2021-22 Providence College Hoops: The Boys Are (Mostly) Back in Town
- Thread starter CouchsideSteve
- Start date
Agree on 3-2 to win regular season title. One had to be vs Nova to secure it. They finish 4-1 and depending on what happens in conference tourneys they may have an outside shot at a 1 seed which is insane to write.
As for rescheduling, the BE has already said @Creighton is canceled. UConn and SH are up in the air but there are no dates that work. The BE won’t let teams play 3 games in back to back weeks so there are no dates that line up. I’m sure the BE doesn’t want to over tax their teams ahead of March so they’ll likely punt any remaining postponed games.
As for rescheduling, the BE has already said @Creighton is canceled. UConn and SH are up in the air but there are no dates that work. The BE won’t let teams play 3 games in back to back weeks so there are no dates that line up. I’m sure the BE doesn’t want to over tax their teams ahead of March so they’ll likely punt any remaining postponed games.
Disappointing that the games won’t be made up, especially the UConn game.
Would like to see PC play more good teams. The conference schedule has not been very strong in January and the first two games in February are against horrible teams. Gonzaga is playing more good teams in the WCC than PC has since January 1. Really excited for the Villanova games as that should be a great chance to make a statement.
Would like to see PC play more good teams. The conference schedule has not been very strong in January and the first two games in February are against horrible teams. Gonzaga is playing more good teams in the WCC than PC has since January 1. Really excited for the Villanova games as that should be a great chance to make a statement.
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We just beat two ranked teams B2B and a decent St Johns team twice. The only even decent team Gonzaga has played this year is San Francisco and BYU, but they are a stretch……the bottom of the WCC may be worse than the Ivy League.
So, I don't know shit about kenpom, but how does Providence keep winning games against decent teams and yet keep dropping in the rating system? Because they aren't winning by enough? Kenpom has them 42nd overall and the 6th best team in the Big East, which is laughable.
They haven't won by the margins that the metrics predict a team with their record should win by.
Win margins. The Friars are actually leading the country, as in #1, in “luck” for this reason. I don’t necessarily disagree…….on paper we are probably a slightly above average team. On the floor we have been clicking on all cylinders, well coached, focused and very experienced. I mean did any of us think this was a Top-10 team in the country at the start of the year? Or even now?
44 seconds to go. Up 2. First lead since 15 minutes left in the first half. Shaping up to be another gritty win.
Ugh. Overtime. No idea how Cooley doesn’t call a timeout when that’s the shot you end up with (an air ball iso 3).
There’s a chance Tuesday could be a top ten matchup. PC will be 6 or 7, but Nova could slide in at 10 because of all the teams that lost this week in front of them. The Dunk will be bonkers.
I was there last night. Had a few beers and forget my glasses, so not the most vivid recall of the play-by-play, but I sat with two emotions. First that it was as loud and buzzing as any game I’ve been to. And second, even though DePaul had an ~80% win probability for much of the second half, I couldn’t quite believe this team would lose — not to that opponent, not in front of that crowd. I just had faith, which is not a familiar feeling as a long-time fan.
The atmosphere on Tuesday is going to be crazy. To the points raised above, this probably isn’t a top 10 or even top 20 team on talent. But they do some really important things right. They get to the line a lot and make their free throws, while not committing fouls on D. They don’t shoot 3s particularly well, but they effectively defend against them — netting out ahead in that dimension, too.The byproduct is a really optimized point distribution: The majority of their scoring comes from 1s and 3s, whereas their opponents are relying (54.1%) on 2s.
So the team is super efficient, above all. In addition to the intangibles of being experienced, well-coached and playing with elite homecourt advantage.
The atmosphere on Tuesday is going to be crazy. To the points raised above, this probably isn’t a top 10 or even top 20 team on talent. But they do some really important things right. They get to the line a lot and make their free throws, while not committing fouls on D. They don’t shoot 3s particularly well, but they effectively defend against them — netting out ahead in that dimension, too.The byproduct is a really optimized point distribution: The majority of their scoring comes from 1s and 3s, whereas their opponents are relying (54.1%) on 2s.
So the team is super efficient, above all. In addition to the intangibles of being experienced, well-coached and playing with elite homecourt advantage.
How fortunate it is has been for PC that Ed Cooley came around when he did. And to their credit, they know what they have and have stepped up -- he's in the top 20 nationally in salary, 2nd highest in the Big East after Jay Wright at Villanova. But after this year, we're going to to have to sweat out another spring where he gets mentioned as candidate for "better" jobs, right?
Quick research says that in 2016 they were 10 and hosted #7 Xavier. They lost 75-68.
https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/boxscores/2016-01-26-providence.html
https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/boxscores/2016-01-26-providence.html
It’s the biggest game in a long time. I’m hopeful but not super optimistic — we need to get AJ Reeves right, and we need a bit more from Watson to operate at our highest level.
Play either half like the first against Georgetown or the full game against DePaul and we’ll get smoked tonight.
