Friar Basketball Newsletter: Providence Checks in at #22 in the AP Poll, How PC Became "Second Chance U", Previewing the Week Ahead, Kayvaun Mulready Impressions, and More
Providence was one of four Big East teams to crack the Associated Press’ top 25 rankings on Monday, coming in at #22. The Friars broke into the top 25 last week, making their debut at #19, but a 73-67 loss at Creighton slid them back at few spots.
PC was, once again, without point guard Jared Bynum in Saturday’s loss to the Jays, which marked their first conference blemish of the season. Here we break down how Creighton withstood several Friar runs on Saturday. Providence trailed by 16 early in the second half, but came back to tie it before Creighton took over in the final four minutes.
Providence is currently second in the Big East with a 6-1 conference record, and they have a big test ahead of them on Wednesday night when they travel to Milwaukee to take on #20 Marquette.
Shaka Smart’s Golden Eagles took out then #6 UConn last week, before falling to a top ten club in Xavier in a game that went down to the final minute on Sunday.
Of course, the Friars and Marquette played in the latest classic contest between these two programs — when Bryce Hopkins led PC to a double overtime victory by scoring 29 points and grabbing 23 rebounds.
We get you ready for the week ahead by previewing Marquette, as well as Saturday’s opponent DePaul, and by taking a peek at 2024 PC commit Kayvaun Mulready and Worcester Academy playing powerhouse Brewster Academy at the TD Garden this Saturday night.
Friar Basketball was in attendance on Friday night to see Mulready and WA at the MassMutual Center. A full breakdown of that game can be found here.
Billy Ricci wrote his latest piece for the site, and it’s a good one: breaking down how Providence has become not Last Chance U, but Second Chance U, which is critical with the impact of recruiting in today’s game. Billy looks back on the success of not only recent Friar transfers, but those who paved the way and showed what success players could have when making Providence their second (or in some cases third) destination.
Lastly, our News and Notes column includes an update on Garwey Dual and Southern California Academy, details the similarities and differences of Devin Carter and Justin Minaya as defensive stoppers, looks into yet another accomplishment for Ed Cooley as PC’s head coach, and more.
We hope you enjoy this week’s content!