These players aren’t robots. They’ll never admit it in a public setting, but it is easy to overlook these games when you are favored by double digits. Providence were -19.5 point favorites and expected to roll the Blue Demons without much resistance. Providence certainly played like they read those press clippings, with them expecting DePaul to be a willing recipient of a beatdown. They were far from a roll-over.
Providence went into half up by four, 34-30, and seemed to be sleepwalking through the game. Countless turnovers, no role player production (Carter and Oduro scored 30 of the 34), and horrendous free throwing shooting in the first half (53.8%) kept the Blue Demons in the game for longer than the Friar fans wanted. With Providence squarely on the bubble, these are the type of games that Providence needed to win comfortably to bolster the ever-popular metrics.
Providence, led by Josh Oduro and Devin Carter, extended the lead in the second half to comfortably win. They seemed to finally wake up and play good offensive basketball in the second. We break down how they secured the victory below.
Revisiting Keys to the Game
Jump Out to Early Lead – Providence did not do this. If anything, they let DePaul hang around. Providence’s first 13 attempts were all three pointers. It wasn’t until Josh Oduro’s post bucket on the 14th attempt that they tried something other than a three point shot.
The offense flowed much better in the second half, but the defense faltered in the second. This team is young in many ways, and it is rare to see them put a complete game together on the offensive and defensive end.
Run It Up – As I mentioned in the preview, I despise running up the score. If a game is in hand, put in the bench players and run the clock out. Unfortunately, the brainiacs that put together the NET, KenPom, etc. heavily weigh blow out wins. It is why Providence needed to throttle teams like DePaul. This doesn’t make any logical sense, but a comfortable 11 point win hurt Providence in the metrics.
English pulled most of the starters with about 2 minutes left up 20+. but DePaul went on a 12-0 run to close the gap to 11.
Providence was punished for DePaul scoring in garbage time, which exposes a huge flaw in the metrics system. The system rewards keeping all your starters in during garbage time to widen the gap of victory rather than prioritizing resting your starting players when the game is already decided. PC was 51 in KenPom heading into the game and dropped to 56 once the game was factored in.
PC fans would be calling for English’s head if Oduro or Carter got hurt in the final seconds because he decided to keep them in to ensure a 20 point “analytically pleasing” victory.
Continued Development of Role Players – This was a massive step back. For the vast majority of the game, if Carter and Oduro didn’t score, the Friars weren’t scoring. While it is a treat as a fan to have two All Conference players, it hurts when the other role players aren’t contributing.
Pierre played well in the second half and seems to be really rounding into a true complete point guard.
Dual provided great defensive minutes and was active. His offense is still a work in progress, but you see shades of brilliance every game. He just needs to string together some consistency.
Free Throws! This is just going to be an issue all year, unfortunately. Providence was dreadful at the charity stripe again, which led to DePaul hanging around longer than it should. Providence finished 63.2% from the free throw line.
Oduro is a First Teamer – There is not a player playing better in the Big East right now than Josh Oduro. This is the third game in a row where Oduro has surpassed twenty points. He was the steadying hand in this game all night, finishing with 27 on 10-12 shooting.
Devin Carter – Big East Leading Rebounder? When looking at the leading rebounders in the Big East, it is littered by forwards and centers…and 6’4 Devin Carter. With Hopkins out, Devin has been a force on the glass. Tonight was no different, as he finished with double digit rebounds at 13.
There’s a scenario where Devin Carter finishes in the top 15 in the Big East in every single major metric (points, rebounds, assists, blocks, steals). We’ve said it before and will say it again: he’s special.
I think the Big East Player of the Year is his to lose.
What’s Next
Providence needs to win at least 1 of these 3 games to maximize chances of an NCAA tournament bid: road game Xavier, road game Marquette, home game Connecticut. Xavier is up next with an 8pm tip on Wednesday night on the road. Cintas is an incredibly difficult place to play, and PC got taken to the woodshed at home against the Musketeers. Here’s hoping Providence returns the favor.