Providence Dominates on Both Ends in a Convincing Win Over Villanova

Friars win behind a defense that limited the nation's top scorer to a season low.

For a night, everything was right in Friartown.

A packed house (that included some of the best players in program history) saw Providence dominate Villanova from beginning to end in a 75-62 victory.

Kim English’s group played with renewed defensive energy, holding Villanova to 8-26 shooting from the floor in the first half (1-10 from deep). Nova scored 24 points in the first half and wouldn’t score in the second until the 15:00 mark.

This was about as complete an effort as PC has enjoyed in conference play this season. They never trailed (leading for 39:38 of the game’s 40 minutes), limited NCAA scoring leader Eric Dixon to 6-15 shooting from the floor, and got terrific efforts from a pair of point guards and their freshman duo.

Junior point guard Jayden Pierre led the way with 19 points, five 3-pointers, four assists, three boards, and two turnovers in 40 minutes, while running-mate Bensley Joseph filled the box score with 17 points, six rebounds, and six assists in 38 minutes of his own.

Freshman wing Ryan Mela proved to be an important catalyst in this one, with 12 points, nine rebounds, and six assists. Mela played a significant role in blowing this game open in the first half. He made a 3-pointer at the 14:40 mark to push Providence ahead, 14-10, and then assisted on the next four Friar makes from deep. Each of the assists went to a different Friar (Pierre, Joseph, Rich Barron, and Justyn Fernandez), and the Friars led 31-14 at the end of the outburst.

Just really good reads and quick decisions on these possessions:

Providence led by double figures the rest of the way and blew its lead up to 22 at one point.

“Our backs have been against the wall, but our team never stops working. They never stop coming in every day. They never stop believing,” English said of his group.

Perhaps aided by the presence of Billy Donovan (who had his jersey retired at halftime), Donovan’s teammates from PC’s 1987 Final Four team, as well as last season’s Big East Player of the Year Devin Carter, alongside David Duke Jr., the AMP was rocking on Saturday night.

The 22-point lead matched Providence’s best in Big East play this year, while their 12-0 run was its best since November. The Friars shot 52% from the field and made 13-27 from beyond the 3-point arc (48%).

Saturday marked the seventh time that Providence has shot over 40% from beyond the arc in conference play. Their shooting percentage from three in conference games is inching up to 39%.

Still, the story of this one was their effort on the defensive end. Playing shorthanded once again (Corey Floyd Jr. and Wesley Cardet Jr. were both out, while Christ Essandoko returned to the lineup), Providence held Villanova to 62 points — the lowest mark of any conference opponent against them this season.

“When you encounter tough times you kind of get back to the basics. They’ve been shooting the ball well, making 16 threes in a game and losing,” English said of his team. “It was our defense. We really had to get back to defense. When that’s your mindset going into games, it frees you up on offense.”

PC’s Defensive Rating of 99.1 was well below their average of 112.1 in Big East games. After struggling coming out of halftime in many contests, PC leaned on its defense on Saturday, holding Villanova without a point for the first five minutes of the second half.

“It’s been our Achilles’ heel when we have had leads in the first half and relinquished them quickly,” English said of the slow second-half starts. “I felt like they were on 24 points for a long time to start the second half.”

Notes from the AMP:

• Not enough can be said about the crowd. Donovan’s appearance certainly provided some juice, but there aren’t many teams in this conference who would get the type of pop from their fans in a game they entered 11-14 overall and 5-9 in league play.

• During a timeout in the closing minutes of this one, a Villanova fan spent nearly the entire break screaming “Fire Neptune!” directly across from head coach Kyle Neptune. The Wildcats were coming off a win against first-place St. John’s, but this loss dropped them to 8-7 in league play.

• It’s amazing how quickly the perception of a program can change. Jay Wright retired almost three years ago, but a win over Nova, even with the Friars playing down a handful of players, felt more gratifying than surprising.

• This probably deserves its own article in the near future, but the Friar staff has done a great job developing Oswin Erhunmwunse. The freshman big man is as good of a lob threat as there is in the league, and he’s playing with far more composure when guarding 1-1 in the post and finishing around the rim. It was a team effort, but Eric Dixon’s 15 points marked a season low.

• Even down five players who have started this season, Providence’s bench outscored Villanova’s 17-0.

• Jhamir Brickus hurt Providence the first time these two teams met (18 points), but he shot 3-8 on Saturday for nine points. Two of those makes came on late threes with the game already in hand.

• With the victory, Providence is 6-9 in conference play — a half game behind Georgetown (who they will visit on Wednesday) and a half game ahead of Butler (a group riding a three-game winning streak).