Providence Friars (11-5) 76

Georgetown Hoyas (8-7) 70

Providence only managed 15 points through the first 14:31 of the game, finishing the first half with a lean 30-23 edge over the Hoyas.  Both teams were able to up their scoring in the second half with each unexpectedly reaching the 70 point mark.  As Butler made it very visible to all College Basketball fans by taking down #1 Villanova at Hinkle Fieldhouse, it is really fucking hard to win any game on the road in the Big East.

The Friars received the majority of the scoring from the four main offensive weapons, each scoring 15 or more points in the game.  Lindsey (19), Holt (17), Bullock (15), and Cartwright (15) carried the bulk of the scoring for PC on a night when the Friars’ starters all played big minutes.  Alpha Diallo chipped in some great minutes of the bench but was really the only one who contributed some scoring from the pine.  Diallo was effective on both sides of the floor and was an all-around stud for the game.

Quick Hits:

• Let’s start with the Frosh Alpha Diallo.  I believe this is the 4th time that I’m saying this was his best game of the season, so it’s very evident that he’s developing his game with each opportunity he gets.
• This was Diallo’s fourth game this year logging at least 20 minutes of playing time, Wagner (20), Virginia (21), & St. Francis Brooklyn (21) being the three others.
• The Freshman shot 3-6 from the floor and was extremely effective maneuvering the middle of the zone within in the Friars offense.  He made a couple of extremely intelligent moves when he got the ball fed to the middle to break down the zone.  His size and feel for the game really shone through in that part of his game tonight.
• Diallo had 4 rebounds, 2 assists, and a steal in his best all-around game of the season.
• I know it will sound corny but it felt like he did a lot of growing up in this game.  His decisions were much more sound and I think that has a lot to do with getting some time to adjust to the pace and intensity at the college level.  The only thing I wish he did was throw down the hammer on that one fast break…that vine would have been sweeeeet.
• Every time that the Providence offense got stale or went on a scoring drought, Jalen Lindsey was there to provide a huge bucket.
• Lindsey finished with a team-high 19 points on 5-8 shooting, 4-6 from three, and 5-6 from the line.  Aggressive Jalen Lindsey is my favorite Jalen Lindsey and that always shows through with him getting to the line.
• I’ll allow Cartwright to steal my inside-out dribble move from High School if it always looks this pretty.
• Jalen Lindsey’s stroke is fucking beautiful from deep.  Just picture perfect form.
• Lindsey also played all 40 minutes, which shows you how much Cooley was counting on him throughout the game.
• Outdone by just 1 minute, Kyron Cartwright played 39 minutes.
• Cartwright continued showing off his scoring prowess, scoring 15 points on 5-11 shooting after scoring a career-high 26 against Butler.
• Kyron also continued to show is inept ability to score at the end of the first half, much like he did at the end of the first half against Xavier.  You can actually see the exact moment when his instincts kick in and he takes off down the court.
• And then there’s Rodney Bullock.  Bullock started off slow once again and it looked like he was going to continue his streak of struggling with his shot (he still did just a little bit).  But then the well-known 2nd half Rodney Bullock decided he’d start scoring and make the game into an all-around stat-filling effort for the Junior.
• Bullock ended up with 15 points on 5-12 shooting but also contributed a team-high 9 rebounds AND a team-high 5 assists.
• Bullock also had two super blocks (2 of his 3) of three points shots from the corner on some unsuspecting Hoyas.
• Once the Friars figured out the Hoya zone a little bit about midway through the 1st half, they were able to get a lot of good looks on offense.
• Emmitt Holt continued to struggle a little bit with some early foul trouble, which will continue to happen as he is usually out-sized down low by the opposing Center.
• Holt went on a quick one-man show down the stretch on his way to 17 points on 5-8 shooting.
• He also had one of his most athletic plays I’ve seen from him all year.
• Holt also got himself to the free throw line a career-high 11 times in the game, something that would be great to see a lot of going forward.  He pushed his offensive game onto the opposing defense and created a lot of scoring chances for himself in the process.
• He also had a hell of a nice block…we’ll just forget that it ended up turning into a broken play three pointer for Georgetown, ’cause that’s no fun.
• As for Georgetown, man did Marcus Derrickson look good.
• Derrickson’s 26 points were a career-high for the Hoya big man and he has now scored in double-figures in each of his last four games.
• Derrickson was an efficient 10-16 from the floor and maybe even more impressively 4-8 from downtown.  
• You can see what all the hype was about for graduate transfer Rodney Pryor as he showed flashes of a spectacular player.  Unfortunately, those flashes came and went. The lefty shot 11 of his 18 field goal attempts from behind the arc and only connected on 3-11 three point attempts.
• L.J. Peak was basically a no-show for the game shooting 2-12 from the floor for only 6 points.  Peak was the player on their squad who impressed me the most last year.
• Akoy Agau was very effective off the bench for the Hoyas, recording a double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds after averaging only 4.4 ppg and 2.7 rpg.
• The Hoyas have thrived at the line all year, both in attempts and in percentage.  They average 26 free throw attempts per game on the season and rank 19th in the Nation shooting 76.4% from the line.  The Friars were not only able to limit Georgetown to just 16 free throws but the Hoyas didn’t take advantage of their opportunities at the line either, connecting on only 8 of their 16 attempts.