did so in dominant fashion. Let’s dive a little deeper into this one.

Continue reading “Friars Ring in the New Year in Style! Defeat DePaul and Sweep Midwest Trip”