This 8pm tip against Rider is Providence’s final game of the 2015-16 season that is scheduled to be on FSN. Every other game is on either FOX, FS1, ESPNU or CBS Sports Network and should be easy for Friar fans to track down on their TV dials.
These are the networks that will be airing the game. Check your local listings to confirm. You can click on any network name with a link for a channel finder based on your zip code and TV provider:
Providence was without Kris Dunn and Ryan Fazekas for this game and Ben Bentil started the game off as questionable but dressed. Ed Cooley was hoping now to use the big man but that all changed with the Friars looking sluggish. Cooley inserted Bentil with 5:15 left in the first half and the sophomore played every second the rest of the way until the final few seconds of the game. He finished with 16 points and 8 rebounds in 25 minutes.
Drew Edwards had a breakout effort in the second half. Edwards started the game 0/2 but got hot and went off for 17 points on 6/10 shooting, including 5/9 from 3-point range. Edwards came into this game averaging under 7 minutes/game and 1.1 points/game.
Rodney Bullock had a double-double with 13 points and 14 rebounds. Bullock got better once Bentil entered the fray, but he didn’t do much scoring in the second half. He did a good job cleaning the glass though. Providence outrebounded Bryant,
Jalen Lindsey got off to a horrendous shooting start but he managed to get it going and finished with 15 points on 5/12 shooting. Lindsey was active on the glass with 7 rebounds.
The key for Providence — aside from Bentil being able to give it a go — was balance on offense. Four Providence players scored in double figures. It was also a tale of two halves for the Friars. Cooley’s crew shot just 35.3% from the field, including 1/14 from 3-point range in the first half. The second half numbers look a lot better: 53.8 % and 7/14 from downtown.
Bryant hurt themselves in the second half with turnovers. After turning it over 8 times in the first 20 minutes, Bryant coughed the ball up 10 times in the second half. Providence scored 24 points off those 18 Bulldog turnovers.
The 10-1 and 15th ranked Friars return to action next Saturday after the final exam break and will take on Rider at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center. That game tips at 8pm EST and is on FSN.
Ben Bentil got off to another terrific start for Providence and was outscoring the entire Boston College team for much of the first 10 minutes of the first half. Bentil appeared on his way to another 20+ point night and a double-double, but the improved Friar big man landed on Dennis Clifford’s foot coming down after a shot and rolled his left ankle with 1:58 left in the first half. Bentil went to the locker room and would only return to the bench at the under 8 media timeout on crutches. Bentil finished the game with 16 points and 8 rebounds despite not playing a minute of the second half.
Kris Dunn did not appear to be himself during 15 first half minutes. Dunn came out of the game with about 4 minutes remaining in the first stanza and went to the locker room with what we would find out later was an illness. Dunn went 2/8 from the field in the first half and didn’t return to the game because of that illness.
Rodney Bullock was the story in the second half for Providence. The Friars were putrid on the offensive end, beginning the half with 9 turnovers and 4 points through the under 12 media timeout. Bullock scored Providence’s first 11 points of the second half and was the sole reason Providence didn’t fall behind the Eagles in this one. Bullock finished with 17 points on 9/14 shooting, with 15 of those points coming in the second half.
Ryan Fazekas was not at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center for this game as he came down with the flu and remained on campus. Jalen Lindsey got his first start of the season and didn’t do much to makeup for Fazekas’s lost offense. Lindsey finished the game with 8 points after starting 0/5 from the field. He did make a big 3-pointer with 2:51 to extend Providence’s lead to 12 and led the team with 9 rebounds. Jim Peters, a local reporter who covered Fazekas in high school, reported on Twitter that Ryan has mononucleosis and will miss several weeks. We’ll see what is heard leading up to Saturday’s game against Bryant.
Kyron Cartwright had to run the show for the entire second half and played all 20 minutes during the second session. Cartwright lit up the turnover stat with 4 for the game, but he also made some nice plays cutting into the lane and feeding teammates.
Drew Edwards was forced into his first extended action and the young man was impressive with his energy, especially on the defensive end. He didn’t have a ton of points or rebounds but he had tough defense and deflections.
This is an all-grit game for Providence. Down 3 starters, 2 for the entire second half and 1 for the entire game, and they managed to gut out a win with a lot of young and inexperienced played having to play big time minutes.
The Friars return to action Saturday and will complete the Quahog trifecta by playing Bryant at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center. That game tips at 12pm EST and is on FS1.
This Thoughts from the Road: Couch Edition is brought to you from the insanely comfortable — and hard to get up from — couch at the Smerkers’. It is also fueled by trips to Anthony’s and East Side Pocket and Mollie’s buffalo chicken mac and cheese.
Ed Cooley was doing his best troll job by using coachspeak to call this matchup against Providence’s most-played opponent all-time a business trip and not a rivalry game. Cooley’s comments added a little fuel to the fire this year to a game that lost a bit of it’s luster when E.C. Matthews tore his ACL in URI’s season opener. The game certainly lived up to whatever hype there was and is garnering lots of national attention for how exciting it was and for the dramatic fashion in which the Friars won the game.
Providence returns from their holiday tournament in California over the Thanksgiving weekend to take on Hartford at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center. This game will be televised on regional Fox affiliate networks. There is only 1 other game on the 2015-16 schedule that will be like this: 12/19/15 against Rider.
These are the networks that will be airing the game. Check your local listings to confirm. You can click on any network name with a link for a channel finder based on your zip code and TV provider:
This Thoughts from the Road: Couch Version is brought to you by Fox Sports 1 and was fueled by Lizzie’s leftover stromboli.
Kris Dunn continues to gorge stat sheets every time he steps on the court. There was a very real possibility of Dunn notching his second career triple-double in Providence’s win over NJIT. In fact, if not for a handcheck foul called on an NJIT defender while Dunn was mid-alley oop pass he would have gotten that 10th assist. Dunn also crept up on a quadruple-double with his 7 steals — 1 off his career high. There has never been a quadruple-double recorded in a game pitting two Division I teams against each other. Dunn had to settle for a measly double-double — the second of the season and 10th of his career. Dunn was all over the court on the defensive end.
Week 2 of the Big East Weekly Awards were released on November 23rd and Providence was represented again. A week after Kris Dunn was named the Big East Player of the Week it was Rodney Bullock that received accolades from the league. Bullock joined Roosevelt Jones (Butler), Isaac Copeland (Georgetown), Desi Rodriguez (Seton Hall) and Trevon Bluiett (Xavier) on the week 2 Honor Roll. Josh Hart (Villanova) was named Player of the Week and Yankuba Sima (St. John’s) was named Freshman of the Week.
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