Tag Archives: Kadeem Batts

Game Previews & Recaps

Game Notes & Preview: PC vs. DePaul 2/15/14 #pcbb

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Where: Dunkin’ Donuts Center – Providence, RI

When: 2:00pm

How: Fox Sports 1/WEEI 103.7 FM

Game Notes

  • The Friars and Blue Demons have met 11 times since DePaul joined the Big East with PC owning an 8-3 record
  • DePaul has won their last 2 times at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center
  • Bryce Cotton leads the nation in minutes per game with 39.5. He is averaging 41.5 mpg in Big East play and has played every second of the last 10 games. The last time he came out was against Villanova on 1/5/14, a game in which he played 38 minutes.
  • Bryce Cotton is 2nd in the Big East in scoring (21.2 ppg) and Brandon Young is 10th (15.0 ppg)
  • Bryce Cotton is 1st in the Big East in assists (5.8 apg) and Brandon Young is 8th (3.8 apg)
  • Kadeem Batts is 4th (7.6 rpg) and LaDontae Henton is 5th (7.2 rpg) in the Big East in rebounds while Tommy Hamilton is 16th (5.3 rpg)
  • Line opened at PC -12

Continue reading Game Notes & Preview: PC vs. DePaul 2/15/14 #pcbb →

Game Previews & Recaps

Game Notes & Preview: PC at Georgetown 2/10/14 #pcbb

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Where: Verizon Center – Washington, DC

When: 7:00pm

How: Fox Sports 1/WEEI 103.7 FM

Game Notes

  • Including their game on January 8th at the Dunk, the all time series is now 43-20 in favor of the Hoyas.
  • Providence’s win earlier this season snapped an 8 game losing streak vs. Georgetown
  • The Friars have only won 4 times in Washington, DC
  • Bryce Cotton is 2nd in the Big East in scoring (20.8 ppg) and Markel Starks is 5th (16.9 ppg)
  • Bryce Cotton is 1st in the Big East in assists (5.9 apg) and Markel Starks is 6th (4.0 apg)
  • Kadeem Batts is 4th (7.7 rpg) and LaDontae Henton is 5th (7.4 rpg) in the Big East in rebounds while Nate Lubick is 10th (6.0 rpg)
  • Line opened at PC +4.5

Continue reading Game Notes & Preview: PC at Georgetown 2/10/14 #pcbb →

Game Previews & Recaps

Game Notes & Preview: PC at Xavier 2/8/14 #pcbb

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Where: Cintas Center – Cincinnati, OH

When: 3:00pm

How: Fox Sports 1/WEEI 103.7 FM

Game Notes

  • Including their game on January 25th at the Dunk, the all time series is now tied 2-2.
  • Cotton’s 32 points on Tuesday night were a Big East career high while his overall career high is 34 points scored against Bryant in December 2011.
  • Xavier is 1st in the Big East in rebounding margin and narrowly outrebounded the Friars in their last meeting 40-38.
  • Bryce Cotton is 2nd in the Big East in scoring (21.3 ppg) and Semaj Christon is 5th (17.1 ppg)
  • Bryce Cotton is 1st in the Big East in assists (5.8 apg) and Dee Davis is 2nd (4.7 apg)
  • Matt Stainbrook is 2nd in the Big East in rebounds (8.9 rpb), Kadeem Batts is 4th (7.7 rpg) and LaDontae Henton is 5th (7.4 rpg).

Kenpom InstaGamePrep

Note: Rankings reflect Conference Games Only

When Providence has the ball

Category Providence
Offense		 Xavier
Defense		 D-I Avg
Efficiency 107.6 4 110.6 9 104.2
Avg. Poss Length 19.4 0 18.4 0 17.8
Four Factors
Effective FG%: 47.6 6 52.2 8 49.5
Turnover %: 18.0 7 13.8 10 18.5
Off. Reb. %: 36.5 1 26.9 2 31.6
FTA/FGA: 45.4 1 36.9 6 40.8
Miscellaneous Components
3P%: 33.9 6 41.8 10 34.4
2P%: 46.1 7 46.2 5 48.5
FT%: 75.6 1 67.7 1 69.7
Block%: 7.6 2 6.6 8 9.8
Steal%: 9.8 9 7.1 9 9.1

