Where: Barclays Center – Brooklyn, NY
When: 9:00PM
How: Fox Sports 1 (Tim Brando & Bill Raftery)/WEEI 103.7 FM and Friars.com (John Rooke and Joe Hassett)/FriarTV
Continue reading Game Notes & Preview: Providence (9-3) vs. Miami (FL) (9-2) 12/22/14
With a week layoff for both teams for semester final exams the game got off to a bit of a slow start offensively but eventually Providence raced out to a 14 point lead at the 7:44 mark of the first half. The Minutemen would fight back and get the lead down to 4 points at the 5:16 mark but then Providence kicked it back in gear and pulled away again, this time for good, taking a 13 point lead into the locker room at halftime. Freshman Ben Bentil got his first career start in favor of redshirt junior Tyler Harris. He finished with 5 point and 5 rebounds in 19 minutes of action.
It will be interesting to hear from Ed Cooley after the game on what his rationale was for making the move and whether it will be something that continues moving forward. Ed Cooley did say after the Big East Championship game that going into the 2013-14 season the plan prior to the suspensions and injuries was to have Harris be the 6th man coming off the bench to provide scoring. Perhaps that’s something he and his staff are going back to now that they have the bodies to have a bench.
Continue reading Providence Blows Out UMass at the Dunk, 85-65
Where: Dunkin’ Donuts Center – Providence, RI
When: 1:00PM
How: CBS Sports Network (John Sadak & Steve Lappas)/WEEI 103.7 FM and Friars.com (John Rooke and Joe Hassett)/FriarTV
Continue reading Game Notes & Preview: Providence (8-3) vs. UMass (6-4) 12/20/14
Providence was having a lot of trouble early against Stony Brook on the defensive glass. The Seawolves seemed to be getting second and even third chances by rebounding their misses against Providence’s zone defense. Ed Cooley was clearly frustrated and went to freshmen Paschal Chukwu and Ben Bentil early on to try to add length and toughness inside. Chukwu continued to play well and has shown improvement each time he has been given an opportunity to play more minutes. Bentil rush a few shots early at the rim but settled in and finished some nice passes from both Kris Dunn and Kyron Cartwright before nailing an open 3-pointer in the second half.
Continue reading Friars Take Care of Business Against Stony Brook
Where: Dunkin’ Donuts Center – Providence, RI
When: 9:00PM
How: Fox Sports 1 (Brian Custer & Steve Donahue)/WEEI 103.7 FM and Friars.com (John Rooke and Joe Hassett)/FriarTV
Continue reading Game Notes & Preview: Providence (6-2) vs. Brown (4-6) 12/8/14
Unfortunately the game ended up about how I thought it would. What I didn’t see coming was that Kris Dunn would have 10 turnovers. Tyler Harris and Carson Desrosiers led the Friars with 10 points each on the afternoon and an argument could be made that they were the two best Friars on the floor Sunday for Providence. Harris added 6 rebounds and Desrosiers had 4 boards while neither player looked intimidated.
LaDontae Henton struggled all afternoon to get any open looks as Kentucky matched him up with long-armed 7-footers the entire day. After a first half that saw the Friars get out to as large as a 4 point lead and maintain a lead for a solid stretch of the first 20 minutes, Providence really struggled in the second 20 minute stanza. The Friars shot 46.7% from the field in the first half and only trailed by 4 at the half. In the second half the Friars shot just 16.7% while Kentucky shot 48.3%.
In the end this is a learning experience for Ed Cooley’s team which is counting on a number of young players to contribute this season. Kris Dunn was clearly not 100% healthy and I’m sure he will welcome the 4 days between now and the Friars next game on Friday at Boston College.
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