PROVIDENCE, R.I. – It kind of snuck up on seemingly everyone, because it wasn’t very fast and not necessarily all that gradual. But at one point, “it” was there – a comeback by Rutgers after one could have left them for dead in the first half.
“I looked up, and it was 61-60, and I didn’t know that the game was as close as it was until I looked up,” said Providence senior Weyinmi Efejuku. “I just told everybody that we need to stop them, we’re just letting them do whatever they want to do.”
Providence’s 78-68 win over Rutgers looked like it would be a blowout early. The Friars scored eight of the game’s first ten points and built a 14-point lead just after the halfway point of the first half, leading by as many as 22 late in the opening frame. Every Friar who played in the first half scored, and they took advantage of 10 Rutgers turnovers. It was destined to be a blowout.
Then the comeback came. The Friars went up by 18 just after the first media timeout of the second half, but Rutgers would draw closer gradually. They got within nine before the next media timeout, and shortly after that scored eight unanswered points. By the time four minutes were left, a layup by Jaron Griffin brought Rutgers within 61-60, one of two times they would get within one.
After the second time, the Friars ran off nine unanswered points and held on to win. But this was a survival win more than anything, as the Friars allowed Rutgers to make it a ballgame and helped along the way by struggling at the foul line in the second half, going 14-27 from the charity stripe after making all five from the line in the first half.
That it was a survival win isn’t a good sign. Rutgers has some young talent, but the Scarlet Knights are still a ways from being ready to beat teams that have a chance at the NCAA Tournament. Mike Rosario and Gregory Echenique are good, but they’re still freshmen. Besides that, the Friars didn’t build a lead as high as 22 in the first half by accident – they completely out-played Rutgers and simply had their way with the Scarlet Knights, whether it was run-outs, easy baskets in the halfcourt set, or getting turnovers. It was almost like watching a varsity vs. JV matchup.
This isn’t the first time this has happened to the Friars, so it has to be concerning. They’re still far from a lock to reach the NCAA Tournament despite an 8-5 Big East mark, although they will soon have opportunities to pick up a quality win. The pervading theory is that they’ll be in much better shape at 10-8 than 9-9 in the Big East, but getting there won’t be easy. They still have to go to Rutgers and have Notre Dame among the remaining home games, but the Irish just blew out Louisville.
In short, if they lost this game, it would have been devastating, not only because it would have come against a team with just one Big East win, but also the manner in which it would have happened. Relaxing when you get a good lead, even after the opponent cuts into it, isn’t good. Missing a number of free throws in addition doesn’t help. The one thing that probably saved them is that Rutgers never got over the hump and tied them or took the lead. Had one of those two happened, the psychological aspect might have made all the difference. When they didn’t, it probably deflated the Scarlet Knights a bit as the Friars broke it open again.
“It’s easy when you’re up 15-16 points to not play the same way,” said Providence head coach Keno Davis. “That’s kind of been our M.O. a little bit, we haven’t been able to knock teams out like you would like. That’s the negative side. On the positive side, we’ve been able to win those games. We’ve been able to hold on at the end.”
He is right that they have won those games. But sooner or later, the inability to deal a knockout blow to an inferior team may come back to haunt them. They might not win one of those games, and given their precarious NCAA standing right now, that will hurt.
