Four Games In, Providence is Still Searching for a Defensive Identity

Four games into the 2025-26 season, Providence faces serious questions about its defense.

Friday night’s 97-88 loss to Colorado saw the Buffs score 58 points in the second half — a half in which they shot 60% from the field. Colorado put up 54 points in the paint, another 19 on the break, and trailed for just 20 seconds to a Providence team that sprung leaks in transition, on the glass, and in staying in front of the ball.

“It was a big emphasis for us to really attack the paint and put pressure on their guards and really challenge them to defend,” CU point guard Barrington Hargress said following his 15-point, 11-assist, 1-turnover effort. “We understood that they gave up a lot of points in their past three games, so we wanted to really push the tempo and really push and see how physical we can be — and (we) set the tone from there.”

Through four games, Providence has been unable to set its defensive tone. The 58 points Colorado scored in the second half continued the trend of opponents getting what they want over the final 20 minutes.

Following an exhibition game in which Harvard scored easily in the second half (50 points), Holy Cross went for 52 second half points in the opener, while Virginia Tech scored 46 (and another 21 in overtime), and Penn went for 45.

“I didn’t have the guys ready. That’s on me. That’s a tough pill to swallow because they (CU) played exactly how we anticipated it looking,” Friar head coach Kim English said following a loss that dropped his team to 2-2.

“I didn’t recognize the team that was out there today and that’s an unsettling feeling as a coach — the second time I’ve felt that this season — us simply not doing what we work on, or not doing what the game requires.”

He added, “We are going to revamp our practices. We are going to flip this thing and really, really hone in on our defense. Eighty eight points is plenty.”

Few are questioning this team’s ability to score. Jason Edwards was great offensively on Friday night, with 24 points, 6 assists, and zero turnovers, while fellow newcomer Jaylin Sellers scored all 15 of his points in the second half — but playing catch-up without getting stops is an impossible task. Trailing 9-2 early, PC ran uphill from the start.

Providence is obviously committed to playing at a fast pace this season. Even with his group averaging 77 possessions per 40 minutes (up from 65 last season and 67 the year prior), English noted that he wanted his group to play even faster in Tuesday’s 106-81 win over Penn. They are currently playing at the 16th fastest pace in the country, per CBB Analytics.

Is that a winning formula for Providence?

Teams need to score at a high clip to continue to advance in March. A criticism of English’s predecessor was that his teams were able to grind out enough victories in the Big East, but had a harder time doing so when going up against a Texas A&M frontcourt with Robert Williams, the length of USC, or the waves of bigs North Carolina threw at them. For all of the success PC had from 2014-2023, two of their three NCAA Tournament victories during that span came against opponents they could bully in South Dakota State and Richmond.

In order to return to March, however, the Friars need to establish a baseline defensively — and as early as it is, it’s not unfair to question how a breakneck pace is affecting this group — either physically or mentally.

Is fatigue a reason why they are giving up over 50 points per game in second halves this season? Has a focus on get-it-and-go (regardless of whether it’s a make or miss) come at the expense of the necessary defensive commitment?

Two weeks into the season, there is obviously time for a team with this much talent to get it squared away — but with the Big East struggling and potentially not offering the type of quality wins we’ve been accustomed to, the losses to Virginia Tech and Colorado represent missed opportunities on nights when PC scored more than enough to win.