Providence Friars 84 (7-1)
Rhode Island Rams 69 (5-3)
In the 133rd match-up between the Providence College and URI, the Friars were able to pull away in the second half behind a determined Bryce Hopkins, who has found his footing within Kim English’s offense over the last couple of games. Hopkins led the Friars with 24 points, as all five Friar starters finished the game in double-digits, claiming the Ocean State Rivalry bragging rights for the 2023-2024 college basketball season.
Game Notes:
- Bryce Hopkins in the locker room…
- Hopkins led the team with 24 points (10/19), adding 7 rebounds and a steal in a team-high 38 minutes on the floor.
- Over the last three games, Hopkins has scored 20+ in each game, averaging 23 ppg and 9 rpg, shooting 59.7% from the floor (27/46) and 44.4% from three (5/9).
- Hopkins has been running the floor extremely well and extremely often and finishing under much more control, leading to bundles of points at the rim.
- He’s got handles for a guy his size too.
- Devin Carter does everything. Check out this stat if you disagree.
- Carter was second on the team with 17 points, grabbed a team-high 11 rebounds, along with 2 assists, 2 steals, and 2 blocks.
- The double-double was Carter’s 3rd of the year, and 3rd in the last 4 games. He now has 6 career double-doubles and has matched the total he recorded in his Freshman and Sophomore seasons just 8 games into his Junior year.
- The elite level that he rebounds and block shots as a 2-guard is just outrageous. His three-point shot continues to look drastically improved from last year and he appears to be much more confident in his shooting stroke as well…as he should be. Carter is shooting roughly 5% better both from the field (47.8%) and from three (34.1%) than last year, both career bests.
- Jayden Pierre played his first game since he came out of the Kansas State game in the Bahamas after just 4 minutes when a groin injury that he originally hurt in practice was re-aggravated. The Friars were extra cautious easing Pierre back into live action and when he first got up and down the court, he was almost too hyped and his feet were moving faster than he was able to make decisions. Pierre turned the ball over more than usual (5) as he eventually found his footing in the second half, using his speed while also choosing his spots.
- Pierre scored 12 points with 3 assists, going 1/3 from three and a perfect 5/5 from the line. He has no hit a 3 in every single game this year (8/15 – 53.5%) and is a perfect 11/11 from the line on the season.
- Josh Oduro was solid as he was hindered with foul trouble throughout stretches of the game. He finished with 10 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, and a block. Oduro is is much more adept at blocking shots than I initially thought he was going to be with his size and athleticism.
- Ticket Gaines hit another pair of threes (2/5), a game after setting The Amp on fire with a career-high 7 makes against Wagner. Gaines continues to raise his three-point shooting percentage and is now up to 34.3% on the season, matching his percentage from last season. I still think he can improve his shooting numbers closer to his career-high 40.2% from the 2021-2022 season and he looks to be trending that way.
- Gaines snagged 5 rebounds and added a swat for the game as well.
- Richard Barron continues to look more comfortable on the court the more time he gets. The injury to Pierre (and the suspension for Dual) opened up some valuable minutes for the Freshman early in the season and seems to have paid some dividends for him. Oh, and he hit another three.
- Garwey Dual really shined on the defensive end with three steals and a block, seemingly coming on the help side every time a URI player turned their head.
- Dual was 3/7 from the field for 6 points and 2 assists.
- Even when he’s not affecting the game with his scoring, Corey Floyd continues to find other way to help the team. Whether it’s running the point and distributing or grabbing 6 rebounds against URI, there is nothing that Corey won’t do to help the Friars get a win. As Ticket would say…
- Rafael Castro only got 3 minutes of run in this one, probably because the Rams had some big boys down low.
- PC now leads the series 77-56 with URI.
- The Friars have won 11 of the last 13 matchups between the two teams.
- As you might have expected, the Friars have played the Rams more than any other team throughout their history.
- David Fuchs’ arms were scary big. Reminded me of the old Big East days with Mike Sweetney and Craig Smith. Speaking of Fuchs…
- Post-Game Press Conference
- Post-Game Pic…I mean, they alley-ooped this one for a Luke Fonts win, didn’t they?
Next Up, the Friars travel to Oklahoma for the Big East-Big 12 Challenge to take on a ranked Sooners team on Tuesday at 7 PM on ESPNU.
The Morning Hangover 