Taking a Look at Ticket Gaines' Career Night, His Unusual Shot Chart, and the Terrific Passing of the Friars Versus Wagner
Ticket Gaines had never made five 3-pointers in a game heading into Tuesday night’s contest against Wagner, but the graduate transfer had that many by halftime of Providence’s dominant 86-52 victory.
Gaines buried his seventh 3-pointer with over 15 minutes still to play in the game, and closed his night with 21 points on 7-10 from beyond the arc. He joined AJ Reeves, Jared Bynum, David Duke Jr. and Noah Locke as the only Friars who have connected on seven threes in a game since the Big East realigned in 2013.
Perhaps even more encouraging was that five different Friars assisted on Gaines’ 3-pointers. He had all sorts of time to line up shots on drives and kicks from Bryce Hopkins, Devin Carter, and Garwey Dual. Rich Barron made the extra pass to get Gaines a great look from the corner, while Josh Oduro drew multiple defenders in the post and then found him.
Gaines, who shot over 40% from deep two years ago, and backed that up with 36% shooting a season ago, entered Tuesday having made just 3-20 from beyond the arc, but his teammates encouraged him to let good looks rip versus Wagner — and that’s just what he did.
Following Tuesday’s outburst, Gaines has one of the more unusual shot charts you’ll see.
He is:
7-8 on left corner threes
1-2 on left wing threes
2-4 on threes from the top of the key
0-9 on right wing threes
0-7 on right corner threes
Notably, Gaines was a better 3-point shooter from the right side of the floor last season, and made threes from the right wing at a 45% clip two years ago.
Playing without starting point guard, and top playmaker, Jayden Pierre once again, Kim English’s group shared the ball as well as they have all season.
Providence’s 25 assists on Tuesday night against Wagner marked the program’s eighth highest total of the past decade (#1 came in the season opener versus Sacred Heart in 2019, when the Friars hung 106 points and dished out 31 assists).
Four Friars had at least four assists against Wagner. Carter did what he has done all season, with 10 points, 13 rebounds, and six assists, while Gaines added five of his own, Dual also had five, and Corey Floyd Jr. had four assists for the second consecutive game.
As a result, a Providence team that had largely struggled from beyond the arc this season shot 13-32 (40%). They were 12-25 at one point.
Some themes have begun to emerge since Providence returned from the Bahamas. Hopkins was efficient for the second straight game, shooting 7-11 from the field and 2-5 from three, while turning the ball over just once. Hopkins now has one turnover in his last two games. He shot over 60% in each contest.
Oduro scored 12 points on a neat 5-8 shooting, and it felt like he could have gone for 20+ had the Friars not been getting so many great looks on jumpers. He was credited with just one assist on the night (he had a few hockey assists as well), but he can be such a problem in the post that teams are faced with sending multiple defenders at him, or letting Oduro work one-on-one. When Friar shots are falling from deep, neither is a great option for opponents.
The Friars also got a nice lift from freshman Rich Barron, who scored on a transition layup early before knocking down a pair of corner threes. In Pierre’s absence, Barron has been thrust into extended minutes and has largely held his own. He had a huge 3-pointer and an equally big assist in the second half against Georgia in the Bahamas, and if he can make two or three plays a game it would be a big boost to a team that lost three rotational pieces dating back to last spring.
On a night in which Pierre didn’t play, Dual didn’t make a field goal, and Carter only took four shots from the field, Providence dropped 86 points as eight different players notched an assist.