#pcbb Links of the Day 1/14/16

Thoughts from the Road: Friars Get Out of Omaha with Road Win

This Thoughts from the Road: Home Command Center Edition is brought to you by my shiny new home office and is fueled by the bacon and eggs I cooked up for dinner.

  • While the headline doesn’t tell the entire story, it gets across the true takeaway from this game. Yes, it was ugly. Yes, Providence played poorly. But when the NCAA Selection Committee looks at Providence at the end of the year, this game at Creighton will be a road win. That’s it. A road win that helps Providence’s RPI because it counts as 1.4 wins. It’s really as simple as that.

Continue reading Thoughts from the Road: Friars Get Out of Omaha with Road Win

#pcbb Links of the Day 1/13/16

Friars Win: Creighton 48, (12) Providence 50

Final Score
Providence 50
Creighton 48
Leading Scorer Leading Rebounder
Providence Dunn: 20 Bentil/Dunn: 8
Creighton Hegner: 11 Watson: 9
  • This was one of the worst offensive games of the season, if not the worst. The teams combined for 33/120 shooting, good for a woeful 27.5% from the floor.
  • Kris Dunn hit the game-winner at the buzzer and the non-pretty nature of the shot clanking around the rim before dropping through was a microcosm of the offensive game from both teams. Dunn led all scorers with 20 points on 6/17 shooting. He added 8 rebounds and was 7/8 from the free throw line.
  • Ben Bentil got off to a slow start and went stretches where he wasn’t involved with the offense, but he had some critical baskets down the stretch and he and Dunn were the key cogs running the offense in the second half.
  • Drew Edwards is the Albert “Junior” Lomomba Unsung Hero of the night. Edwards only had 6 points and 2 rebounds, but he has some critical loose balls/rebounds that may go overlooked when looking at his box score.
  • Mo Watson was held largely in check by Dunn and the Friars. He got loose for a few field goals, but finished with just 9 points on 3/16 shooting. The 5’10 point guard did lead Creighton with 9 rebounds, though.
  • Ed Cooley traveled to Omaha on the team’s charter flight on Monday, but the Friar head coach has the flu. Cooley was so ill that he almost didn’t travel to Nebraska with the team. Friar fans were immediately reminded of February 7, 2015 when Cooley walked off the court at the beginning of the second half at Xavier and wound up spending a night in a Cincinnati hospital.
  • The Friars return to action on January 16th against Seton Hall at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center at 4:30pm EST. The game will be televised on Fox Sports 1.

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Bryce Cotton Back With Austin Spurs of NBA D-League

Bryce Cotton is back in the NBA D-League after a stint with the NBA’s Phoenix Suns. The Austin Spurs put out a release to indicate that the former Providence guard will return to the team and wear number 7. Cotton was the third NBA D-League call up of the 2015-16 season. He was with the Suns for two 10-day contracts before being waived ahead of the league’s contract guarantee deadline. Cotton was with the Suns for a total of 24 games between November 25th and January 6th. He played in 3 total games with Phoenix, averaging 11 minutes/game and 1.3 points/game.

Cotton will join Austin as the team heads to California for games on Thursday and Saturday. Ironically, the team the Spurs will face on Thursday is the Bakersfield Jam. The Jam is the affiliate team of the Phoenix Suns. Cotton’s call up just before Thanksgiving was due to the Suns’ injury issues at the guard position, but he was waived because his contract would have become fully guaranteed for the remainder of the season if he was still on the roster on January 7th.

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Kris Dunn Named Sporting News Midseason First Team All-American

Sporting News came out with their midseason awards on Tuesday and, to no one’s surprise, Kris Dunn found himself on the publication’s First Team All-American list. Dunn was also named a midseason First Team All-American by NBCSports.com and ESPN when they released their midyear accolades last week. Dunn was joined on the first team by Buddy Hield (Oklahoma), Georges Niang (Iowa State), Ben Simmons (LSU) and Denzel Valentine (Michigan State). Hield was Sporting News’ pick for midseason Player of the Year.

Dunn is currently leading the Big East in assists and steals and is second in the league in scoring behind teammate Ben Bentil. Dunn also ranks 7th nationally in assists and 2nd nationally in steals. The accolades for Dunn appear to just be getting started. He has the chance to be the first player in school history to be named National Player of the Year when the season is all said and done. He also has the chance to join an elite group at Providence of First Team All-Americans that includes Lenny Wilkens, Jimmy Walker, Ernie DiGregorio, Marvin Barnes and other Friar legends.

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#pcbb Links of the Day 1/12/16

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