Wichita State Shockers (1-1) 83

Providence Friars (1-1) 80

The Providence Friars traveled down to Annapolis to take on the Wichita State Shockers in the Veteran’s Classic double-header (followed by Navy vs. Maryland) at Navy’s Alumni Hall.  The Friars came up short against the shockers in a back-and-forth game, ultimately losing 83-80.

Wichita State’s Markis McDuffie, who seems like he’s only guy from last year’s squad that came back to the Shockers team, lit the place on fire, dropping a career-high 32 points on 12-19 shooting (6-9 from three).  The Friars were giving him way too much space all game and he was firing away freely with what they gave him.

Wichita State seemed to be on another level effort-wise than the Friars and it was very apparent watching the game in person that both their players on the court and their bench did not want to start this season 0-2 after losing their season opener to Louisiana Tech.  Providence put on a poor defensive performance, allowing the Shockers to shoot 50% from the floor and 54.5% from three on 22 attempts.  The Friars have now given up 12 three-point makes in each game this season and the opposition is hitting threes at a 48% clip.  They have to do a better job of getting out on shooters.  Not to be overshadowed, the Friars also lost the rebounding battle and gave up 17 offensive boards, even though it seemed closer to 60.

Alpha Diallo led the way for the Friar with a career-high 27 points to go along with 10 rebounds.  A.J. Reeves was able to quickly show that his Freshman debut performance was not a fluke and scored 19 points in his follow up to the 29 he dropped in the opener.

Game Notes:

• Alpha Diallo notched his second double-double in as many games this season, scoring a career-high 27 points and 10 rebounds.  This marks 8 double-doubles in Diallo’s career, with 6 coming last season.
• Quick check in on my prediction that Diallo will lead the team in points, rebounds, and assists this season.
  • 21.5 ppg (2nd to A.J. Reeves at 24.0 ppg)
  • 10.5 rpg (1st, Isaiah Jackson 2nd with 4.5 rpg)
  • 5.0 apg (1st, Isaiah Jackson 2nd with 3.5 apg)
• Diallo has looked money from three this season as his hard work continues to show dividends as he is 8-14 (57.1%) so far through two games.  Unfortunately, he is somehow been worse from the free throw line, going 7-15 (46.7%).  He needs to get those free points when he gets to the line because as the go-to player for the Friars, he’s going to be getting to the line quite a bit.
• Diallo also had 5 assists and 3 steals, continuing his great all-around games going.
• Diallo was named to the Big East Weekly Honor Roll with his back-to-back double-doubles to start the season.

#BIGEASThoops Weekly Honor Roll

➡️ Alpha Diallo – @PCFriarsmbb
➡️ @JGovan15 – @GeorgetownHoops
➡️ @ShamorieP – @StJohnsBBall
➡️ @Philb_5 – @NovaMBB
➡️ @TyriqueJones_ – @XavierMBB

Full Release 👇https://t.co/Nd1FIZonIj

— #BIGEASThoops (@BIGEASTMBB) November 12, 2018

• A.J. Reeves proved he wasn’t a one-hit wonder and scored 19 points in 28 minutes after coming out for a decent stretch of the first half once he picked up his second foul.
• Reeves showed off his dunking ability that goes along with that long-distance talent.

🔨 A.J. Reeves 🔨 pic.twitter.com/dHu4I46Hso

— PC Men’s Basketball (@PCFriarsmbb) November 10, 2018

• I know that it’s an extremely small sample size but Reeves is currently shooting 73.9% from the field and 64.3% from three.
• Those stats and this start earned Reeves the Big East Freshman of the Week Honors.

#BIGEASThoops Freshman Of The Week – @ajreeves11

➡️ 29 points in debut vs. Siena
➡️ @PCAthletics record for most points by a freshman in 1st game
➡️ Shot 73.9% from the field, 64.3% from 3 pic.twitter.com/mzBurULPmV

— #BIGEASThoops (@BIGEASTMBB) November 12, 2018

• Emmitt Holt must be on a very strict minutes limit because this game was just BEGGING for the presence of Holt.  The Friars were lacking toughness, grit, and a loud voice of leadership to get them out of their funks that just wasn’t there without Holt.  Even when he came in for just 3 minutes down the stretch of the 2nd half, he made an immediate impact and was probably the best big man the Friars had all game.  Emmitt came in and instantly got a 50/50 rebound on the offensive end and then a block on the defensive side.  Man, I miss Emmitt Holt.
• Kris Monroe got his first minutes of the season and looked decent in limited action.  His first three was an airball but once he got a little more comfortable, he drilled his second attempt.
• Isaiah Jackson’s final stat line looks a lot better than Jackson himself looked in the game.  Isaiah finished with 9 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals, and a block while shooting 50% from the field.  Jackson made some critical errors (that charge being one), although it’s not like he was the only one.
• Jimmy Nichols Jr. got a lot of run in this game, most likely because they needed som size and Watson and Young weren’t getting much of anything done.  Nichols’ shot looked very smooth but he needs to put on some muscle and be able to battle for some rebounds with that size.
• Nate Watson needs to stop jumping to block shots on smaller players.
• This was a Tommy Planek game if I’ve ever seen one.  If he was still on the team, he would have played 20-25 minutes this game, I absolutely believe that.
• MAL’s stat line of 0 points, 1 assist, and 3 turnovers is not great.
• Kalif Young and Nate Watson had a combined 3 rebounds in 34 minutes.  The Friars really need those guys to be at least a little bit of a factor on the glass with their size.
• Despite his raw ability and athleticism, I sometimes forget that David Duke Jr. is even on the court sometimes.  I would love for him to be more aggressive and take it to the hole more often.  Just like with Kris Dunn, I’m OK if he turns it over every once in a while if he’s trying to make plays happen.  Also, Samajae Haynes-Jones, the Senior point guard for the Shockers blew by Duke whenever he pleased all game, eventually finishing with 15 points and 8 assists.

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A couple of pics from the PC vs. Wichita State game at Navy this past weekend #pcbb

A post shared by The Morning Hangover (@themorninghang) on Nov 12, 2018 at 7:26pm PST