PROVIDENCE, R.I. – An oft-uttered cliché early in a season is that “it’s not how you start, it’s how you finish.” True though it might be, you can’t neglect how you start, because it can have an impact on how you finish. A bad start can have you exerting a lot of energy to try to rebound from it, then leave you out of gas to try and finish it. A good start can give you a boost and help you play better later on.
With that, we bring in two teams that have started Big East play on opposite ends: the 2-0 Providence Friars and the 0-2 DePaul Blue Demons after host Providence took home a 62-54 win on Saturday.
After a fairly non-descript non-conference slate, Providence has won its first two Big East games. Granted, they were both at home, which head coach Keno Davis made note of after the game, and they came against two teams who would not be in the NCAA Tournament if it started tomorrow. But as the coach also said, “It’s better than being 0-2.” It’s better that the Friars have two wins in the bank and have them as evidence that they can win games in this conference later on.
What’s more, besides the confidence boost, the Friars are improving. Davis couldn’t stop talking about it after the game, from defending the three-point line better all the way to starting stronger after they have started slowly quite often this season.
Then there’s Sharaud Curry. Early in the season, he looked like a shell of his old self. But now he’s looking more like the Sharaud Curry of two years ago in the first two Big East games. He followed up his 16-point, 8-assist effort in the opener with 13 points and three assists on Saturday. More importantly, the offense seemed different when he sat for a few minutes, as the same flow wasn’t there and on a few possessions, the Friars fell back into settling for early three-point attempts.
Said Davis, who liked the way he directed the offense: “He’s turning into a pretty good leader, and he’s understanding what the coaching staff wants. He’s understanding that when a guy gets the hot hand, he’s willing to get the assists just as much as the points. I think he’s continuing to improve his game coming off his injury and his long layoff.”
DePaul, meanwhile, dropped its conference opener at home. It would be easy to think that there’s a little more urgency to try and steal one on the road to make up for it, but Jerry Wainwright is being careful about that.
“You’ve got to be careful with that, because you could put so much pressure on every game, and there’s so many games,” said the fourth-year Blue Demon mentor.
The young Blue Demons never really got into an offensive flow in this one. Leading scorer Dar Tucker never got untracked, going 4-17 from the field and missing all six three-point attempts. Mac Koshwal had just seven points, and Will Walker had 14 but on 5-14 shooting to go with two turnovers and no assists.
Part of Wainwright’s challenge is the youth of this team, the youngest Blue Demon team in 12 years. Only St. John’s and Pittsburgh have more underclassmen by percentage among Big East teams, and besides the talent level, there are different styles. So besides the psychological impact that an 0-2 start can have, he also has to manage the learning curve as much as possible.
“Each team kind of presents a different style, and you have to make changes for that style,” Wainwright said. “You have a tendency sometimes to overload young players. You’re trying to make changes, and they’re not ready for all those changes.”
It’s early yet, and the Big East now has 18 games instead of 16. But the Friars and Blue Demons have started on opposite ends, and that can partially impact how they ultimately finish.
Other Notable Games
Pittsburgh 70, Georgetown 54: Behind a monster game from DeJuan Blair (20 points, 17 rebounds), the Panthers remain undefeated with a win over the Hoyas that was at least every bit as convincing as the Hoyas’ win at Connecticut earlier in the week.
Connecticut 80, Rutgers 49: At least it gets a little easier for Rutgers now that they got through the brutal three-game stretch alive, as they get home dates with Marquette and Syracuse. Note that I did say “a little” in that first sentence.
St. John’s 71, Notre Dame 65: In the first real surprise result in Big East play thus far, the Red Storm picks up a nice home win by holding Notre Dame to 4-17 from long range.
Minnesota 68, Ohio State 59: The Golden Gophers even their Big Ten record with another good win, albeit at home. They look more and more like a potential NCAA Tournament team.
Kansas 92, Tennessee 85: A big game from the duo of Sherron Collins (26 points, nine assists) and emerging big man Cole Aldrich (22 points, 10 rebounds) leads the Jayhawks to a signature win. Idle thought: who could have foreseen the day a few years ago when it would be Kansas for whom this is such a big win, not the other way around?
West Virginia 92, Seton Hall 66: A thumping at home wasn’t exactly what the doctor ordered for the 0-2 Pirates.
Washington 68, Washington State 48: The Huskies get an excellent road win to open Pac-10 play.
Wake Forest 84, Brigham Young 87: The Cougars’ 53-game home winning streak, which had been the nation’s longest, ends with this one.
Florida 68, North Carolina State 66: The Gators eke out perhaps their best win of the non-conference slate.
Vanderbilt 78, Massachusetts 48: Another poor second half does in the Minutemen, who were within five at halftime. UMass is being outscored by almost six points per game in the second half and has scored more first-half points on the season.
Xavier 84, Virginia 70: A nice road win for the Musketeers as Atlantic 10 play beckons.
Butler 75, Valparaiso 62: This road win moves the Bulldogs to 3-0 as they continue to not skip a beat despite being very young.
UNLV 60, New Mexico 58: No letdown for the Runnin’ Rebels after their big win the other day over Louisville, although they just did pull this one out.
Illinois State 86, Creighton 64: In this early Missouri Valley showdown, the Redbirds remain undefeated.
St. Bonaventure 68, Central Arkansas 58: They haven’t exactly done it against Final Four contenders, but the Bonnies are 5-0 on the road after this win.
Longwood 80, George Washington 78: File this one under, “How the mighty have fallen.” First, the Colonials lost to Coppin State to take eighth place in the Rainbow Classic a few days ago, now they can’t pull this one out.
Georgia State 55, Old Dominion 54: The Panthers had a lot of games like this last season, and now they’re pulling them out.
George Mason 101, UNC-Wilmington 60: The Patriots improve to 2-0 in CAA play with a blowout over the struggling and injury-riddled Seahawks.
Delaware 81, VCU 79: The Blue Hens have now won five of six after pulling this one out at home. Both teams are now 1-1 in CAA play.
Stony Brook 69, UMBC 61: The Seawolves continue to come to life this season. They showed signs in non-conference play, including their recent win at Air Force, but this road win is big since it puts them at 1-0 in conference play and it’s against the defending champs.
Chicago State 79, Eastern Michigan 61: Remember when Eastern Michigan was the consistently good team in the MAC, with Brian Tolbert, Earl Boykins, Derrick Dial & Co.? Those days seem so far away now.
