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A Classic New England Battle – Providence vs. UConn Game Preview

When Connecticut returned back to the Big East, these are the type of games that were to be expected. The Huskies are #4 in the nation after a road loss to Xavier, but make no mistake: this Connecticut team is the Big East favorite and has a serious chance to win it all come March.

Providence is no slouch, however. They are building out quite a hot streak of their own, winners of 7 straight and atop the Big East at 4-0. Their last two games have been road wins of 15 and 20 points, and it is safe to say that the Friars are playing their best basketball of the season.

Layer on the raucous home environment of the AMP with an 8:30 PM tip-off and general disdain between these two programs, and we have the makings of a game environment that should rival the Nova home game from last year. If you recall, Villanova won that one on a dagger Colin Gillespie three, but the crowd was at a capacity that even the Dunk security had problem containing. I expect a very similar environment.

Below, we discuss the Connecticut team, what makes them such an elite squad, and what Providence needs to do to pull off the upset.

Cooley praising Dan Hurley ‘as one of the elite defensive coaches in the country’ but adds UConn transition offense impressive as well. pic.twitter.com/aj3BJOlfV7
— Kevin McNamara (@KevinMcNamara33) January 2, 2023

Providence Looks to Start 2023 With a Win – PC DePaul Game Preview

Providence, 11-3 on the year, is looking to continue their winning streak to 7 games when they take on the 7-7 DePaul Blue Demons. DePaul is 1-1 in the Big East this year, with a win against Georgetown and loss against Creighton.

Providence has a massive match-up against UConn at home on Wednesday and are coming off beating down a quality Butler squad at Hinkle Thursday. This is your typical “trap” game. Providence needs to be on high alert to avoid looking ahead and getting upset by this seasoned DePaul team.

Below, we provide details on this DePaul team, what to look out for, and what Providence needs to do to secure a victory.

Crier Recruiting Corner – Introducing Kany Tchanda

With Ed Croswell and Clifton Moore departing the Friar program after this year, it is imperative that Coach Ed Cooley and the Providence staff replenish the frontcourt. Insert 2024 North Carolina big man Kany Tchanda. Tchanda is 6’10 and plays at Winston Salem Christian School.

6'10 2024 Kany Tchanda @Kanytchanda_mus (@wschristian_mbb) has a chance to be really special with his size and skillset. High major player. Rebounding at a high level. Great touch / footwork around the rim. Has the ability to stretch the floor as well. #PhenomLakesgiving pic.twitter.com/1xD613tzFf
— Tyler Lewis (@ty1ewis) November 27, 2022

Below, we do a deep dive on Tchanda’s recruitment, where we excels, where he can improve on the collegiate level, and what he’d bring to the Providence Friar program.

2024 Recruits I’d Like to See Providence Recruit

In the Version 2 of the 2024 Recruiting Primer (https://theprovidencecrier.com/2022/04/08/providence-college-basketball-recruiting-class-of-2024/), we put together a comprehensive list of players that the Providence Friars are recruiting.

In this article, I put together a list of players I’d like Providence to begin recruiting. They aren’t recruits I have seen tied to Providence as of this writing, but I’m hopeful that changes. There’s a rationale behind why each of these players are on this list: playing style, location, need fit, etc.

This isn’t a “wish list”. For instance, I’d love for Providence to land 3 Top 10 nationally ranked players, but that isn’t realistic. I didn’t include every single Top 15 player in the 2024 class. I tried to keep this as level headed as possible.

Without further ado, see below:

Welcome to the National Stage, Mr. Hopkins – Bryce Hopkins Erupts for 29 and 23 as Providence Stays Atop Big East

There is just something about Marquette and Providence that leads to instant classics. The Bat Game. The Floor Slippage. Blizzard Beach. Jonathan Xavier. This match-up has it all, for better or worse.

Last night lived up to the billing, with Providence doing everything possible to claw back in the game, give it away in overtime, and then recapture the victory in the second stanza of overtime. Providence won 103-98 over #24 Ranked Marquette to improve to 10-3 and 2-0 atop the Big East.

We break down everything from this heart palpitating match-up below.

The AMP, where ranked teams go to die!

Providence continues to stay atop the Big East with a monster Double OT win over #24 Marquette.

If the rest of the Big East didn’t know who Bryce Hopkins was, they do now. Two games in, he’s front runner for Big East POY.

What. A. Win.
— BOC Friars (@BOCallday) December 21, 2022

Friars Look to Start 2-0 in Conference – Marquette Game Preview

Providence, coming off a gutsy road win against Seton Hall, has a chance for another resume building win when Marquette (also 9-3 on the year) travels to Providence Tuesday night. Marquette is coming off a nice win of their own, a drubbing of the Kalkbrenner-less Blue Jays of Creighton. The winner of this game remains atop the Big East.

https://open.spotify.com/episode/22rOxirWIvRgO7Eg5HP4Ph?si=jKZwU9XdRHec3fsQahqC0Q

We preview the game, what to watch for, and what Providence needs to do to come out on top against the Shaka Smart led squad.

Providence Starts Off Big East Play with Gutsy Road Win, Defeating Seton Hall 71-67

Providence opened up conference play with a needed road win against the pesky Seton Hall Pirates. Providence was led by the dynamic duo of Ed Croswell and Bryce Hopkins. Hopkins and Croswell accounted for 45 of 71 total points and 19 total rebounds. When Providence needed a basket, they turned to these two. Seton Hall was seemingly a one man show, with Kadary Richmond scoring at will to the tune of 28 points, 9 rebounds, and 5 assists on an efficient 10-16 shooting.

Couple postgame thoughts:

– We need Bynum to get his confidence back on the scoring end. The missed 3 and midrange jumper in 2nd half epitomizes where he’s at right now.
– Need more production from bench. 6 points total is a recipe for disaster
– Hopkins is All Conference
— BOC Friars (@BOCallday) December 17, 2022

Below, we break down the good (and the bad) from this conference opener.

What Questions Remain: Providence Friars

Yesterday, we explored what we’ve learned about this team through non-conference play (https://theprovidencecrier.com/2022/12/14/what-have-we-learned-heading-into-big-east-play-providence-friars/#more-5451). Today, we take an honest assessment of what questions still remain around this Providence program as they head into Big East play.

What Have We Learned Heading into Big East Play: Providence Friars

Providence is 8-3 with no great wins and no terrible losses. One might say they are status quo heading into Big East play (St. Louis outcome could be argued, but I digress). With the out of conference behind us, we take the time to analyze what we have learned in these 11 games before getting into the meat grinder of the Big East.

If you recall, we rolled out a comprehensive season preview at the start of the season. You can revisit that here (https://theprovidencecrier.com/2022/10/31/the-providence-criers-2022-2023-providence-friar-preview/#more-5165).

We pick back up on some of our predictions from the preseason and detail what we’ve learned from out of conference.

Providence Ends Non-Conference on High Note, Dominating Albany 93-55

PC wrapped up an anti-climatic out of conference with another dominant win against an inferior opponent. PC held Albany to 55 points on 28% shooting. Six players scored in double figures for the Friars, continuing a theme of balanced offensive outputs that made last year’s Friar squad so dangerous.

We recap the game below as we look towards Big East play.