When Xavier has the ball

Category Xavier
Offense		 Providence
Defense		 D-I Avg
Efficiency 111.4 3 106.6 7 104.2
Avg. Poss Length 17.2 0 17.6 0 17.8
Four Factors
Effective FG%: 52.0 4 49.7 6 49.5
Turnover %: 17.3 5 15.5 8 18.5
Off. Reb. %: 33.4 2 29.6 5 31.6
FTA/FGA: 44.0 2 34.8 4 40.8
Miscellaneous Components
3P%: 34.3 5 33.1 5 34.4
2P%: 52.2 3 49.6 7 48.5
FT%: 74.8 2 74.1 7 69.7
Block%: 12.8 9 13.2 3 9.8
Steal%: 8.1 4 8.7 5 9.1

Game Preview

Road wins in the Big East are tough to come by. All Friar fans have to do is look at PC’s last road contest in Chicago when they struggled to pull out a win, even after a fast shooting start, against a depleted DePaul team. The Xavier squad that they will take on tomorrow afternoon in Cincinnati is currently their direct competition for 3rd place. A win tomorrow means the Friars would be 7-4 and have solo ownership of 3rd place behind Creighton and Villanova. A loss and their resume gets even more cloudy, as one of the big missing pieces is quality road wins, and Xavier would take over 3rd place in the conference at 6-4. The irony for the Big East is that this game could be another nail in one of these team’s coffins and could be a key reason why they end up not making the Big Dance. There is still time and there are more opportunities beyond Saturday but this game has big implications for both teams.

Providence is coming off a tough home loss against a surging St. John’s squad that got out to a huge lead (23 at the highest point) and held on for dear life as the Friars made a 2nd half comeback that fell short. Home losses hurt. But this one didn’t hurt as much since PC won the first matchup at Carnesseca Arena. A win tomorrow would wipe that loss out of fan’s minds and catapult the Friars back into a more comfortable position on the bubble than they currently hold which, as of yesterday’s ESPN Bracketology, is in the last 4 in category and playing a First Round play-in game against LSU as an 11 seed.

Xavier is also coming off a loss but theirs was on the road and it was against a team they are looking up at in the standings in Villanova. The Muskies held on for a while on Monday night as they went into the half only being down by 6 and getting the deficit down to 3 a few minutes into the 2nd half. But James Bell and the Wildcats proved to be too much to handle as Nova pulled away about 6 minutes into the 2nd half and never looked back. Bell finished with a game high 27 points while hitting 6 three pointers. The troubling thing for Xavier is the loss against Villanova marks their third L in a row. They are desperately looking to get back on track but they are currently a 9 seed in ESPN’s latest Bracketology release yesterday.

Now that the updates and implications are out of the way, on to this game.

Semaj Christon was largely contained the last time these two teams met on January 25th. He did most of his scoring damage in the 2nd half trying to come from behind. It seemed like when he wanted to get to the basket in the 2nd half he could do it every time and he played a much more assertive game. He didn’t do that much in the 1st half. He scored 16 of his 18 points in the last 17 minutes of the game. I expect Christon to have a pretty big game tomorrow and score 20+. Bryce Cotton should be able to negate most of Christon’s point by scoring around 20 himself but the big question for the Friars will be: who else will contribute? In the last meeting, LaDonate Henton went for 23 points and 11 rebounds before fouling out with just over 2 minutes to play. Kadeem Batts and Tyler Harris were both solid and the PC frontline was able to keep Matt Stainbrook under control. Jalen Reynolds was productive in only 8 minutes as he was able to score 6 points and grab 4 rebounds but he has been suspended since January 28th so he can concentrate on his “responsibilities greater than basketball”. PC needs to have Henton or Batts come out and put up a big game along with Cotton if they have a shot to steal this one on the road. Henton has traditionally played well in the Midwest against DePaul and his family has attended those games so maybe he will continue that trend in Cincinnati which is about the same travel time as Detroit to Chicago.

I know there has been a call for more Carson Desrosiers and less Tyler Harris throughout Friartown since Tuesday night but I just don’t believe that will be, nor do I think it should be, the case. Harris will get an opportunity to rebound from his poor performance against the Red Storm on Tuesday because, well there just isn’t anyone else walking through that door. Desrosiers will play solid minutes but look for Harris to start and get the majority of the minutes between the two.

I expect this game to be hard fought and be a bit of an old school Big East battle. PC will play well and keep it tight but I ultimately believe Xavier, who has had 5 days of rest, practice and preparation will hold serve on their home court. That makes Monday’s game at Georgetown all the more crucial for the Friars as they NEED to be at least 1-1 on this road trip heading into Alumni weekend to still be in the NCAA Tournament discussion.

Prediction: Providence 71 Xavier 75

Click here to watch the previous matchup between these two teams on January 25th at the Dunk.

