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Northwestern 72, Providence 63

Screen Shot 2019-11-13 at 11.50.57 PM

This one was tough to watch.

Providence fell to a rebuilding Northwestern program on Wednesday night, 72-63, and it was not just that they lost, but the lack of maturity shown by a veteran group down the stretch, that is troubling.

The offensive numbers were beyond ugly for the Friars. PC made 22 shots from the field and missed 50 (30.6%). They shot 8-35 from 3-point range (22.9%), and 11-18 at the free throw line (61.1%).

Perhaps more troubling for Ed Cooley will be the fact that Northwestern shot 60% from the field in the first half.

Alpha Diallo went 6-21 from the field (1-8 from 3) and Luwane Pipkins 3-15 (3-11 from 3). Diallo did finish with 14 rebounds, but Providence was begging for a veteran to take control of a game that was winnable down the stretch, and Diallo and Pipkins struggled to convert.

PC trailed 55-35 with 12:30 left in this one, but went on a 14-0 run in a little over three minutes to cut the lead to six with just more than nine minutes to play. The run was sparked by Maliek White, who kicked it off with a jumper, found Diallo for a layup and capped it with a 3-pointer at the 9:04 mark. Pipkins connected on a pair of 3s during this spurt as well.

Providence got to within five after David Duke knocked down a 3-pointer with 6:05 to play, but decision making and shot selection was the Friars’ undoing down the stretch.

PC had a chance to cut the lead to three after White was fouled following a steal with 4:43 to go. White missed both foul shots, however. Providence got stops on the next two possessions, but White and Diallo misfired on quick 3-pointers before Northwestern’s Ryan Young scored their first field goal in over four minutes with a layup to push the lead to 62-55 with just over three minutes left.

White found Diallo for a dunk 12 seconds later, and then Diallo grabbed a missed Pipkins 3-pointer and laid it back in with 2:16 left to cut Northwestern’s lead to just three at 62-59.

That was as close as the Friars would get. Northwestern converted a layup on the other end, and Emmitt Holt missed a layup on the next possession that would have sliced the lead to three with 1:27 on the clock.

Bad shooting nights will happen, but the decision making in the face of Northwestern’s zone was frustrating, especially for a veteran team. Providence got solid outings from Duke (14 points) and freshman Greg Gantt, who came off of the bench to score nine points on 4-4 shooting while grabbing five rebounds.

PC got just one field goal from the interior duo of Kalif Young and Emmitt Holt, while AJ Reeves went 0-5 from the field and sat much of the second half.

10 Comments

  1. B Hall

    November 14, 2019 at 10:55 am

    Pathetic is the only way to describe this game. Poor decision making by Our so called senior leaders, awful shooting and ball handling. Mental toughness is a real problem with this team dating back yo last year.

  2. Ray i

    November 14, 2019 at 3:26 pm

    Maybe time to recruit players that can just plain shoot.

  3. J

    November 14, 2019 at 4:26 pm

    I think it may be time to accept the fact cooley is incapable of creating offense. Any player on the team including walk-ons could manage Alpha numbers if they consistently put up 15-20 shots a game.

  4. Brian C

    November 14, 2019 at 4:36 pm

    Waaay to many forced threes in this game. I understand they’re probably trying it out now we’ll need to real offense against legitimate teams.

  5. rayi

    November 14, 2019 at 5:52 pm

    How can after last yr this group once again not show up ready to play. They should at a minimum been able to shut down this team on defense. Maybe our coach can recruit but can’t mold a team.

  6. MercuryHg poisoned

    November 14, 2019 at 11:50 pm

    EC can not recruit…or coach. And he’s paid 2 million a year. Money would be better spent fielding a baseball team…and building fire escapes for the dorms. Seriously.

  7. Tom kaout

    November 15, 2019 at 12:24 am

    Yeh, take a deep breath. Kentuckey andDuke also lose. Part of growing. EC is awesome, maybe better in recruiting but what does a small school like PC have to offer. I don’t think the school shits ice cream. We are all lucky.

  8. Den O

    November 15, 2019 at 1:38 am

    I love Ed, but look at his record at Providence….71-73 in the Big East and 1-6 in post-season. He gets decent players, but don’t overrate the talent here.

  9. Friar Joe

    November 15, 2019 at 3:48 am

    I love EC and he usually gets players to excel in year 2. But there are also frustrations with a failure to address consistent programmatic deficiencies. They couldn’t make easy layups last year. Problem last night. They shoot too many 3s. Problem last night. They could’n’t shoot free throws last year. Missed critical ones last night. Lackadaisical with the b-ball in the lane, etc….

  10. KJB

    November 15, 2019 at 4:29 am

    It is painful as a loyal PC fan to watch this team consistently make the same mistakes: horrendous passing decisions forcing the ball where it is ill advised, poor foul shooting, lack of offensive rebounding, forced shots from the perimeter, lack of discipline under and around basket for layup shots. Where is the mental decision making? The team continues to lay an “egg” in games they are projected to win. This could be a season of disappointment if EC doesn’t rally the troops…..quickly.

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