Friar Basketball Notebook: Providence's Best Offense of the Realignment Era Meets Its Worst Defense

A look behind the numbers... Plus, Daquan Davis will miss the remainder of the season.

Photo courtesy of Carl Rizzo at gameone_photography

1. Providence sophomore Daquan Davis announced on Instagram that he will miss the remainder of the season following knee surgery.

Davis played in just three games after transferring in from Florida State, totaling 28 minutes combined against Holy Cross, Virginia Tech, and Colorado.

Davis committed to Providence early in the portal cycle after putting up 8.8 points and 2.5 assists per game as a freshman. He was the victim of a numbers game early in the year, as Kim English went with Corey Floyd Jr. as his point guard and brought in both Jason Edwards and Jaylin Sellers after Davis committed in the spring.

With Providence’s defense struggling to the extent that it has, it would have been interesting to see if the defensive-minded Davis could have found his way into more playing time as the rotation started to evolve in late November.

Davis, of course, was originally English’s first commitment in the class of 2024 before changing course and committing to FSU in the fall.

2. Providence’s season has become a study in contrasts. On one hand, the Friars are producing offense at a level the program hasn’t reached in more than a decade. On the other, their defense has slipped to its lowest point of the realignment era.

Any Friar fan would have signed up for the type of offensive production Providence has gotten this year — in fact, the 1.169 points per possession PC has scored this season is the program’s best mark since the Big East realignment in 2013.

• Providence has never averaged more than 1.000 points per possession during this time, and it currently ranks in the 88th percentile in the country.

• What’s more, Providence’s 1.033 points per possession in the halfcourt ranks in the 92nd percentile nationally.

• They’ve been in the 70th percentile or better in overall offense just once since 2013.

Here’s a season-by-season look:

Of course, the issue is on the defensive end, where PC’s .950 points per possession against ranks in the 24th percentile nationally and mark the program’s worst number since realignment:

3. Statistically, the Friars’ biggest struggles defensively come in slowing spot-up shooters, cleaning the offensive glass, and containing pick-and-roll ball handlers.

Here’s a breakdown by play type: