Providence Friars (16-14) 70 OT

Creighton Bluejays (17-13) 76 OT

The Friars came about as close as you could get in trying to pull off the win in Creighton, losing in overtime by six.  This was Providence’s second straight game that went to overtime after they beat Butler in extra time in the last game.  Creighton has a well-known great crowd in Omaha so it was going to take everything the Friars had to win on the road there.  With the loss, the Friar most likely need to win the Big East Tournament in order to get an invite to the Big Dance now.

Senior Isaiah Jackson fueled the Friars for the majority of the game, scoring a game-high 21 points.  The Bluejays were led by Ty-Shon Alexander who was the high scorer for Creighton with 17, including 7 of those points in the all-important Overtime period.

Game Notes:

• The bench for the Friars outscored their starters 36 points to 34.
• The Friars had 18 turnovers to just 12 assists.
• The team shot 20% from three on 20 attempts.
• Not to be outdone, the team shot 47.6% from the free throw line.
• The team had every opportunity to win this game but just couldn’t take ahold of it.

Providence guards Duke, White, and MAL had a combined 12 turnovers and 3 assists vs Creighton. Combine that with the Friars being under 50% from the free throw line; and it is amazing Providence took this game to OT.

— Steve Hartnett (@stevehartnett92) March 7, 2019

• Isaiah Jackson was easily the best player for the Friars.
• Jackson led the way with 21 points on 8-13 shooting and a perfect 3-3 from the free throw line.  Considering the Friars as a team shot under 50% from the line, going 3-3 ended up being kind of impressive…unfortunately.
• Isaiah also had 8 rebounds and led the team with 4 assists.
• Alpha Diallo did what he could while he was on the court but he ended up eventually fouling out of the game.  Diallo recorded a double-double, his ninth of the season, with 13 points and 12 rebounds.
• Diallo struggled mightily from the line, going just 3-10.
• David Duke had a game I’m sure he would like to forget, going scoreless over 19 minutes with 1 assist and 3 turnovers.
• A.J. Reeves looked pretty good within the three-point line but his usual strength of shooting threes just wasn’t there as he went 0-4 from deep.
• I was hoping that the Friars were going to feed Big Nate a little more, but he only had 5 shot attempts for the game.  Of course, being his usual efficient self, he went 4-5 when given the rock.
• Kalif Young looked good in relief, scoring 12 points on 5-8 shooting.  Much like the majority of the team, he wasn’t that good at the line, going 1-4 from the charity stripe.
• This was the third game of the season that was in the Friars’ hands that they let slip through including the game against UMass and their first game against Georgetown.
• Just a reminder that the Big East refs have been absolutely terrible.

pic.twitter.com/tMK5dlRrTh

— Jamo (@jamosbuzz) March 7, 2019

Next Up, the Friars match up again with Butler to finish out the Big East regular season.