#20 Providence College Friars (19-7) 75

• Bradley Hayes, the Hoyas starting center went down with a broken hand in practice leading up to the game.  This was a HUGE break (no pun intended) for the thin Friars frontcourt, especially with Ben Bentil still feeling the recent effects of another ankle injury.  When the Friars played at Georgetown in late January, I thought Hayes was a big time matchup problem at the time, so it worked out nicely from a man-to-man matchup perspective for the Friars to be facing a Hayes-less Hoya squad.
• The first half of the game was as picture perfect as any Friar fan could fathom.  If you couldn’t tell, this is how the players were feeling going into the half.

• At one point in the first half, the Friars held a 26 point lead which eventually got chipped to a 20 point halftime deficit for the Hoyas.
• Rodney Bullock was the Rodney Bullock that we saw glimpses of at the beginning of the season.  Bullock tallied 18 points in the first half, including hitting 3 threes from downtown.
• Bullock’s range is at its best when he’s stepping straight into a three when trailing a play.  I’m not positive, but I’m pretty sure that he’s hit 100% of those threes this season.
• Bullock was playing inside-out, getting to the line, and finishing around the rim.  That is the perfect recipe for this Providence team.  A legitimate third scoring threat beside Ben Bentil and Kris Dunn, which in turn, opens things up for PC’s two studs in the process.
• Bullock finished with 23 points and was efficient in all aspects of his offensive game.  He shot 7 for 11 from the field, 4 for 6 from three, and 5 for 7 from the line.  Bullock also pulled down 10 rebounds to record his 7th double-double of the year.
• Bullock seems to get a couple of stone hands turnovers each game with 4 in this game, but I’m willing to take those in stride if he’s putting up a 23/10 stat line.
• The 49 first half points were a season-high for Providence.
• The Friars also only had 2 turnovers in the first half.
• Kris Dunn seemed to get to the hoop when he damn well pleased.  His consistent effort to get to the rim resulted in shooting 16 free throws in the game.  He was on the ground after almost every offensive possession in the 2nd half, which the Friars basically relied on once their offense went stale.
• Dunn finished 10-16 from the line and has seemingly been on the line for every one-and-one opportunity that Providence has had this year.  With how often Dunn is able to draw contact on drives to the basket, he has to do better from the line.  Dunn is now just 67.1% from the line on the year.
• Dunn’s final stat tally was 20 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals, and 1 block.  Just a nice little dash of everything.
• It must be nice to be this athletic.  It’s almost as if he glides in the air.
• Kyron Cartwright continued his assist onslaught and has had 4+ dimes in each of the last five games.
• Cartwright was only able to get one bucket, but it was oh so pretty when it came.
• Ben Bentil was a little off from the field, going 3-11, but was more than able to make up for it by going 9-10 from the line.  Bentil finished with 16 points and 9 rebounds.
• I keep wondering if there is a reason for Drew Edwards getting no time off the bench anymore…it seems a little odd since him and Cartwright are the only two guards off the bench.
• It’s hard to believe that D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera was once a pre-season Big East Player of the Year.  DSR (I’m not typing out his name again) was held scoreless for the first 37+ minutes of the game before sinking a timely 3.  Dunn is a really tough match-up for DSR because of his size but I was very surprised that DSR was hitting some shots when the Friars went to zone.
• I always like to try and finish game notes out with one of my favorite plays of the game…and I’m going with the classic Dunn to Bentil feed.  
• All-time leading scorer Ryan Gomes (and CT Native) was honored at halftime for being a 2016 inductee into the Friar Hall of Fame.  Gomes was at Providence the same time I was.
• One of my college roommates was able to snipe a picture with Gomes at the game as well, and Ryan’s hair was on point to say the least.

• A nice little sentiment from Gomes’ former coach Tim Welsh as well.

Congratulations @GotGomes on HOF @PCAthletics To a great husband,father,person +role model. Well deserved my friend pic.twitter.com/TVm3NExL7Z

— Tim Welsh (@timwelsh5) February 13, 2016