Providence's Formula for Success Held Up in Newark on Saturday Afternoon
"I feel like we’re going to be something that people can’t really mess with in the Big East. It’s going to be hard for people to match up to both of us."
My questions about this Providence team were relatively straight-forward heading into Saturday’s Big East opener against Seton Hall. The Friars seemed to have found something in their 88-74 road win at URI on Dec. 3, and that carried over into a pair of 40+ point victories over Albany and Manhattan.
When Ed Cooley’s bunch was at its best in the non-conference portion of the schedule they were bullying teams inside. They averaged over 40 points per game in the paint (96th percentile nationally) and their 13+ second chance points a game were among the best in the country.
It’s one thing to beat up the likes of Manhattan, Albany, and a rebuilding Rhode Island team on the interior, but could PC follow a similar formula for success in the Big East?
And what happens to this team when a game gets tight in the final minutes? Aside from a 66-65 opening night win over Rider, Providence hadn’t won a game by fewer than 14 points.
Could a team that looked disjointed for much of the non-conference executed when it needed to most once conference play started?
Cooley, and everyone in his program, would likely bristle at these questions. He built his Friars on toughness and pulling out close games late — and in the Big East opener on the road, PC won by playing the Ed Cooley Way.
PC left Newark with a 71-67 win on Saturday afternoon, coming back from a nine-point halftime deficit (36-27), by overwhelming Seton Hall on the interior behind the duo of Ed Croswell and Bryce Hopkins.
Cooley leaned heavily on his veterans in the second half. Hopkins and Jared Bynum played 20 minutes each, Noah Locke went 19:56, and Croswell likely would have gone the full 20 had he not fouled out after playing nearly 19 minutes of his own.
The first half was more closely contested than the score indicated. The teams traded leads six times, and tied the game on six other occasions. A late 10-0 Seton Hall run gave the Pirates what seemed to be a comfortable advantage at the half — while providing an early Big East test for the visiting Friars.
It took fewer than five minutes for PC to regain the lead after halftime. Then, Croswell and Hopkins dominated the second half in the paint.
Croswell shot 6-7 from the floor and went for 16 points and six rebounds in the game’s final 20 minutes, while Hopkins was simply a force in the second half with 16 points and 10 boards. How physical did Providence make this one in the second? Croswell picked up all five of his fouls after the break.
Providence held a 23-14 advantage on the glass in the second half, and out-scored Seton Hall 44-31 to take a critical road victory, 71-67.
The key sequence late in the half came after Croswell converted a traditional 3-point play on (a shot that rolled around the rim a few times), Hopkins buried a three, and Bynum came up with a steal that resulted in a Devin Carter slam.
Could Providence continue to win by bullying teams on the interior going forward? They certainly did on this day.
PC scored 34 points in the paint, and took 28 free throws, while 17 of their 23 made field goals were either at the rim or in the paint.
“That was a great, old school Big East game. That reminded me of the ‘80s, man, when bodies were flying,” Cooley said late Saturday afternoon.
“I thought we grew today. I thought we showed a lot of toughness. I thought we showed a lot of togetherness which we’ve been trying to preach.”
Hopkins certainly made his presence felt in his first Big East game, finishing with 24 points, 10 rebounds, and three assists. His versatility was on display once again, with his physical components (10 boards, 10 free throw attempts, six drawn fouls) complementing his outside game (2-2 from three).
“He’s got a lot of Ryan Gomes in him. He’s got a lot of Jared Dudley. (He is) probably more athletic than those two guys, but he’s just a versatile guy, and we as coaches have got to continue to move him around and put him in positions of his strength,” Cooley said.
There were times when Hopkins’ physicality was simply too much:
Hopkins and Alyn Breed made late free throws to put this one way in the closing seconds, as Providence extended its winning streak to four.
After the game, Hopkins and Croswell seemed energized by imposing their will against a Seton Hall team that prides itself on toughness.
“I feel like we’re a dynamic duo,” Hopkins said. “We go at it in practice every day. I feel like we’re going to be something that people can’t really mess with in the Big East. It’s going to be hard for people to match up to both of us.”
It certainly was on this day, as the Friars started Big East play with an important road victory.