Providence Friars (7-3) 78

UMass Minutemen (6-4) 79

I was unable to watch the game live because I was at my wife’s Holiday party, so I only caught the end of the first half on my phone and then got the alert for the final score, so you can imagine my surprise when they 79-78 score came across my screen.

It took me a couple of days to finally get a chance to watch the game, so when I did, I chose to only watch the 1st half and pretend like the game ended there and they looked freaking amazing playing against UMass.  So good on them.

In reality, they shat away an 18-point lead at the half and played horrendously during the second half when UMass pretty much did the opposite.  The Minutemen are the highest scoring team in the A-10 this year with a stud scorer in Luwane Pipkins, so it wasn’t surprising that they could pour it on the 2nd half, but it was surprising that the Friars could neither match them offensively or do anything to stop the bleeding.

Game Notes: 

• Alpha Diallo filled it up offensively, leading the Friars with 21 points on 7-14 shooting from the floor.  Diallo was 3-5 from three and 4-6 from the line while also leading the team in rebounds, (7) assists, (5), and steals (2).
• It makes sense that Diallo led the team in all those statistics during the game, since he leads the team in all four of those categories.
  • 17.2 ppg (1st)
  • 8.6 rpg (1st)
  • 3.8 apg (1st)
  • 1.6 spg (1st)

Alpha Diallo does absolutely everything for this team…also, where was that And-1 call?? #pcbb #AlphaDiallo pic.twitter.com/ovycDvRFUR

— The Morning Hangover (@TheMorningHang) December 14, 2018

• • The unfortunate part of Diallo’s night was the 6 turnovers.  You just can’t have that many turnovers.
  • Jimmy Nichols Jr. continues to make plays when he’s in the game.  He was a perfect 3-3 from the floor for 7 points, including a three, but only played 17 minutes.
  • A.J. Reeves, David Duke, and Kalif Young combined to just shoot 7-21 for the game.
  • The bench on the other hand, played pretty well.
  • Isaiah Jackson, Maliek White, and Nate Watson scored 30 of the 78 points for the team, combining to go 9-17 from the floor.
  • Although Nate Watson did 14 points, he managed to go just 3-8 from the floor against the heftiness of Rashaan Holloway.  Watson did do damage from the line, getting there often and connecting on 8-14 free throws.
  • Isaiah Jackson looked good for 8 points and 6 rebounds.
  • But it was Maliek White who looked best of all.
  • White shot 3-5 for 8 points and dished out 4 assists while not committing a single turnover.  Over his last 4 games, White has handed out 14 assists and committed just 3 turnovers, and all 3 of those turnovers were against Rhode Island, so he’s had a clean sheet in 3 of the last 4 games with an uptick in back-up point guard minutes.

And he isn’t even European #pcbb #MaliekWhite #Eurostep #BonusHighlight pic.twitter.com/peIaQq8WKw

— The Morning Hangover (@TheMorningHang) December 14, 2018

• White has more than earned the back-up point guard spot and if it were up to me, he might even get a chance to start a game soon with how he’s been handling this offense.
• Duke has a 1.1:1 Assist to Turnover ratio on the season while committing at least 2 turnovers in each game except against Fairleigh Dickinson where he had 1.  Maliek White has a 3:1 Assist to Turnover ratio on the season and a 4.3:1 ratio over the last four games.  It would be interesting to see how Duke would play a game of the bench.  I know that this wouldn’t go away if he had that role.

Find you a point guard who swats shots like a big guy #pcbb #DavidDukeJr pic.twitter.com/k2i9VWhGBa

— The Morning Hangover (@TheMorningHang) December 14, 2018

• Then again, this is the kind of court vision that comes with experience.

White with the 3/4 court bomb to a streaking Diallo #pcbb #MaliekWhite #CourtVision #AlphaDiallo pic.twitter.com/QVFLG7xfAc

— The Morning Hangover (@TheMorningHang) December 14, 2018

• To note again, the 2nd half didn’t happen.  We’re on to CCSU.

Next Up, the Friars remain at home after a short break for Finals and take on CCSU at The Dunk on Sunday at 2 PM on FS1.