Wisconsin didn’t know what hit them on Tuesday night in Providence.
The Badgers tried to claw their way back after PC scored the first seven points of the game, but this one was all but over at the ten-minute mark of the first half. At that point, Providence scored nine straight points on 3-pointers — the fourth, fifth, and sixth made threes of the game for a group that looked ready to make an early statement under their new head coach.
The stars in the early going were guards Jayden Pierre and Devin Carter.
In the opening 12 minutes, Pierre made all three of his attempts from beyond the arc, found Josh Oduro for a dunk on a pick and roll, drew multiple defenders and assisted on a corner three for Bryce Hopkins, and then floated home a tough layup to push Providence ahead, 29-11.
Carter was a tone-setter for the second consecutive game for the Friars. Over the weekend, the junior guard out of Miami had 11 points, three rebounds, and three assists at halftime of a well-fought game against Milwaukee. In the early going against Wisconsin, he buried a pair of 3-pointers and finished a floater while being fouled.
“Credit to Providence,” Wisconsin head coach Greg Gard said in the aftermath of Providence’s 72-59 victory. “They kicked our ass.”
They certainly did.
The Friars led by as many as 25 points on Tuesday, held the lead for over 39 minutes of game play, and suffocated the Badgers on the defensive end. A late 10-0 Wisconsin run was the only thing that kept the final score from truly signifying the discrepancy between the two teams on this night.
Providence physically manhandled Wisconsin.
The Badgers shot 33% from the field and were 5-20 (25%) beyond the arc. The duo of Carter and Ticket Gaines harassed Wisconsin’s guards and wings throughout the night. The vice grip was particularly tight in a first half that saw Wisconsin shoot 8-30 from the field (26%) and 1-11 from distance. The Badgers had just six assists on the night, and shot 4-15 on shots at the rim.
Carter was a force in each of the 33 minutes he played — scoring 21 points, grabbing eight rebounds, and drawing eight fouls. He was a big reason why Providence held a 27-12 advantage in free throw attempts.
“He’s a special talent, a special athlete, and he’s great to play with,” Pierre said of Carter.
Carter also knocked down 3-5 from beyond the arc, marking the second game in a row in which he has hit three 3-pointers (he had done so just once last season, and one time as a freshman at South Carolina).
“I just feel like it’s more so a confidence thing now,” Carter answered when asked about long range accuracy. “Coach English and his staff do a great job of instilling confidence in me.”
Pierre, emerging early in his sophomore year after playing sparingly a season ago, went an efficient 5-7 from the floor, and 3-3 from beyond the arc for his 13 points.
Hopkins had a strong second half, and finished with 16, while the terrific play of the Friar backcourt overshadowed a perfect shooting night from Josh Oduro (6-6 from the field). Playing against a seven foot center in Steven Crowl, Oduro had four assists, and scored in a variety of ways — on a one-handed baseline floater, taking a defender off the dribble from beyond the 3-point arc, knocking down a fadeaway in the post, and finishing at the rim. He threw a slick no-look pass for a Pierre three early in the night.
Pierre’s confidence seems to be increasing with each passing game, and we are seeing signs of what made him one of the better point guard prospects in the country a few seasons ago at Long Island Lutheran in New York. The LuHi version of Pierre made timely shots, hit threes in transition, and had a consistent fadeaway from 17 feet. We saw a transition three from Pierre in the first half as the Friars were surging, and he later buried a fadeaway late in the shot clock — a shot that must not have been on the scouting report, but one that he most certainly has in his repertoire.
The early season emergence of Pierre is a significant development for Kim English and Co. He is shooting over 56% from the field, 54% from three, and averaging 12.7 points through three games.
Providence shot 63% in the first half, and would have finished over 60% on the night if not for some late misses in the final three minutes. Regardless, PC hit on 58.5% of their shots and 8-18 (44%) from three. The Friars’ 16-27 effort from the free throw line kept this one from being a real embarrassment for the visitors.
“I thought this was one of our best days, including practices, of having great shared purpose,” English said after his team dominated.
It was about as significant a statement as Providence could have made in its third game of the season, and the Friars will look to carry that momentum with them into a monstrous opportunity in the Bahamas this weekend.
Without question it was a very good win! They may have manhandled Wisconsin but in the second half they mishandled the ball too often and they need to improve their free throw shooting … both can kill a team particularly late in the game! Go Friars!🏀