Hopefully I’m wrong. Very very excited regardless. Go Friars!
Play either half like the first against Georgetown or the full game against DePaul and we’ll get smoked tonight.
Hopefully I’m wrong. Very very excited regardless. Go Friars!
The defense was shit tonight. Could’ve shot better from 3, but you don’t expect to score 90 against Nova.
They missed a switch on the Gillespie 3 that iced the game and that was emblematic of the entire night. Plenty of heart and hustle, but not too much adrenaline and not enough savvy.
They missed a switch on the Gillespie 3 that iced the game and that was emblematic of the entire night. Plenty of heart and hustle, but not too much adrenaline and not enough savvy.
Agree. Couldn’t get any key stops.
If PC learns to guard the pick and roll they can return the favor at Nova in a couple weeks. Need to avoid a letdown this weekend and get back on track.
Also, their two losses before this were because they couldn’t score against elite D. Tonight they showed they can. There are positives to take away from a tough loss.
If PC learns to guard the pick and roll they can return the favor at Nova in a couple weeks. Need to avoid a letdown this weekend and get back on track.
Also, their two losses before this were because they couldn’t score against elite D. Tonight they showed they can. There are positives to take away from a tough loss.
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Thought it was an interesting factoid that the Friars have never finished first in the Big East regular season ( or was it first outright, one of the two).
The league's been around 40 years and you'd think they would have broken through at least once in that regard.
Can anyone else in New England (except maybe UConn) match the Dunk's atmosphere? I see so many local games where the game might as well be played in a TV studio; including BCs except for a couple of games a season.
The league's been around 40 years and you'd think they would have broken through at least once in that regard.
Can anyone else in New England (except maybe UConn) match the Dunk's atmosphere? I see so many local games where the game might as well be played in a TV studio; including BCs except for a couple of games a season.
That’s Gillespie being Gillespie the 9th year senior that he is. Not to overuse the chess vs checkers analogy but that’s the best way to describe his game. He probes and probes and probes…….either to find space to get off a three or look for a mismatch on the low block as he’s one of the best guards scoring with his back to the basket the college game has seen in awhile. Defenses make mistakes all the time……the difference vs Nova is that Gillespie is so good at taking advantage of them.
Currently the 4 seed in the South. Looks like had they beaten Nova would have been on the 3 line.
Actually like the South bracket better. Kentucky seems to have figured things out.
https://www.cbssports.com/college-basketball/news/gonzaga-is-ncaa-selection-committees-top-overall-seed-with-auburn-arizona-kansas-no-1s-in-early-bracket/
Actually like the South bracket better. Kentucky seems to have figured things out.
https://www.cbssports.com/college-basketball/news/gonzaga-is-ncaa-selection-committees-top-overall-seed-with-auburn-arizona-kansas-no-1s-in-early-bracket/
We should be keeping one eye on what is going on at Michigan with Howard. From my recollection there were two candidates for the job a few years ago, Juwan and Cooley, before they allowed Ed to “withdraw” once they had decided on Howard. Discussed this last night with a PC connection and he’s more scared of Maryland then revisiting the Michigan job bc of the money they would put on the table. FWIW.
Edit: My take on MD isn’t Cooley but another ex-Friar to be their next coach……Rick Pitino.
Edit: My take on MD isn’t Cooley but another ex-Friar to be their next coach……Rick Pitino.
Don't know specifically about Michigan and Cooley, but the face saving kabuki of a coaching candidate withdrawing his name from consideration is de rigueur in college and pro basketball and football. I assume it builds/maintains goodwill with the candidates, and perhaps more importantly, their agents. From the team perspective, they don't look weak because everyone knows the dance moves and at end of the day, they are getting the guy they want.
The last couple nights of Big East basketball have been ridiculous and just the absolute best. I love it.
Reeves fouled out early in the 1st Overtime. Durham is hobbled. Depth being challenged in the 2nd Overtime.
What an awful play by Minaya not to foul.
What is Horchler doing just standing there watching Scruggs pull up for 3?
What is Horchler doing just standing there watching Scruggs pull up for 3?
Villanova showed it on Tuesday and now Providence. How to not close out games. Xavier/refs handed them the game and they couldn’t finish.
Like Swedgin said….allowing a big name candidate to “withdraw” prior to naming your new coach is standard operating procedure that is likely agreed upon prior to the interview process.
Incredible!! This freakin team!!
Edit: Kinda feel bad for the Mountain West Conf and in particular Wyoming and Colorado St. They get their prime matchup on National TV and nobody gets to see the first 30 min of game time.
Folks, these kids are incredible. There were so many inflection points where they could have folded and they refused.
Tough, smart. Just so proud.
Let’s win the school’s first ever regular season Big East title at home on Saturday.
Tough, smart. Just so proud.
Let’s win the school’s first ever regular season Big East title at home on Saturday.
Well, well, well. Look who took the Big East, baby!
Fucking A right!!!
So happy for Cooley. Keep it going, man.