Providence couldn't slow Butler in MSG, putting an end to a long season in Friartown

"Our methods may need to change because it simply didn’t get through all season."

As the final seconds ticked away on Providence’s 2024-25 campaign, this writer almost felt a sense of relief.

The season needed to end. It felt like it was time to turn the page a while ago, and now we officially can.

From the 0-fer in Atlantis to going 0-3 against the Atlantic-10, and the injuries to Bryce Hopkins and seemingly everyone else on this roster, there was little to celebrate — and now much to question with the offseason upon us.

At this time a year ago, the Friars were fighting for their NCAA Tournament lives, upsetting Creighton in the Big East Tournament quarterfinals in a joyful scene at Madison Square before falling on Friday night to Marquette.

PC came up short of the Big Dance, but in their first season following the departure of Ed Cooley to Georgetown they won 21 games despite the loss of Hopkins in early January. So much has changed in Kim English’s second year in Friartown.

Providence finished 12-20, tying a program high for losses in a season set in 1985. The nail in the coffin came in the opening game of the Big East Tournament against Butler thanks to a familiar shortcoming: Providence couldn’t stop anybody.

The last time these two teams played Butler won, despite PC hitting 16-32 from beyond the 3-point arc.

In Wednesday’s 75-69 loss at the Garden, Providence came down with 25 offensive rebounds, yet never threatened the Bulldogs — with no answers for Pierre Brooks (25 points), Jamyl Telfort (16), or really anyone else who decided he wanted to get into the paint.

Providence never led in this game and trailed for 38:54 of the 40 minutes.

English was blunt in the postgame press conference: “We played true to the pitiful, embarrassing season we’ve had, and that falls on me.”

Butler consistently got whatever matchups they wanted in the first half — a half that saw Brooks shoot 6-9 from the floor and Telfort 6-8. The duo abused smaller defenders, lived at the rim, and helped Thad Matta’s group build a 39-31 lead at halftime.

The Friar freshmen showed up offensively, but their more experienced counterparts failed to do the same. Oswin Erhunmwunse shot 4-6 from the field and Ryan Mela was 5-8, but Jayden Pierre, Corey Floyd Jr., and Bensley Joseph combined to go 2-11 in the first half.

Yet, to focus on the offensive numbers is to miss why this team lost 10 of its last 11 games to close the season.

Providence came into this game ranked 135th in the nation in Defensive Efficiency, according to Ken Pomeroy — the worst mark since they were 238th in Cooley’s first season after taking over for the notoriously defenseless Keno Davis. Davis’ last two teams at PC ranked 153rd and 266th.

The Friars were small in the backcourt and inexperienced on the interior, but the drop from the 18th ranked defense in the nation to the worst the program has seen in 15 years was something no one saw coming.

The rotations remained erratic throughout the season — in equal parts due to injuries, inconsistency, and roster construction. A prime example of that came on Wednesday, as Wesley Cardet Jr. played 22 minutes after a DNP-CD in the regular season finale at Xavier.

“We haven’t had a rotation all season,” English said, citing consistent mishaps that led to constant changes to the lineups this year.

Unsurprisingly, Joseph showed fight in the second half and finished with a team-best 20 points to go along with nine boards. Mela (14 points, 6-12 shooting) and Erhunmwunse (terrific with 16 points, 7-9 shooting, 11 rebounds) were big factors, but Pierre (3-13), Floyd (1-9), and Cardet (3-11) struggled, while Rich Barron (1-3 in 8 minutes) and Justyn Fernandez (0-1 in 3 minutes) played bit roles.

PC shot 8-35 (22.9%) from deep and took just four foul shots — continuing an issue that plagued them throughout the season. They rarely played with force on the offensive end.

“I have no quarrels with any of our players,” English said. “We failed as a staff to get the level of shared purpose, to get the level of buy-in where you can go from film to practice to the court and do it. We’re teaching the right things, but our methods may need to change because it simply didn’t get through all season.”

English’s second season ended far earlier than anyone would have anticipated in October, and while the final buzzer for this group went off around 6:30 p.m. local time, it was a year that had been over for quite some time.

Just two years into his tenure, and one season removed from the highs of playing in the Big East Tournament semifinals, English and his staff face a critically important spring ahead.

That works starts now.