Providence Falls at Xavier in a Disappointing Return to Old Habits
In a season filled with soul-searching losses, Providence’s 97-84 defeat at Xavier on Saturday might sting most of all.
Friar fans spent the first two months of the season wondering if the 2025-26 group would find any semblance of cohesion and collective want on the defensive end.
As disappointing as Wednesday’s 103-98 overtime loss to UConn was, the Friars upped their level of competitiveness enough to take the national champion hopeful to the wire just days after knocking off St. John’s in MSG.
The big step forward they took a week ago turned into a giant one backward against Xavier.
Providence made questionable decisions offensively, and lacked awareness on the defensive end.
“I just didn’t have our guys ready to play tonight. Gotta figure out why,” head coach Kim English said following the game. “Jamier is our hardest playing player. He has the most spirit and courage on our team, and he was sorely missed tonight. But it says a lot about our group that a freshman’s impact is missed that much.”
English, of course, was referring to freshman Jamier Jones — a player who has turned into this team’s engine since his minutes increased in early December.
English was also correct in pointing out that the loss of a first-year player shouldn’t impact his team’s competitive level to this extent.
They didn’t compete on Saturday, and all of the issues that hounded them prior to the St. John’s victory came rushing back in Cincinnati.
Xavier (1-4 in the league entering the game) scored 97 points, made 12 shots beyond the arc, turned the ball over just four times, and trailed for only 18 seconds on Saturday.
“We’re not doing a good enough job delivering the message on what it takes to defend 3-point shooters. It’s been a consistent trend this season,” English said.
The Muskies shot 58% from the field in the second half — a half in which they scored 53 points. They joined Colorado, Wisconsin, UConn, and Holy Cross as opponents who scored 50+ points in the second half against PC.
The bright spots were few for the Friars. Stefan Vaaks finished with 21 points, but many of them came after the game was out of reach, while Ryan Mela (8 points, 7 rebounds) had a spurt early in the second half in which he tried to keep the Friars close.
But PC got a 2-7 shooting night from Corey Floyd Jr. and saw Jaylin Sellers (12 points, 4-12 shooting) taken out of the game after early foul trouble, while Jason Edwards shot 6-15 from the field. The trio of guards combined to make 3-of-13 beyond the arc.
Meanwhile, center Oswin Erhunmwunse played less than two minutes total in the second half after getting pulled for blown defensive assignments early that helped turn a 44-35 deficit at halftime into a 52-38 edge at the 18:35 mark. During that stretch, Jovan Milicevic made three jumpers, including a pair beyond the arc, to all but put the game away.
Providence gave up 30 points on the break and saw Xavier dish out 23 assists.
PC is 8-8 on the season, 1-4 in the Big East, and 2-6 in games away from home.
The Friars return home for a pair of games this week against a resurgent Villanova club on Tuesday before hosting Creighton Friday.
“We’re lacking the integrity you need right now, on a night-to-night basis to, forget win, compete in this league,” English said. “We’ve got to get back to the drawing board — emphasize it more in practice, build on it more in practice.”
We’ll see if the home court can be a remedy for the Friars.
“I was sick to my stomach the other night for fans,” English said of the UConn game. “That was an incredible environment the other night, and I was sick to my stomach we let our fans down — (in) New York, (versus) Connecticut, they’ve given us all they’ve got, and our fans deserve better.”
You don’t keep Oswin out that long. You just tell him what he is doing wrong. Yell at him if necessary! But send him back out there tout suite. I keep wondering if the players really like English enough to play hard for him. Go Friars!
This game was lost after the first 10 minutes. I’ve never seen so many wide open 3 pointers. Too many offensive only players that don’t play any type of defense. When you get one and done players from the portal you get players that are all about their self. Maybe it’s time to play Daniels and Pinnis.