2019-20 Providence College Hoops: Just Add Shooting

HomeRunBaker

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Nice win against 1st Place Seton Hall. Diallo with a career high 35 out of nowhere.

@ Georgetown
Marquette
@ Villanova
Xavier
DePaul

Need to go 4-1. Wins over Xavier and Villanova would mean they beat everyone in the Big East this season.
We are currently 65th at KenPom sitting between UNC-Greensboro (who is no slouch) and Davidson. We’ve got quite a bit of work to do here.
 

CouchsideSteve

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The loss at St. John's earlier this week was a killer. I think it takes 4-1 over the remaining 5, plus a win at MSG to put us in the tournament. Lose more than 1 of these next 5 and they'll need to hoist the trophy Saturday night at MSG to make it.
 

Mloaf71

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11 BE regular season wins has always been the number to get to the bubble since that awful out of conference. The killer is the winnable games they dropped during the conference season in the last 2 mins.

Thing about this team, they could go 5-0, 0-5, win the BET, or lose the first game and none of it would surprise me at this point.

Would be fitting for this team to sneak in and be our first sweet 16 team in forever.
 

HomeRunBaker

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We are currently 65th at KenPom sitting between UNC-Greensboro (who is no slouch) and Davidson. We’ve got quite a bit of work to do here.
Up to 59 KenPom now. Look out America....Here Come The Friars!!! (In my best Chris Clark voice)
 

PC Drunken Friar

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Up to 54 in KenPom. That 4-1 record they need is now 3-1. I still think that even 4-1 doesn't do the job the loss is to Villanova. Obviously, that wouldn't be a bad loss, but it would be a bigger win, if that makes sense.
 

HomeRunBaker

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Up to 54 in KenPom. That 4-1 record they need is now 3-1. I still think that even 4-1 doesn't do the job the loss is to Villanova. Obviously, that wouldn't be a bad loss, but it would be a bigger win, if that makes sense.
3-1 is a nice goal but there is no much more to the season than these final 4 regular season games. 3-1 with a one and out in the BET likely sends us to the NIT whereas 2-2 with a couple wins in the BET probably gets us in. Either way we are now squarely on the bubble with so many other factors that are out of our control in play such as multiple non-tourney teams earning an automatic bid by winning their league tournament.

Cooley really deserves a ton of credit for keeping this team from imploding and making a late season rush. One of his better coaching jobs imo.
 

HomeRunBaker

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Don’t sell UNCG short - they’re a tremendous slouch!
50-14 over past two years with pair of one possession games @Kansas and @Kentucky and a bubble team from the Southern Conference isn’t a slouch from where I sit.
 

CouchsideSteve

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3-1 is a nice goal but there is no much more to the season than these final 4 regular season games. 3-1 with a one and out in the BET likely sends us to the NIT whereas 2-2 with a couple wins in the BET probably gets us in. Either way we are now squarely on the bubble with so many other factors that are out of our control in play such as multiple non-tourney teams earning an automatic bid by winning their league tournament.

Cooley really deserves a ton of credit for keeping this team from imploding and making a late season rush. One of his better coaching jobs imo.
Well said. This team is statistically just as bad at shooting as last year’s and somehow turns it over even more. Yet here we are with a meaningful game in late February. Cooley has done it through creative lineups, getting the team to play tough D, and somehow convincing Diallo to buy back in, when it would have been easy to fold.
 

Mloaf71

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This is a huge win! Not dead yet. Damn if they can beat Nova next week we’d be feeling pretty good.
 

CouchsideSteve

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I’ve been a season ticket holder for 7 years, and while I only make it up from New York for a handful of games each season, today was up there for best atmosphere. Great crowd and energy.
 

HomeRunBaker

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I’ve been a season ticket holder for 7 years, and while I only make it up from New York for a handful of games each season, today was up there for best atmosphere. Great crowd and energy.
Several real sharp people have the Friars in the field right now. Up to 48 KenPom too.
 

Mloaf71

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All the guys who were driving us crazy all season are now putting this team on their back the last month. Pipkins, White, Diallo all playing within themselves...this is fun.
 

CouchsideSteve

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Unbelievable. Just a monster game from Pipkins today.

10-6 in the Big East with two (winnable) home games remaining, and now five straight wins over ranked teams. What an incredible run.
 

Mloaf71

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Lunardi has PC as a 9 seed. Looking ahead, what kind of matchup would be good for PC? A rock fight against UVA or a team that plays no D like LSU?
At this point I feel like PCs D and rebounding hold up regardless of opponent. The question mark is can they score enough to win.

Give me an undersized no D team all day.
 

