It was going to be a tough ask. The Friars after losing to Davidson in a game that ended around 10:30pm had little time to adjust with a 11am tip the next morning against an IU team that presented matchup problems for PC. The Friars preformed better on offense but couldn’t string together enough stops or made hoops to put real game pressure on the Hoosiers. PC was led by Jayden Pierre who had 22 points, Corey Floyd Jr chipped in with 14 points and Jabri Abdur-Rahim also had 14 off the bench.
Better Start But Dig Hole Early– In the first two games the Friars let the opposition rip off the games first 8 and 9 points, respectively. In this one the Friars were the first to 10 points but with the game tied at 13 saw the Hoosiers go on a 12 to 1 run. PC at this point really can’t afford to get down double digits, and it was a constant theme through 3 games. They just don’t have the offensive firepower to dig themselves out of that type of hole. A double digit lead feels insurmountable.
Offense Better But Many Missed Layups– Against Davidson the Friars shot better from long distance than they did overall from the floor. That also held true for good chunks of the Oklahoma game and again today. When the Friars get back to Providence and watch film they see so many missed layups through 3 games. To PC’s credit they did start to find some success in the paint late in the game, hopefully that is something they can build on going forward.
Hopkins Sorely Missed– The Indiana Hoosiers were probably the one team in the Battle4Atlantis field that Friars would most feel Bryce Hopkins absence. Indiana is built through their frontcourt, their backcourt made minimal impact in this one, and the Friars were constantly in mismatches defending Mbako, Reneau, and Galloway. It was probably for the best the Friars held out Hopkins, the floor was slippery all week and you saw guys sliding throughout all the games.
Can’t Do the Easy Things
If you want to mount a comeback, you need to do all the little things right. Going 62% from the free throw line and missing the front end of 1 and 1’s eliminates the chances of a late game comeback.
Compound that with not properly boxing out and giving the opponent second chances, and it is no surprise PC came up short.
Providence isn’t doing the things you’d expect good teams to do, and that’s been an issue all year.
Summary
It was really the disastrous week in Atlantis Friar fans were looking to avoid. While they played well against Oklahoma, the Thanksgiving Day loss to Davidson could haunt them all year. While the Friars leave Atlantis with more questions than answers, the season is far from lost. PC will host BYU on Tuesday at the AMP looking to turn things around.