The Friars offense was hot heading into Omaha with a road tilt against the Creighton Blue Jays. In their last three games the Friars averaged over 86 points and shot 42% from three that stretch. In this game, the Friars went cold, and the Jays rained threes all night en route to a 84-64 defeat for PC. Friars are now back to .500 at 9-9 on the year and dropped to 3-4 in Big East play.
Three Pointers Decided This One– As mentioned in the open the Friars shot it poorly in this one while on the other hand the Jays were red hot from deep. PC did find some success in the paint surprisingly but only shot 38% from the floor and only 20% from three (4/20). The Jays, who only went 8/24 from three in their last game, caught fire hitting 14 three pointers at a 44% clip. Creighton was +30 beyond the arc vs the Friars and that was the difference in this game.
No Answer for Kalkbrenner/Ashworth Two Man Game- Going into this game the Kalkbrenner and Ashworth two man game was a concern for the Friars defense, and their fears were realized in this one. The duo combined for 40 points, 13 rebounds, and 9 assists. We know for sure these two are done with college after this year right?
Oswin Continues to Grow– On the last podcast we wondered how Oswin would perform in a tough road environment after the best game of his young collegiate career. Well he past this test with flying colors. Sure Kalkbrenner went for 20 points, but he was mostly really good in this game. He finished with 8 points, 8 rebounds and 3 blocks. His length seemed to bother Kalkbrenner at times and there was a moment late in the game where PC was +6 with him in the lineup and -16 without him. Oswin is going to be a problem in short order.
BOC Quick Thoughts: I’m a bit frustrated with this game, as Providence allowed Creighton to do exactly what it wants to do – shoot the deep ball. It’s their offense in a nutshell, and the strategy should have been to prevent them from getting quality looks. I was scratching my head a bit at the defensive strategy, although I acknowledge Creighton is a beast to prepare for defensively.
Providence also had a very tough night from Pierre and Joseph who combined to go 3-19. They need to be better. That’s unacceptable.
Lastly, I don’t understand the deployment of Essandoko. He’s been out with injury, and he wasn’t exactly lighting the world on fire pre-injury. Lane violation, tap-out to a Creighton player for an easy lay-up. Not sure what Kim was thinking.
Essandoko chucking up 3’s and bricking them off the backboard in the waning minutes of the game while P.C. is down 20 is emblematic of his career to date at Providence. Even if he is healthy, I’d rather role with Oswin, Bonke, and Eli.
Summary
This was certainly a tough game and not the result the Friars were looking for after a 2-0 week last week. but this game was closer than the final score indicated. PC competed for much of this game but were done in by the differential from deep. For what it’s worth, the Crier guarantees victory when the Jays come to Providence on Feb 5th. PC is the much tougher team, and they’ll shoot it better at the AMP. In the interim though the Friars will finish their week on the road against Villanova on Friday night.
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