LoneWarrior1

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At this point I feel like PCs D and rebounding hold up regardless of opponent. The question mark is can they score enough to win.

Give me an undersized no D team all day.
I feel like an 8/9 seed could be the kiss of death for the Friars. The program could really use a jump into the 2nd weekend of tournament play after so many 0fers in prior tournament play. Just 'getting in" is nice, but the early exits may be stimying the growth of the recruiting pool. I think they can make a run as a 10 / 11 seed and that's what I'm hoping happens, so long as it means no "First Four" match up.
 

Mloaf71

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100% agree. Either need to drop a rung to a 10/11 or continue winning and climb to a 6/7. 8/9 is not a good spot to be unless they are the top 8 seed and can draw the weakest 1. That might be someone they can play with.
 

CouchsideSteve

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Pipkins is absolved of all early season woes. Playing like one of the best guards in the conference right now. Close this out, beat DePaul Saturday, win one or two at MSG and maybe we’re the favored side of the desired 7/10 matchup in the tournament.
 

Mloaf71

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This is fun! Never thought we’d say that in November and December.
 

CouchsideSteve

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There were so many points where that game could have gotten away, but they never trailed (playing with a short bench), because they took great care of the ball in the last ten minutes and worked hard for quality shots. Diallo was amazing, and Pipkins made two big when it mattered most.

Bring on DePaul.

Meaningful games in March are just the best, aren’t they?
 

PC Drunken Friar

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I can't even believe they are playing meaningful games (other than playing the spoiler) in March. I thought they were done in December. Enjoy the ride! They have to be a lock now, right?
 

CouchsideSteve

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BracketMatrix.com has the Friars a 9 seed based on an average of 94 brackets, of which we’re included in 93. Win tomorrow against a DePaul team who we’ll be ~7pt favorites over and we’re a lock. Slip up tomorrow and lose the first game at MSG... well, that would make for an uncomfortable few days leading to Selection Sunday.
 

Mloaf71

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No one wants to play PC right now. Never seen a turnaround like this in any sport or any season!
 

Mloaf71

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Lunardi has PC up to a 7 seed on this morning’s bracketology.
 

HomeRunBaker

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No one wants to play PC right now. Never seen a turnaround like this in any sport or any season!
Unlike the NBA, these kids can really be coached up. The jobs that Tony Bennett and Cooley have done this year are HOF-level stuff.
 

pdaj

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I had such high, high hopes for this team headed into the season, as I thought that this was Cooley's deepest, most talented roster during his PC tenure. The first 1/2 of the season was soul crushing, but man, did the Friars deliver down the stretch. Being a fan for the last month or so was pretty special.

My heart goes out to the team for missing the opportunity to play in NCAA Tournament. This Friars squad had a real Sweet 16 feel to it. Such an unlucky, tragic set of circumstances.

I hope you all are managing well and staying safe/healthy.
 

CouchsideSteve

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I’ve put off checking this thread since the season came to its abrupt end. I was sitting in a hotel bar in Portland, OR on the last Sat in Feb, watching PC beat Nova in Philly. Exhilarating. Then, still playing with backs against the wall, holding off an equally desperate Xavier team at home. Finally on 3/7, demolishing DePaul in front of a sellout crowd at the Dunk, which was an amazing environment. I knew about COVID-19, obviously, and heard rumors the NCAA tournament might be played without fans. But I had no doubt I’d be seeing the Friars play at MSG in a few short days.

The post above says it well: This team had real potential, and I feel for the kids who never got the chance to find out. As a fan, if there is a faint silver lining, I guess it’s that for every postseason team but one, it ends bitterly. With this team, we’ll just never know. And as much as that sucks and I desperately would have liked to see it play out, we’ll fondly remember the 2019-2020 team as a group who fought back from the bleakest Nov/Dec in memory to the point that they were a tournament lock and playing the best basketball we’ve seen in Providence in a long time. It was a lot of fun.

Alpha Diallo and the vintage of Luwane Pipkins we saw down the stretch will be tough to replace. We’ll also miss Emmitt Holt, Maliek White, and Kalif Young as graduating seniors. But if we take a moment to distract ourselves and look forward to the possibility of basketball this winter, a very talented group returns. Cooley has also secured the future with impact transfers for the second straight offseason, with Syracuse guard Brycen Goodine (presumably sit 1, play 3) and LaSalle rebounding machine Ed Croswell (sit 1, play 2). The two-man recruiting class of wings Jyare David and Alyn Breed is less heralded than recent classes, partially because there is very little playing time to be had in the short-term.

Stay well, everyone. We’ll be back. Go Friars.