NEW YORK – The Garden is not officially their home, but with the Big East Tournament staged there each March, Providence knows their way around the “world’s most famous arena”. The Friars captured the 2K Classic by defeating Washington and Saint Louis, capping off an impressive, “take notice” two days in the Big Apple.
Semifinals
Saint Louis 77, Virginia Tech 71
Providence 77, Washington 70
Consolation: Virginia Tech 103, Washington 79
Championship: Providence 90, Saint Louis 63
Providence: Coming off a home loss to Minnesota, the Friars swept to the 2K championship in New York. They won a tough battle with Washington in the semifinal. In the championship, Ed Cooley’s club broke open a game that was close for about seven minutes en route to a convincing victory. They defended extremely well, holding the Billikens to a 95 offensive efficiency. On the offensive end, they rang up a 136 OE highlighted by 90% (9 of 10) shooting from downtown. The Friars, led by Rodney Bullock’s 15 points, had four players score in double digits. Cooley was adamant on using and testing his depth in the tournament. Mission accomplished: the Friars had 10 players log 15 or minutes in the championship. They led Saint Louis by a whopping 46-19 margin in points off the bench. Just an impressive two days for the Big East reps.
Saint Louis: Travis Ford watched Virginia Tech tapes about three times for each of their prior three games. The Billiken coach was extremely concerned over their ability to get out and run, turning the game into their own layup line. Controlling tempo was a key. The Billikens did just that in their semifinal victory, as they were patient on offense and got back defensively. The pace was 72 possessions, but it climbed over 70 (a fast tempo) only because Virginia Tech was in a late-game fouling mode to extend the contest. Javon Bess had a solid 22-point, nine-rebound outing for Saint Louis. In the championship the Billikens got a tough reminder on succeeding at a high level. In this his third year at the school, Ford no doubt, has the program headed in the right direction. Some feel they could be a dark horse in the Atlantic 10. For Ford and his young group, this game served as a reminder: consistently competing at a high level is a demanding proposition.
Virginia Tech: Coach Buzz Williams spent most of his post-game press conference following the loss to Saint Louis lamenting his team getting “out-toughed”. In analytics (which Williams loves), the Hokies were on the short end of a 26-17 offensive rebounding percentage differential. In raw numbers Tech was outrebounded 43-33 overall. This is pointed out as a great deal of rebounding is tenacity and toughness, something the Hokies lacked. A day later Tech undoubtedly got the message, as they put four players, led by Justin Bibbs with 30, in double figures en route to totally dismantling Washington. Tech did a great job sharing the ball with 23 assists on 30 field goals (77 percent rate). Overall Williams left the tournament pleased with the way his team bounced back in less than 24 hours.
Washington: Mike Hopkins has spent many a night on the sidelines here as an assistant to Jim Boeheim at Syracuse. Hopkins’ Huskies left New York winless. They battled Providence gamely in the semis. The next day they were shredded and run out by Virginia Tech. Hopkins is utilizing zone, which isnot surprising given the Syracuse roots. Against the Hokies it was shredded to a tune 15 of 22 (68 percent) shooting from downtown. Hopkins also hoped his team got the message regarding preparation. After the loss in the semis, the Huskies simply did not bounce back and came up with a lackluster effort. A bright spot was freshman Jaylen Newell, who scored a team-high 21 points in the consolation and was named all tournament.
MVP: Kyron Cartwright (PC)
All Tournament:
Jaylen Nowell(Wash)
Ahmed Hill (VT)
Javon Bess (SLU)
Rodney Bullock (PC)
