Providence’s disappointing stay at Mohegan Sun ended with a last-minute 76-73 loss to St. Louis on Sunday night.
The Billikens are expected to compete for an NCAA Tournament bid this year, but this was a game the Friars let slip away after leading by 13 points in the second half, and by four with a minute and a half left on the clock.
Through five games this season, Providence has looked disconnected. That’s not a surprise considering that they are rolling out a completely revamped lineup this season.
What is disappointing, however, has been the lack of urgency and energy we have seen to date. A day after seeing Miami score 38 points in the paint, Providence allowed 40 on the interior to St. Louis.
For a coach like Cooley, who prides himself on toughness and execution, this weekend — in particular Sunday — had to have been painful.
He didn’t hold back in his postgame press conference on Sunday night.
“Disappointed with how we finished the game. It’s still a learning curve for us. (Today was) one of the more demoralizing losses we’ve had in a long time, but it’s on to the next. Clearly, we’ve got a lot of work to do to be the team we want to be as we move forward. I’m encouraged by some of the things that we did today, disappointed in the things that got us beat — and what got us beat was dumb,” Cooley said.
“Dumb is going to get you beat every single time. Hard work, effort, and energy — when you don’t have an understanding of what it takes to win, which this group clearly doesn’t right now, that’s our job as a staff and my job as a leader to make sure I give them that direction. We’ll get there. Right now, it’s heartbreaking the way the game ended, yet you’ve got to move on, got to prepare for Wednesday. Hopefully, we’ll have a great house (versus Merrimack at the AMP).”
Cooley spoke with the media for about seven minutes, and in that time he mentioned grit, will, energy, and effort on five occasions.