PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Sometimes one win is all it takes to get a team’s confidence going. In the case of Providence, two in a row over ranked teams might send it soaring. That’s just one thing the Friars can take out of Wednesday’s 83-68 win over Villanova, a few days after they knocked off Louisville.
“We felt a little less pressure as a team from having knocked off Louisville,” head coach Keno Davis said. “We just focused on how hard we could play, and we’ve been doing that all year.”
The Friars started Big East play with six straight losses. At that point, one could figure their non-conference record was getting exposed, as they went 11-2 with losses only to La Salle in Cancun and at Boston College. They put up the gaudy record while looking very much like a changed team, one that could defend well after being dreadful at that end of the floor last season.
All night long, Providence contained the Villanova guards. In particular, seniors Corey Fisher (2-10 from the field, 0-4 on three-pointers) and Corey Stokes (2-16, 1-9) struggled all night long, scoring just seven points each. The Friars shut off their penetration, and neither tried to involve the Wildcat big men much. Although Maalik Wayns had 18 points on 7-15 shooting, he wasn’t a big factor. The shocking stat of the night was that Fisher had seven assists, considering the big men didn’t seem to get nearly enough touches inside.
Although Antonio Pena had 17 points and 15 boards, going 8-18 from the field, a fair number of his shots came outside the paint. But look at the other Villanova frontcourt players and it’s clear that they weren’t involved much. Mouphtaou Yarou was 1-6 from the field, Isaiah Armwood made his only shot in 13 minutes, and Maurice Sutton didn’t take a shot in nine minutes.
“We’ve had a lot of success with our guards controlling the game, and not tonight,” said Villanova head coach Jay Wright. “Their guards dominated the game.”
By shutting off the penetration, the Friars neutralized much of the Wildcat offense, and that also allowed them to go small once again. The Friars post players were in the game for a combined 44 minutes, meaning Marshon Brooks again played a good number of minutes at power forward. That enables them to run more when they get the chance, and they’ve had that chance lately.
“Once we believe we can actually close games, we’ve done a good job of it since,” said Brooks. “Our halfcourt defense has been very good over the last few days. When we get defensive stops, we can play our game, and that’s what got us the win. If they score on us, it’s hard to run.”
There hasn’t been any concern about the Friar offense, and that was still the case Wednesday as Brooks led five players in double figures with 20 points. Gerard Coleman has really hit his stride and had 16 points on 5-9 shooting, and looks more and more like the player he was billed as.
Providence now heads to Seton Hall to take on a Pirate team that is very capable offensively, although they will play a little differently. The Pirates like to shoot from long range, as opposed to Villanova where the guards will drive first. A year ago, this is a game that would have been a matchup of similar styles, where one could figure the score would be something like 95-92. Jeremy Hazell is back and playing well, giving them a formidable offensive team, so the Friars will have a stiff challenge and need a similar defensive effort. But recent games have changed the outlook for that.
“We know what losing feels like, we know what winning feels like,” said Coleman.
Two wins in a row will help make that challenge more manageable, especially considering who it came against. They beat a Louisville team that likes to push the pace and also shoot three-pointers, and then beat a Villanova team with a guard trio about as good as any in college basketball. Now that their efforts are being rewarded with wins, and they feel they can pull out a game late, the Friars’ confidence is likely about as high as it’s been all season to this point.
