With Providence out of the NCAA tournament picture as of this writing, this upcoming Georgetown game at home on Saturday is the most important game of the rest of the season. A loss at home against the archnemesis, and the pitchforks will be out for English.
The AMP will be packed for this one as it was last year, but the atmosphere likely won’t have the venom and hostility that it possessed last year. It was a snake pit, and Cooley still almost coached his team to an upset victory on the road before Devin Carter put on his cape. While I anticipate Cooley will be bombarded with choice words and adjectives from the Friar faithful, the focus will (and should) be on Providence securing a home victory.
The once Friar head coach, Ed Cooley, returns home after turning his back on his “dream school” to coach for an in-conference program in Georgetown. Georgetown, 13-6 on the season and 4-4 in conference, has made significant steps forward in Cooley’s second season at the helm.
Cooley has hit the mark with newcomers this year both via high school recruiting and the transfer portal. To me, Thomas Sorber is the best freshman in the Big East, averaging 14 points, 9 boards, and 2 blocks. I’m not sure how long he is for college, but he is already emerging as one of the upper echelon frontcourt players in the Big East. His ascent has been quicker than I anticipated, to be honest.
Micah Peavy may be one of the most underappreciated two-way players in the Big East. If I had a vote, which I clearly don’t, I’d be giving him All-Conference honors. He does everything for this Hoya team, averaging 14 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 steals. He is their version of Justin Minaya.
To round out the Hoyas is the backcourt of Jayden Epps and Malik Mack. They average 26 points and can get hot offensively, but can also shoot their team out of games. Epps carried them last year in the game against Providence.
Below, we detail what Providence needs to do to secure a victory.
Start Quickly
I think the environment in the AMP is going to be “unique”. My head immediately goes to the Villanova game at home under Jay Wright a few years back where there was apparently an incredible amount of tension in the air. The fanbase will obviously back the Friars and want Providence to beat the boogeyman that is Cooley; however, it is clear to me that the fanbase isn’t overly thrilled with how the season is gone. Thus, a unique environment may be in store.
If Providence gets started slowly in this game and Georgetown jumps out to a lead, I’m nervous about the reaction from the fanbase. Especially if we see the patented Ed Cooley clapping at center court during a timeout schtick.
The Providence fans are an intelligent bunch when it comes to basketball. The season hasn’t met expectations and losing to the one guy nobody wants to lose to will cause frustration to come to a head. That won’t be pretty for the Providence team, players, and staff.
Conversely, if Providence starts quickly and jumps out to an early lead, the atmosphere will be jubilant. Even a year plus removed from Ed Cooley’s sudden departure, every fan will say they want to win this game more than any other. The fanbase will will this team to a victory with their boisterous support.
How this team starts is of CRITICAL importance.
Guard Play
This game will likely come down to the offensive and defensive output of Jayden Pierre and Bensley Joseph versus Jayden Epps and Malik Mack. Which duo comes out on top likely means their respective team earns the victory.
Epps is a born scorer. He knows how to put the ball in the bucket, but it is important for him to be an efficient scorer. He scored 26 points against the Friars last year in Providence, but did it on 9-27 from the field. Providence needs to live with Epps getting his, but try to ensure he doesn’t do it efficiently. Joseph and Pierre need to prioritize defensive effort in this one above anything else.
Malik Mack, the Harvard Transfer, can fill it up as well, but is a similarly streaky player to Jayden Pierre. In their win against Nova, Mack went 1-9 and 0-4 from deep.
Pierre needs to get his head on straight for this one, as he’s been downright bad the past two games. He went 1-11 in the loss against Villanova and 2-9 in the loss against Creighton. Pierre needs to get back to his form and be a stabilizing presence as an upperclassman guard in a hostile environment. He can’t lay another egg in this one. If he starts off slow, English needs to have a quick hook with him and give him some time to recalibrate on the bench.
Bensley Joseph is the one I want controlling the game for the Friars. He should be playing 30+ minutes a game and be the primary ball-handler moving forward. The grad transfer has a will to win which I admire, and he can feed off the energy of the crowd to gain an edge. I like him in this one a lot.
Contain Sorber
This will be a match-up of arguably the two best freshman bigs in the Big East in Sorber and Oswin. Sorber is the more advanced player in the halfcourt right now, but Oswin can use his athleticism to do his best to neutralize him. Providence needs to be ready to send doubles if Sorber begins to have his way with the frontcourt, as we all know Cooley likes to run his offense through his bigs. I’d personally give Oswin a shot at guarding him 1:1, but also be ready to adjust and adapt if Sorber begins to take over.
This is another great litmus test for Oswin after he passed with flying colors against Kalkbrenner and Dixon. He is emerging quickly. While the praise has been rightfully heaped upon Sorber for his play to date, there’s a scenario here where Oswin gets the better of him. It will be a fascinating match-up to watch.
Health of Friars
The week off since their last game should do wonders for the health of Providence. I presume Barron, Mela, Cardet Jr., and Christ will be completely healthy and ready to go for this one. It is important to have Mela and Cardet back in this one particularly, as Mela will help be a facilitator of the offense alongside Joseph in the half-court, while I presume Cardet Jr. will get assignment duties on Peavy.
I’ll be curious to see how deep English goes with his rotation. How many players will he play?
Prediction
BOC: Providence is finally healthy (outside Hop), and it shows at home. PC 76, Georgetown 71.
Wow! Love this preview. Honestly, I think that you touched on all the most important points. I would add this, I too believe that Oswin will do a great job initially on Sorber but, its the weak side rebounding that I’m most concerned with. Gtown rebounds like a big east bully yet PC rebounds like a soft catholic alter boy. Keep an eye out for the stat I think that will tell the story. Second chance points by GTown. Lastly, we must all say a prayer that the scenario you presented of the slow start, doesn’t happen because it will get very ugly. Folks, losing is not an option on Saturday, just isn’t.