The 2023-2024 Friars have faced their share of adversity throughout the year. In the Bahamas back in November is where the adversity first struck. In a heart-breaking overtime loss to Kansas State, the Friars would lose their starting point guard Jayden Pierre due to injury. They would also have to suspend Garwey Dual a game for his involvement in a scuffle with Kansas St’s Dede Ames. The Friars would have to take on a solid UGA squad without two of its guards and would respond with a 71-64 win over the Dawgs.
Then the worst thing imaginable that could happen to this team happened. Bryce Hopkins tore his ACL on January 4th. Since then, the Friars are still scrambling looking for answers to make up for his production. Their latest dose of adversity came in this past Sunday’s game against Villanova. It was one of the Friars worst games in years, losing 68-50 in what Kim English would describe “a piss poor performance”. Kim was so furious from the performance he suggested changes could be coming. Make no mistake Villanova needed Sunday’s game more than the Friars, but the team experienced a new low, only mustering 16 points in the first half against the Wildcats.
Now with about a month and a half left in the season, the Friars find themselves with work to do to make a return to the NCAA Tournament. That work starts Wednesday night with # 19 Creighton Blue Jays coming to town. Ironically enough, these Blue Jays were the first team the Friars faced after losing Bryce Hopkins, a 69-60 win for the Jays. PC gave Creighton more than a run for their money though only trailing by a point with 4 minutes left to play. Let’s take a look at what we could possibly see in this one.
Changes?– As mentioned above, Kim English stated that there would be changes coming, including reigning in their freedom on offense and inserting some set plays. The Friars don’t have a ton of options for wholesale rotational changes, but if I were to change something, it would be to have Garwey Dual start and have Corey Floyd Jr be your 6th man. It could do wonders for both players who have struggled as of late. For Floyd, you need something to give him a spark and regain his confidence. Perhaps a 6th man role could do that. For Dual it could allow him to play through some mistakes and not have him press to make an impact off the bench. It will be interesting to see how English and staff navigates these changes and what impact it can have to fix an offense that looks broken as of late.
BOC: I like this idea Crier floated out in the pod. The other idea may be Barron inserted into the starting line-up to generate more offense. We’ll see come tip.
Turn Jays Over For Easy Offense- What’s a better way for an offense to regain their rhythm and confidence than easy buckets? The Friars have to put pressure on the Jays ballhandlers and create turnovers for points in transition. The Jays aren’t overly sloppy with the basketball, but the Friars were able to force them into 13 turnovers the first time out and that helped keep them in the game.
Defend the Perimeter, Win the Game– While the offense may be the talking point amongst Friar fans, the team can’t have a defensive letdown in this one. The Friars holding the Jays to 7/23 from deep and still losing in Omaha doesn’t help my argument here but work with me. The Jays have shown all year long that if they don’t make shots they’re likely not to win. If you get the Jays to shoot poorly, in an environment like the AMP, they aren’t going to walk out with a win. For the Friars the magic number should be 30%. If the Jays shoot that or worse from 3, the Friars should get the win.
Josh Oduro v Ryan Kalkbrenner– In the first matchup between these two bigs Kalkbrenner got the better of Oduro, and it wasn’t really close. Kalkbrenner had 22 points, 12 rebounds, and while he only had one block, he impacted a ton of shots. Oduro on the other hand really struggled from the floor shooting 4/17 and finishing with 9 points and 3 rebounds. Expect the play to level out in this one. Josh is too crafty of a post player to have another rough performance against Kalkbrenner. Perhaps Josh needs to watch some tape of Eric Dixon dicing up Kalkbrenner.
Oduro had a plethora of wide open looks from deep in the first match-up, and I expect to see that again. Oduro needs to make Creighton pay and make those looks.
Prediction
Crier: I may have some blind confidence in this one but I do feel like the Friars will pull this one out. Creighton has actually been pretty good on the road this year, but haven’t played on the road in 2.5 weeks. The way PC played against Nova I shouldn’t be picking the Friars but feel like they respond in a big way. PC 79- CU 72.
BOC: The basketball gods have a cruel sense of humor, and I see Providence making 10+ three’s in this one. Unfortunately, it still won’t be enough. Creighton leaves Providence with a win, 76-74.
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