Providence Friars 106 (2-1)
Pennsylvania Quakers 81 (1-2)
The Providence Friars had a nice bounce back game after losing a heartbreaker in overtime to Virginia Tech at Mohegan Sun Arena. They were able to sure up some of their holes that were somewhat exposed against the Hokies by securing defensive rebounds and growing a lead once they had one. There are still some defensive things that the Friars need to continue to get better at, such as defending the three-point line and one-on-one defensive integrity, but there are a lot of things that the team can continue to build on in their upcoming schedule.
With Duncan Powell (wrist) and Daquan Davis (knee) out for the game, and Rich Barron still recovering from a concussion, Sophomore Ryan Mela was moved into the starting lineup and a few players were able to get their first minutes of the season with additional playing time opening up. Mela showed why he continues to be the most well-rounded player on the team, taking full advantage of his starting role, notching his first double-double of the season (18 points, 12 rebounds) and third of his collegiate career. Corey Floyd Jr. showed off experience with his steadfast and dependable play, scoring a season-high 20 points and continuing to provide reliability on both ends of the floor.
The Friars scored over 100 points for the 2nd game in a row and are playing (at least offensively) how Kim English and the coaching staff would like them to for this season. The team is deep enough to keep their respective foot on the gas and with improved defense (both rebounding and steals) will garner even more additional possessions and fast break opportunities.
Game Notes:
- Ryan Mela showed once again how underrated he is both as a passer and a rebounder.
- Mela grabbed 12 rebounds, 11 on the defensive end where the Friars struggled in overtime in their loss to Virginia Tech. Mela recorded 4 assists and 18 points on 8-of-10 shooting, including connecting on his first (and second) made three of the year to close out the win for Providence.
- Mela has worked extremely hard this offseason to improve his outside shooting and become more confident in letting it fly when they opportunity reveals itself. Seeing one finally go down after missing on his first 5 attempts this season is hopefully going to take the pressure off a little bit.
- Speaking of improved three-point shooting, Corey Floyd Jr.’s shot has been looking all sorts of good. Floyd Jr. connected on 4-of-5 shots from deep and is now 6-for-9 from beyond the arc this season. His shots are coming within the flow of the offense and now that there isn’t so much dependence on him to have to score, he’s getting much better looks as well.
- Floyd Jr. finished the game with a team-high 20 points, the 3rd time in his career that he has scored 20+ points in a game. His career-high came last year against DePaul when he dropped 25 at The Amp. He also scored 20 points at Butler during his Sophomore season. This marked the 22nd time he has scored in double figures as a Friar and the 2nd time this season.
- The Freshmen tandem of Stefan Vaaks and Jamier Jones continue to thrive off the bench.
- Vaaks is completely unafraid of the moment and willing to take any shot at any time. After being named as the Big East Freshman of the Week in his first ever week of college ball, he has managed to score 14 points in 26 minutes, now having scored in double-digits in each of his first three games. This year’s college basketball Freshmen class is ridiculous and Vaaks is making his case game by game that he deserves to be mentioned along with the other super talented players.
- Despite the fact that Stefan has shown his ability to score the rock, he was able to put his passing on display in this game, recording a team-high 5 assists, some of which (like this one) were gasp-worthy.
- Jamier Jones was the recipient of Vaaks’ cross-court one-handed jai alai pass and threw it down like Friartown has already become accustomed to seeing him do…emphatically.
- Jones scored 11 points to go along with 6 rebounds and 2 assists. His athleticism is really fucking impressive to watch.
- As if we needed any more Freshmen killing it off the bench, Jaylen Harrell got his first appearance with the injuries to Powell, Davis, & Barron and immediately made an impact. His first bucket couldn’t have been scripted any better and the one angle of Corey encouraging him to shoot reminded me so much of when English implored Devin Carter to take a long three.
- Harrell made the absolute most of his minutes, scoring 7 points in only 8 minutes, including 2-of-4 from distance, grabbing an offensive board and notching an assist and a steal. You really couldn’t ask for a more promising first look at Harrell.
- Peteris Pinnis and Jack Williams also saw their first action but neither were able to record any stats (at least not good ones, sorry P with the 2 TOs).
- Oswin continued his perfect shooting season, making all four of his field goal attempts and now stands at 9/9 from the field and even more impressively, 5/5 on free throws.
- Oswin added another 3 blocks to his stat sheet and has now recorded 11(!!!) blocks in 3 games.
- Jason Edwards and Jaylin Sellers continued their scoring ways with 14 & 12 points respectively.
- Edwards also chipped in 5 assists and 4 rebounds, showing that he can affect the game in more ways then shooting.
- Sellers added 5 rebounds and 4 assists as well, providing some very effective passing in the halfcourt.
- Cole Hargrove had his best game of the very young season, scoring his first bucket as a Friar and gobbling up 6 rebounds. He looked much more comfortable on the floor in this game than he did in the previous two, which undoubtedly comes with more experience playing with new teammates.
- Overall, 23 assists, team shooting splits of 54/43/91 and contributions from up-and-down the roster are the takeaways from this game.
- How about Penn’s Michael Zanoni putting up a career-high 30 points on 10-of-17 shooting, including 5-of-8 from three. Following Neoklis Avdalas’ 33-point masterpiece for Virginia Tech, I’m really hoping that we aren’t going to get many more career-best games from opposing players going forward.
- Also, since when the heck did Fran McCaffery start coaching UPenn?
- Postgame Press Conference
Next up, the Friars start their home-and-home series with Colorado, taking on the Buffaloes at their place at 9 PM on ESPN+ on Friday.
The Morning Hangover 