Friar Basketball Newsletter: Providence improves to 13-1 after a beatdown of DePaul, Jayden Pierre takes home MVP honors in a prestigious tournament, Justin Minaya and Jared Bynum are shining for PC
Providence continues to roll after taking out #15 Seton Hall at home on Wednesday, and then taking care of business at DePaul on Saturday behind a 22-0 first half run in a thorough dismantling of the Blue Demons.
Now 13-1 on the season, and 3-0 in the Big East, look for #21 Providence to climb even higher in Monday’s newest AP poll.
Friar Basketball has you covered on everything over the past week, including an outstanding effort from a class of 2022 signee.
Let’s start with the DePaul victory. Providence defended with a purpose in the opening half, led by Justin Minaya, who Ed Cooley had high praise for on Saturday afternoon. Cooley believes Minaya might be the best defender in the Big East, and the numbers certainly back that up. Opponents are shooting just 21.1% when being guarded by Minaya this season. More details on Minaya’s terrific play on the defensive end can be found in this feature on him.
We have a four and a half minute highlight reel from Saturday’s win. Craig Leighton also posted a Starting Five after the DePaul win that includes a variety of game recaps, videos, and Twitter reactions.
While some may downplay Saturday’s effort due to DePaul’s history in the Big East, they have shown signs of turning things around under new coach Tony Stubblefield.
Key to both the DePaul and Seton Hall victories was the play of Jared Bynum, who has been terrific since returning from an ankle injury in mid-December. Here is a look at how Bynum helped turn the tide against Seton Hall, as well as how he has overcome his struggles from a season ago.
Noah Horchler was scorching for Providence in their 70-65 victory over Seton Hall. He finished with 17 points, 13 rebounds, three assists, three blocks, and two steals in the win. Horchler knocked down 5-6 from 3-point range in an outstanding performance. Highlights from this win can be seen here.
I tend to be understated when it comes to the performance of Providence’s incoming recruits, but it was hard to be anything but impressed with the play of point guard Jayden Pierre this week at the Arby’s Classic. Pierre (a 2022 commit) was named MVP of a loaded field, as his Long Island Lutheran team took home the title of the Arby’s Classic in Tennessee this weekend. Along the way, Pierre went up against a top 20 player in the class of 2024, a Villanova pledge for ’22, and a pair of top 150 prospects in the title game.
I watched Pierre in the finals against Berkmar High School out of Georgia (Al Durham’s alma mater) and Pierre was simply dominant, making all seven of his field goals in the first half, scoring in a variety of ways. Here is a breakdown of the championship game and why Pierre could end up being special for PC.
Finally, we have two other pieces of content that I think you’ll really enjoy. Bill Ricci, of the Friar Podcast, and I caught up to talk about all things Friars in this one hour pod last week. Also, our News and Notes column from this weekend touches on a number of topics, from Providence shutting down opponents from three, to Al Durham being on the verge of setting a career high in one category, AJ Reeves’ production in the catch and shoot game, a look ahead at Marquette, and more on Bynum and Minaya.
It’s a great time to be a Friar fan! Thank you, as always, for reading.