There’s another coach who will be making his return to Providence this year. Rick Pitino makes his 9th trip to Providence as a head coach of the opposition when St. Johns comes to town on Tuesday. Rick owns a 6-2 record over the school he took to a Final 4 in 1987; however, he has dropped his previous two games when returning to 1 LaSalle Square.
After making his return to college basketball three years ago at Iona, Pitino had his sights set on his next and possibly final coaching spot this past offseason. With the Friars looking for a head coach some thought it was possible for a Pitino to make a return to Friartown, but he would instead be hired by former Friar President Father Brian Shanley to coach the Red Storm. He certainly won’t get the same reception as the last former coach to return to Providence, but PC fans will be rowdy and raucous in hopes to help get their Friars back in the win column after a tough defeat at the hands of Butler on Saturday.
St. Johns and PC will square off in a snowy Amica Mutual Pavillion on Tuesday night in a game that has serious NCAA tournament implications. Both the Friars and Johnnies find themselves on the proverbial bubble and needing a win to bolster their respective resumes. The Johnnies were able to get a 75-73 victory over Providence at Madison Square Garden in January, and the Friars should be looking to avenge that loss. St. John’s has dropped their last 4 road games but have been a tough road opponent, knocking off Villanova in Philadelphia early this year and only losing at Creighton and Connecticut by a combined 5 points. Both teams really need a win and should have a classic Big East battle on our hands.
Oduro Back? Matchup Against Soriano– Josh Oduro missed the last game against Butler due to the birth of his first child on Saturday. If he does return for this one, it would be a huge lift for the Friars who are squaring off against a formidable big man in Joel Soriano. Joel got the better of Josh in the first matchup, scoring 16 points and grabbing 7 rebounds. If Oduro’s second go around against a top Big East big man went as well as it did against Creighton, then the Friars will be in great shape.
It is worth noting that Soriano was plagued by foul trouble against Marquette and played very limited minutes. If Oduro can keep him off balance in the post, perhaps Soriano can find himself in another situation of foul trouble.
I’ll also be closely watching what PC does rotation wise when Josh goes to the bench. The small ball 5 worked incredibly well against Butler, and I’d prefer they turn to that.
Defend the Three- The Friars really didn’t do a good job of this the first time out as St. Johns was able to go 7/18 from three in the game in NYC. The Johnnies certainly aren’t gun shy about shooting the three. In their last game against Marquette, they shot a blistering 8/18 from three in the first half alone. PC needs to make sure they get out on shooters (Jenkins/Dingle/Dunlap) and have solid rotations. The Johnnies 3-pointers account for 28% of their points, so if the Friars can take that weapon away they’ll be in good shape.
Hold Your Own on the Boards- Since losing Bryce Hopkins, the Friars haven’t been a superb rebounding team like we know them to be. St. Johns, on the other hand, is a good rebounding team, ranking 57th in the nation in rebounds per game. The Friars were able to break even in the rebounding department in the first matchup, but PC needs to remain focused on the glass. The Friars got beat bad on the boards against Butler and gave up a key offensive rebound that helped the Bulldogs erase a late 7-point deficit.
St. Johns is at their best when they are hitting threes and scoring on second chance opportunities. PC needs to hold their own on the glass, and not let a late game slip-up like the last Red Storm game lead to an offensive rebound that secured the victory.
Continued Emergence of Role Players? I know there is a quiet nervousness amongst the Friar fanbase that the Butler game and emergence of Corey Floyd Jr. was just a one game anomaly. I don’t think that is the case. I think Floyd Jr. will have another strong outing in this one. I’d still like to see him come off the bench, for what it is worth.
Will Barron and Dual combine for 15 points again? If so, the Friars will be in great shape. These young players are hot and cold, but Providence needs some consistency from its role players outside of Oduro and Carter if they want to be playing in the NCAA tournament.
Need More from Gaines Offensively – Gaines is being forced to play a position he isn’t built for with Hopkins out. He had a few massive box-outs against Butler and had a nice take to the rack against Pierre Brooks, where a missed foul call transpired. He’s working hard, but we need him to level up more, if possible.
Providence needs him to be a double digit scorer as the young guys slowly begin to emerge. In his last four games, he has averaged 7.75 points/game. The Friars need him to ratchet that up to 10-12 points in the remaining conference games.
Atmosphere – There is a storm brewing in New England as we write this. I believe the prediction for total accumulation of snow has gone down as the tip gets closer, so I expect a packed AMP.
One thing which admittedly has my concern is that the school is closed today, while the game is still on. The student section will be, to put it mildly, feeling VERY good after a long day of snow-day drinking. The 34 year old me is very envious of the day they are about to have, but let’s hope they don’t throw anything on to the court to cause a technical. That almost transpired against Creighton.
Regardless of that fact, I think the PC fanbase will be rearing to go in this one. The fans are upset about the whistle against Butler and know the importance of this one. Given the 7pm tip, this will be a raucous environment.
Make Your Damn Free Throws, Part 2 – The last time I included this in the preview, they went 100% from the line against Villanova. Here’s to hoping for a similar result, as free throws were a reason for losing to St. John’s in the first match-up. The poor free throw % have honestly cost Providence at least 2-3 games this season.
Predictions
Crier: This is such a big game for both teams. At 10 losses already, SJ cant afford to take too many more losses between now and the end of the regular season. PC is not so far behind and need to stack some wins between now and the Big East Tournament. I’d expect Josh Oduro to return in this one and give the Friars a boost. After all, he’s got that dad strength now. PC 79 SJ 72.
BOC: I know every game is unique, but I think they found something worth building upon against Butler. PC 80, St. John’s 74
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