Friar Basketball

6 Things to Watch: Friars Look to Rebound Against the Hall

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Looking to break out of a five game losing skid, Providence visits Newark, NJ on Sunday (12pm tip, Cox and SNY) to take on Seton Hall (12-4, 1-2).  Here’s what to watch for.

1. Can the Friars stop the bleeding?  Wednesday night’s loss to Syracuse was a better effort for the Friars, but as Ed Cooley noted afterwards, Providence isn’t looking for moral victories.  There were several games in Cooley’s first year at the helm in which fans pointed to after the season as games they could have won, but at some point this roster needs to start winning these close games if the program is to turn around.  A road win in Newark would be a nice start.

Most challenging for Cooley over the past month has been the inconsistency from his roster.  His most veteran players are either working their way back from injury (Vincent Council) or have had their play impacted by injuries that are worse on some days than others (Bryce Cotton).  Newcomers Sidiki Johnson and Kris Dunn and been understandably up and down at this stage, while the three players who have played in every game (Kadeem Batts, LaDontae Henton and Josh Fortune) have seen their play spike and dip in conference play.

2. The Pirates can get hot from deep.  Seton Hall has five players with over 20 three point makes this season already. Both Fuquan Edwin and big man Brandon Mobley are shooting 50% from deep, while Aaron Cosby is one of the better shooters in the league.

For a Providence team that had struggled to contain three point shooters for much of the past month (the Syracuse game not withstanding) this could be a problem.

3. Now a junior, Edwin is one of the league’s best. I had Edwin on my 2nd Team All Big East team in the preseason and feel good about that pick after how he’s played to date.  The small forward averaging 17.6 points and 5.8 rebounds and has some of the best hands in the league, stealing 2.6 a night.  He’s scored over 20 points seven times already.

Remember, Providence was in Edwin’s final 2-3 schools when he was coming out of high school. He’s made a three pointer in 15 of 16 games this season.

4. Cosby and Mobley were also PC recruits.  It’s time to come clean on Cosby.  When the former staff was recruiting him I wasn’t seeing it.  I’d seen him a handful of games when he was a junior at Northfield Mount Hermon and he seemed like an undersized slasher (6’2) with a shaky outside shot.  Watching him again that summer alongside Naadir Tharpe and the New England Playaz I still wasn’t sold.

By the next fall Cosby had dramatically improved his jump shot, turning himself into a terrific three point shooter and suddenly he was a near impossible cover at the prep level.  He’s a tough cover at the Big East level now.

The sophomore has elevated his game in conference play.  Against DePaul and Notre Dame he scored 45 points on 9-16 from three point range with 11 assists, before struggling through a 1-10 night against Louisville (in which he still got to the free throw line for 10 attempts).

Cosby injured his knee in the preseason and missed the opener, but he came back early and appears to have found his footing.

Mobley is a matchup problem, a 6’9 50% three point shooter who isn’t afraid to crash the glass despite his lanky frame.  I wrote about him in detail on Thursday.

5. Can Batts and Johnson body Gene Teague? The transfer big man (and I mean BIG at 6’9, 290 pounds) is a true low post presence who has done damage in Big East play.  He’s shooting 62% in conference play so far while averaging 14 points and 11.3 rebounds per game.

6. Does Council continue to improve? The senior point guard brought a poise against Syracuse that was lacking in chaotic performances against DePaul and Louisville.  He had eight points, eight assists and only two turnovers on Wednesday.

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