It is senior day at Providence, and the Connecticut Huskies come into town looking to spoil this day for the Friars. Providence lost in Storrs earlier in the year 87-84, but up a valiant fight despite the loss. Providence was beating Connecticut by 12 at half, holding them to 27 total points in the first half, but the Huskies hit a different gear entirely in the second half, finishing the half with 60 total points. They were aided by a very friendly whistle by the refs, which padded those numbers, but their execution in the second half was exemplary nonetheless.
We preview below what Providence needs to do to settle the score against Danny Hurley and the Huskies.
Offense: Attack Off the Dribble
Beyond Hassan Diarra, who was the co-catalyst alongside Tarris Reed in the come from behind win in Storrs, Connecticut is not a very good on-ball defending team. Providence had its way in the first half offensively against Connecticut, consistently beating their man off the dribble. I’d look to replicate that effort in this one and don’t see that first half outcome in game 1 as a fluke.
A healthy Corey Floyd Jr. and Wesley Cardet should help here in finishing in the paint and at the rim. Providence can beat them via the deep ball, but the preferred mode of attack should be off the dribble in my opinion.
This could be a good Mela game as well, unless Hurley knows to sag off him.
Full Court Ball Pressure
Connecticut doesn’t have a true point guard on its roster and has had turnover issues at times this season. Providence should take a page from the Marquette gameplan and emphasize that the key to winning is through on-ball defense, ball pressure, and general disruption. I’m hoping the home crowd can cause some communication issues for the Huskies as well.
The half-court offensive execution by Connecticut can be stellar at times with their unique sets, so instituting full court pressure, even if it’s just the illusion of a full court press, can help shorten the shot clock each possession by 4-5 seconds. That could be the key to the game.
I’d love to see English institute some havoc style defense in this one and speed up Connecticut.
Defend the Three
Mahaney, Karaban, Ball, and McNeeley can all shoot the heck out of the ball. Providence needs to not lose their man on defense because all of these guys can beat you from deep.
Providence did a great job of limiting their three pointers in the first match-up (shooting 13 total), but they made 6, going 46.2% from deep.
Find Tarris Reed
I’m perplexed by Samson Johnson continuing to start over Reed because I think it is obvious that Reed is the superior 5 man. He was one of the primary reasons Connecticut won in Storrs against the Friars. In 18 minutes, he had 10 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 blocks.
When he is on the court, Providence needs to identify where he is, box out, and not let him get second chance opportunities.
He’s a game wrecker that has been hampered by a lack of playing time by his head coach, in my opinion.
But hey, I’m just a podcaster/blogger.