The Friars had the deck stacked against them from the jump in this one. PC went into Hinkle having already lost Bryce Hopkins for the season to a torn ACL. On top of that, there was the late notice they would be without Josh Oduro and would also have a limited Jayden Pierre in a critical Big East Battle.
Yet, the Friars battled and put themselves in a great position to secure a big victory for their postseason resume. The Friars would erase a 10 point deficit and take a 7-point lead over Butler with around 4 minutes to play. A turnover here, countless missed free throws, and Butler would reclaim a 1-point advantage in the final seconds.
Unfortunately for the Friars, a late Corey Floyd drive to the rim full of contact was not called a foul by the officials, and PC was denied an opportunity to tie or take the lead in a game in which they seemed to fight hard enough to deserve.
We recap the game below.
Oduro Absence Felt– First and foremost, congratulations to Josh Oduro and his wife Caroline on the birth of their first child. PC being without their all-conference center certainly needed an adjustment period.
The Butler Bulldogs were able to take advantage of the Friars lack of a frontcourt early in this game. While Castro was expected to get serious minutes in Oduro’s absence, the small ball line-up proved to be vastly more effective.
As the game went on the Friars adjusted to the reality and figured some things out. The Friars put themselves in position to win this game without Oduro, but make no mistake the Friars missed their man in the middle. His ability to make buckets in the paint would’ve put a ton more pressure on a Butler team that doesnt provide too much resistance at the rim.
Corey Floyd Jr’s Career Night– Corey Floyd Jr has had his share of offensive struggles throughout the season. The frustrating part from a fan perspective is we can see he has the ability. On top of the innate ability is his incredible work ethic. The raw ability and work ethic came together against Butler.
Corey Floyd Jr had a career night with a much needed breakout game. Floyd got going early by getting some layups around the rim. Once he started to hit a few threes, he really got it cooking. While there’s disappointment on the lack of a call on his late dunk attempt and a few missed free throws, his breakout is a huge development for these Friars.
Freshman Show Promise– With the Friars down another man, Garwey Dual and Rich Barron were to have a larger role in this one. They didn’t disappoint. Earning his second career start, Barron was able to avoid foul trouble and score 8 points with 3 rebounds. Garwey really showed why he was a highly touted recruit in this one. He had 7 points (3/5 FG) and put his fingerprints on this game with 2 rebounds, 2 assists and 3 steals. As we get closer to March, watch for these two to continue to grow their games and provide the Friars with a solid boost.
Late Errors Contribute to Loss– The Crier was absolutely furious with the late no call on Corey Floyd, but the Friars did themselves no favors late in this game. After a Jayden Pierre 3-pointer put up the Friars 7, Butler would quickly chip away with a pair of DJ Davis free throws. PC’s next 5 possessions went as follows: Missed 3, Turnover, 1/2 Free Throws, Missed Frontend of 1-1, Missed 3. It’s too bad because the Friars played a really gritty game to build a lead late. This is an unfortunate trend with free throws costing the Friars, as they shot 62% from the charity stripe.
What’s Next
The Friars don’t have time to complain about what could have been. PC will host St. Johns on Tuesday in a game that will be pivotal for the Friars to hold serve for their tournament chances. With about 8 minutes left in the game, I texted BOC that win or lose I’m taking positives out of this game.
While it was a crushing way for the Friars to lose, I still hold this sentiment. PC should have their man in the middle back. With the way some of the other pieces of this team played today, you have to feel like they can string together a few wins this upcoming week.