Providence Heads to Creighton Looking to Keep Momentum Going
Through 28 games this season, Providence has been forced to lean on 11 different starting lineups.
On a team seemingly bursting with depth in the preseason, the Friars rolled out a starting lineup on Wednesday that included former walk-on Nilavan Daniels.
But the Friars have just found a way recently. Mechanical issues on their plane meant they would arrive in Chicago a few hours before tip against DePaul, but they took home a 71-68 win. PC played without Corey Floyd Jr. (hamstring) and Stefan Vaaks (illness) against Xavier, but raced out to a 23-point lead and did enough over the last six minutes to win comfortably, 94-84.
Kim English told WPRI’s Sam Knox that he hopes to have Vaaks back on Saturday night at Creighton. Meanwhile, Floyd continues to work his way back, and Duncan Powell is wrapping up the last leg of a three-game suspension from his role in the melee against St. John’s.
While the main focus throughout this season has been on the team’s defensive shortcomings, the injury bug continues to haunt Kim English in his third season at Smith Hill.
The opening-night starting lineup of Floyd, Sellers, Jason Edwards, Powell, and Ernhunmwunse has started three games together.
Edwards has missed eight games, Powell missed eight as well, while Floyd has been out for six — that’s about a quarter of a season between the three. Meanwhile, reserves Rich Barron (0 games), Daquan Davis (3), and Jaylin Harrell (6) have missed most of the year.
The stalwarts for Providence have been Sellers, Mela, and Erhunmwunse, who have played in all 28 games this season.
While English emphasizes that there is no go-to guy on his offense, Sellers is emerging into the leader of this group as March approaches.
English had high praise for him with Knox earlier this week: “I think Jaylin Sellers is an example of portal recruiting going right. We got to know him. We fell in love with him. He’s been almost a Josh Oduro-type of dream player — tough, talented, smart, hard-working, humble, mature.”
Sellers is also scoring an an elite level.
With three games remaining in the regular season, Providence could push for a top-five finish, if things break right over the final week.
Currently, PC is seventh in the Big East with a 6-11 mark — a half-game ahead of Butler and a game up on Marquette, Xavier, and Georgetown. They are a game behind DePaul and two back of Creighton.
Mike Hopkins, of pcbb1917.com, shared this interesting graphic, which breaks down the Friars’ Big Tournament seeding probabilities:
Providence’s schedule sets up favorably over the final week, as PC hosts Marquette before traveling to Georgetown next weekend to take on a Hoya group that just lost KJ Lewis for the season.
But first, the Friars will need to take care of business in Omaha tonight, where Creighton has had tremendous success over the past decade.
The Jays are “down” relative to their standard — which is natural after losing Ryan Kalkbrenner and Steven Ashworth. They are 8-10 in league play, 14-15 overall and, despite a thorough beatdown of UConn on the road, they are 3-7 since PC last saw them.
In the first meeting, Providence’s athleticism was the biggest difference, as the Friars took a 93-88 win. Jamier Jones went for 18 points, 11 rebounds, and three steals, while Stefan Vaaks scored 24 points, despite a 2-10 shooting night from deep.
Notably, Sellers fouled out without making a field goal, while Edwards was sidelined with a foot injury. Still, PC got a big lift from Powell (10 points, three 3-pointers), Erhunmwunse (14 points, 13 rebounds), and Mela (14 points). Erhunmwunse dominated on the offensive glass.
Providence is 4-2 in its last six games, and won its last two.
On paper, this is a good matchup for the Friars, but PC is 2-6 on the road in Big East play this season and 3-10 away from Providence on the year. They’ll need a good effort to keep the momentum going.
Keep it rolling PC……