Life without Bryce Hopkins has begun. The #23 Friars traveled to Omaha in their first game since star forward Bryce Hopkins was lost for the season with a torn ACL. The Friars would find themselves down by as many as 18 but battled all the way back to get it to a 1-point game with 4:31 left. Unfortunately, they ran out of gas in the end. The Blue Jays would walk away with a 69-60 victory, dropping the Friars to 11-4 on the season and 2-2 in Big East play after a 2-0 start.
Missing Hopkins– It shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise, but the Friars certainly felt the absence of Bryce Hopkins in this one. Offensively the Friars could’ve used another guy who could get a bucket, as Devin Carter was forced to shoulder too much of a scoring load. PC also missed Hop’s rebounding prowess as they were edged on the glass 41-33 for the game. While the Friars certainly missed Hopkins, they did show that they’re still going to be competitive and a tough out in this league.
Offense Remains an Issue – In Providence’s four losses, they’ve averaged 59.5 points a game. Their defense actually played well in this one, holding Creighton to 12 points below their season average. When the Friars have lost this year (even when BHop was healthy), it was because the offense went MIA. Providence needs to get more offensive production out of its team, as it can’t rely on winning via tough defense exclusively. English has to find a way to drag this offense along and develop.
Devin Carter Career High– Devin Carter has balled out for the Friars all season long. With Hopkins out you knew he was going to have to play even better, and he certainly answered the call in this one. Carter would tie a career high in points with 25. Ironically, that high water mark was set by Devin against these same Blue Jays in a double OT win last season. While Carter was awesome in this one, he did seem to run out of gas late in the game and took some tough shots down the stretch. As long as Carter is on the court, the Friars have a good chance to win.
Backcourt Still Yet to Break Out– We talked about on the podcast that PC’s backcourt has an opportunity to break out now that Hopkins is out. Corey Floyd Jr was inserted into the starting lineup. He played tough defense throughout but struggled to get anything offensively, as he was held scoreless.
Jayden Pierre probably had his best game since suffering a hamstring injury in the Bahamas. He had 10 points, 4 assists, and 4 steals. It’s something to build on, but they could’ve used a little more out of him. Garwey Dual suffered a shoulder injury in the first half. He would return in the second half and provided good defense, but he was also held scoreless. The development of these three are critical as we continue live without Hopkins.
Oduro Struggles Against Elite Big – Welcome to life in the Big East. We were curious to see how Josh would do against Kalkbrenner, and he unfortunately didn’t pass the test. McDermott was willing to live with him giving up the open 3 look for Josh, and it proved to be an astute coaching strategy. Oduro went 4-17 and 0-5 from deep. It was a game to forget for Mr. Oduro.
Kalkbrenner is such an impactful player. When he isn’t blocking shots, he is altering them. Creighton fans shouldn’t take him for granted. He’s a special player.
Next
The Friars had a really tough week, losing 2 league games and Hopkins for the year. The fight they showed gives me hope that all is not lost this season. PC will have a few days to regroup before returning to action against Rick Pitino and the Red Storm at MSG on Wednesday.
Friars play tough, no question!! The energy is there. Coach English never was able to land “that” guy who could help out up front, that could be tough, and big enough to help protect the rim and score. Not for a lack of trying! I believe the NIL got in the way. Hopefully, Dual’s injury dose not prevent him from exercising his true potential on the offensive side ae well!! GO FRIARS