Jared Bynum has provided a major lift since returning from injury
This is the Jared Bynum we expected to see after he transferred from St. Joseph’s following a freshman year in which he averaged over 11 points, four assists, and three rebounds a game while playing nearly 37 minutes a night.
For the second straight game, Bynum was a key factor in a Providence win over a top 25 team.
On Wednesday night against #15 Seton Hall, it was the Providence point guard having a hand in 13 unanswered points in the first half of what was a one possession game.
Bynum assisted on a trio of Noah Horchler 3-pointers in a span of a minute and a half. Shortly after, he found Nate Watson on a lob, then finished a layup of his own to push the Friars ahead, 34-22.
That left a shorthanded Seton Hall club playing uphill the rest of the night.
Bynum finished with 14 points, four assists, and three boards in 29 minutes off the bench, matching Horchler with a team-high in field goals (6).
This was Bynum’s second game back after missing weeks due to an ankle injury. His nine points and six rebounds in PC’s 57-53 win at UConn were also critical. The Friars likely don’t win that game without Bynum back in the lineup and hitting a crowd-hushing three in the second half.
When referencing Bynum, broadcasters have pointed out that the Friars struggled without him after he went down with an injury against Creighton last year.
After a season in which Bynum shot 31% from the field and 12% from three on a Providence team that that felt largely dysfunctional last year, it seems disingenuous to imply that with Bynum healthy last year would have ended much differently. The Friars were 3-3 in the six games after his return.
That isn’t to say Bynum didn’t have his moments last year, or that PC didn’t miss having his ability to handle the ball. Look no further than when Providence took on Seton Hall a year ago.
On Dec. 20, the Friars won at the Prudential Center, 80-77, on a night in which Bynum had nine points and eight assists. He played maybe his best basketball of the season in the first half, picking apart the Pirates for seven assists through 20 minutes. This came a game after Bynum dished out eight assists in 24 minutes in a road win at TCU.
Those wins kicked off PC’s best stretch of the season — winning five of six games, with three victories over Big East clubs and a fourth (TCU) coming against a high major opponent.
The next time out, Bynum got injured early against #11 Creighton and missed the next nine games. Including the 67-65 loss to Creighton, PC went 3-7 in Bynum’s absence (side note: it seems really hard to believe that Providence was a narrow loss to Creighton from starting 4-1 in the league last year).
Just how different their offense looked without Bynum was never more apparent than when Seton Hall came to Providence for a return date in early February. The Hall harassed PC’s guards all night, forcing David Duke into six turnovers and holding PC to 18 second half points in a 60-43 pasting of the Friars.
Bynum’s numbers are inching back to where they were at St. Joe’s three years ago. In 21 minutes a game, he is averaging 7.4 points (33% from 3, 80% FTs), 3.4 assists, and 3.0 rebounds per game.
Beyond the numbers, and far more significantly, Bynum has been a stabilizing force, trusted ball handler, and a guard capable of getting into the paint and making plays. On a team that hits the offensive glass as hard as PC, just drawing two defenders and getting the ball on the rim is also a win. Let Watson, Horchler, Ed Croswell, and Justin Minaya clean it up from there.
On a Providence team that has thrived off of having different players emerge on a game-by-game basis, Bynum has been huge in a pair of critical wins to kick off Big East play for the red-hot Friars.