Kadeem Batts, Player News

Kadeem Batts: As He Goes, So Goes Providence #pcbb

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This season has sort of been a microcosm of Kadeem Batts’ career. He has been up and down. When he is up, PC usually wins. When he is down, PC usually loses. The numbers bear it out.

This Season When Providence Wins
Points/game Rebounds/game FG %/game FT %/game
13.8 7.9 47% 80%
This Season When Providence Loses
Points/game Rebounds/game FG %/game FT %/game
7.5 6.8 24% 54%

Batts decided to return to Providence this year for his 5th year after receiving his Bachelor’s Degree in May 2013. Once that was confirmed, he and Bryce Cotton were immediately deemed to be the leaders for next year’s team. Cotton is more of a lead by example guy but Batts is more vocal and expressive. You can usually tell how he’s feeling by just looking at him.

This has served him well at times.

And not so well at others.

A pattern has emerged.

If Batts is involved and aggressive early in games, he usually plays well. If he isn’t involved and isn’t aggressive early, he tends to get down and it affects his play at both ends. One positive potential change in that pattern occurred on Saturday at DePaul. Batts was not looking good on the offensive end. He missed a few shots within 5 feet and couldn’t seem to get in a rhythm. In the past, this is the kind of thing that would have taken him totally out of the game and resulted in foul trouble and/or a lack of effort on the defensive end. And yet, Batts managed to contribute to the game in other ways. He grabbed 9 rebounds, blocked 2 shots and took a charge late in the game, all while only managing 4 points.

Hopefully that was a preview of a new and improved Kadeem Batts for this 2nd half of conference play stretch run that PC embarks on tonight.

Yesterday he tweeted:

PC fans, no matter if they get frustrated at his poor play at times in some games, are with Kadeem. We know that in order for this team to get to the ultimate goal of their first appearance in the NCAA tournament since the 2003-2004 season, Kadeem Batts needs to be more like the guy who had 27 and 10 against Louisville in 2012 and the guy who had 27 and 12 against Seton Hall in 2013 and the guy who had 14 and 17 against Butler 2 weeks ago.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BsO7oTu1E4M

This is the last ride for Kadeem.  He knows it. He is motivated. In order for he and the Friars to get to the Dance, they need Kadeem to be aggressive and play like he did against St. John’s the first time. They need Kadeem to play like the Senior leader who is fighting for his legacy as a Providence Friar. They need Kadeem play like this:

Game Previews & Recaps

Game Notes & Preview: PC vs. St. John’s 2/4/14 #pcbb

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Where: Dunkin’ Donuts Center – Providence, RI

When: 7:00pm

How: Fox Sports 1/WEEI 103.7 FM

Game Notes

Stat Review

In conference games this season, St. John’s is last in the Big East in FT Rate on offense (29.0) , likely because they seem to shoot so many jumpshots and “tough 2’s”. Also, the Johnnies give up the highest % of offensive rebounds in the conference (33.8%). They are the best at Turnover rate (20.2%), Block % (17.6% – nearly double the national avg), and Steal % (10.8%) though.

On the flipside, in conference games this season, Providence is leading the Big East in FT Rate on offense (47.3). The Friar offense pulls down the highest % of offensive rebounds in the conference (34.8%) and has the best Block rate (6.4%) and FT % (74.9%) in the Big East.

Game Preview

In the last matchup between these two teams on January 16th in Queens, PC got out to a fast start and then let St. John’s back into the game as the first half wore on. Ultimately, this would be a gutty performance by the entire squad but especially the man, the myth, the legend – Bryce Cotton. Cotton played all 50 minutes of that game including sinking the game winner in the 2nd overtime. Kadeem Batts played one of his better games of the year. He and Cotton worked the pick and roll nicely. Batts did most of his work on offense from the free throw line where he went 11/12. Hopefully Batts gets back to being aggressive and taking it hard to the rim because if he has another rough game, PC could very easily let this crucial home win slip away. There isn’t a ton of margin for error at this point in the season. The Friars need to take care of business at home, especially when they are nearly 5 point favorites.

Last game the group of Cotton, Batts, Henton and Harris accounted for 73 of PC’s 84 points or 87% of the scoring. Fortune and Desrosiers were the only other Friars to even score. Fortune’s only bucket, despite playing all 50 minutes, came just over 1 minute into the 1st overtime to tie the game at 72 and Desrosiers scored his 8 points in the first 35 minutes of the game but didn’t play much at all in either overtime session. It will be critical for the Friars to get production from at least 4 guys again tomorrow. I expect Cotton to put up around 20 points and Henton to put up around 15 points. After that, it’s kind of a mystery game to game. Harris played very well against DePaul on Saturday to rebound from a brutal game at Marquette on Thursday night. I think Harris will have another good game tomorrow and put up around 16 points. That gets PC to 51 points between those 3 players. Can Batts deliver 12-15 points? I believe he can and will. Fortune will try to do his best to slow down D’Angelo Harrison again but Harrison is playing much better lately as is the entire SJU team. Harrison led all scorers on Saturday with 27 points against Marquette. Chris Obekpa had 7 blocks against the Golden Eagles as well. This will be a different team than Providence saw less than 3 weeks ago. But it’s still a team coached by Steve Lavin and they haven’t really seemed to be able to get into any kind of rhythm on offense. They dribble the ball way too much and rely on guys like Harrison to create and hit tough shots. Many SJU fans complained about Lavin’s coaching during and after our game at Carnesseca and they had nothing but high praise for Ed Cooley.

The key to this game for the Friars will be to get Kadeem Batts involved early. In Providence’s 6 losses, Batts has averaged 7.5 ppg and only reached double digits once – the blowout loss against Villanova – when he scored 10 points in 27 minutes. In Providence’s 16 wins, Batts has averaged 13.8 ppg.

Prediction: St. John’s 65 Providence 67

Game Previews & Recaps

Game Notes & Preview: PC @ DePaul 2/1/14

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Where: Allstate Arena – Chicago, IL

When: 1:00pm

How: Fox Sports Net (YES Network and other regional channels)/WEEI 103.7 FM

Game Notes

Game Preview

GoLocal Prov – Friars at DePaul: Getting back on track

Look for the Friars to get back on track this afternoon in Chicago. I think Kadeem Batts and LaDontae Henton will have strong days with Cleveland Melvin sitting out again because a of violation of team rules. The key for PC will be to not get into a hole early and the best way to do that is shoot better than 18%.

Prediction: Providence 69 Marquette 61

Game Previews & Recaps

Game Recap: PC at Marquette 1/30/14 #pcbb

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That was one of the most frustrating first halfs of basketball I’ve ever watched. 14 points is the worst half output since 2/5/02 when PC only put up 11 points in a half against UConn. It took PC nearly 13 minutes to reach double figures. The Friars also shot just 18% in the first half. As ugly as PC played, Marquette wasn’t exactly playing like a well oiled machine and as PC went on a 13-0 run in the 2nd half to get within 6, I remember looking up and realizing that Marquette had only scored 6 points in the first 9 minutes and change of the 2nd half. But PC just couldn’t get over the hump and come all the way back. The closest they would get was within 3 with 11:37 to go after Henton converted a 3 point play on an And 1. KMac did nail it though. https://twitter.com/KevinMcNamara33/status/429061973620178944   All around, no one on the Providence team played well tonight. Cotton scored 20 but had 5 turnovers and seemed to be rushing at times and also a bit out of control. He was not the only one as Harris only scored 3 points and had 5 turnovers against 0 assists. Henton scored 16 2nd half points after going scoreless in the 1st half. Batts looked out of sync all night. He was also on the ground a lot tonight and seemed very frustrated. This brings me to my next point – what the F were the refs looking at all night? This game had the feel of an old school Big East game where the players were allowed to commit 2nd degree assault on the court without hearing a whistle. It was that way on both ends of the court but it’s very frustrating when the emphasis all year has been on handchecking and allowing the offensive players to move freely with the ball and then you throw a wrench in things and allow the players to be all over each other and not even consider calling a foul. This is a different game if the refs are calling all the bumping and handchecking. One of the concerns I mentioned in my preview was that PC has struggled to shoot on the road and that they couldn’t afford to get down big early like they did at Villanova. Unfortunately that played out tonight and it wasn’t fun to watch. Additionally, PC had their worst free throw shooting game of the season going 10/17 (58%) including a rough 2/6 from Kadeem Batts. I was shocked to see that PC actually won the rebounding battle (40-37) because it seemed like Marquette was killing them on the glass in the 2nd half when PC was playing zone. All in all, the stats in the boxscore are pretty ugly for both teams but Marquette managed to fend off the PC run and do enough to pull out the win at home. PC really needs to rebound on Saturday at DePaul to split this road trip before returning to the Dunk on Tuesday to take on St. John’s who will be coming off a game against these Marquette Golden Eagles at Madison Square Garden on Saturday.