Putting a bow on the past week in the Big East Tournament
It’s always a thrill heading to Madison Square Garden for the Big East Tournament. My first time attending came back in 1998, during my freshman year as a student at Providence. The Friars, a year removed from reaching the Elite Eight, were rebuilding that season and knocked off Notre Dame in the tournament opener before falling to eventual tournament champion Connecticut in the second round.
That tournament was filled with overtime games and three different contests that were decided at the buzzer (if memory serves 20+ years later). As someone who grew up on the Big East, being in attendance for every game was such a treat.
As an independent writer who lives over three hours from Manhattan, I’ve had to balance in the past decade whether or not to head to the Garden for the Big East Tournament, or save personal days for the NCAA Tournament.
Like so many Friar fans, I was in attendance for the 2014 Big East Tournament championship in which Providence upset Doug McDermott and Creighton, but it had been a decade since I’d returned to the Garden for the tournament. Needless to say, being there from the opener of the tournament this year was special.
Here are some impressions:
Providence’s underclassmen began to emerge in MSG
Kim English had to have been happy with the contributions he received from sophomores Jayden Pierre and Corey Floyd Jr., as well as freshmen Rich Barron and Garwey Dual.
Pierre shined the brightest, going for 15 points, seven assists, and four rebounds in PC’s exciting win over Creighton on Thursday night, while adding 16 more points in the semifinals against Marquette. His personal seven-point spurt against Creighton was impressive, as the point guard went into takeover mode and countered Jays’ star Trey Alexander after momentum had really swung. Providence saw a 13-point lead disappear, but Pierre helped turned the tide back in favor of PC with his clutch shot-making.
Barron shot 4-10 from beyond the arc this week, and exploded for eight early points in the second half against Creighton to give Providence a cushion. Barron has provided a huge lift as a shooter for this team, making at least one 3-pointer in each of his last 11 games. He’s also started putting the ball on the deck and making plays off the bounce of late.
Statistically, the play of Floyd Jr. and Dual won’t stand out as much, but there was an assertiveness and confidence from each of them that had gone missing at times throughout the season. Floyd hit two important threes in the first half against Creighton, and came up with a big steal in the closing minutes. He scored 17 points in the final two games of the tourney for PC, and made 6-10 shots from the floor. He attacked the glass and the rim with aggression and confidence.
Dual played 36 minutes in the tournament, and shot 5-7 from the field, while turning the ball over just once. Dual also had two blocks against Georgetown in the opener. He just looked so much more at ease with the ball in his hands in this tournament, and even flashed the floater that had been such a critical part of his arsenal in high school.
By the numbers
Providence’s defensive numbers were closer to what they had been earlier in the season this week. Their Defensive Rating was 91.1 against Georgetown (85th percentile nationally) and would have been even higher had Jayden Epps not hit a series of tough mid-range and challenging bank shots. PC was a 101.9 against a great offensive team in Creighton (64th percentile), but fell off somewhat in their third game in three days versus Marquette (122.1 Defensive Rating).
PC averaged 20 free throw attempts per game, and shot 82% at the line in MSG. They turned the ball over infrequently, with a Turnover Percentage of 10.4%, which would rank in the 100th percentile in the country. Converting at the line and not turning the ball over is a great formula for success.
The Friars took nearly 29 three pointers per game, and hit them at a 29% clip.
Devin Carter shined throughout the tournament and was named to the All Tournament team on Saturday. He had 19 points, nine rebounds, six assists and two steals versus Georgetown, 22/11/4 with two steals and a block against Creighton, before finishing with 27 points, eight rebounds, and three assists in their loss to Marquette.
Josh Oduro wrapped up his week by making 16-18 at the free throw line, and grabbing 28 rebounds in three games. Oduro had 20 against Georgetown, 17 versus Creighton, but took just four field goal attempts (2-4) when facing the swarming defense of Marquette. Shaka Smart seemed determined to take the ball out of Oduro’s hands by throwing double teams at him.
Kim English’s emotion, the presence of Friartown on full display
Throughout much of the season, Kim English has been relatively stoic on the sidelines and in press conferences. That certainly wasn’t the case this week, as the first-year head coach was fiery, specifically in the Creighton game when he picked up a technical on what he thought was a clean block by Carter, and at the end of the game when he was so fired up celebrating with his team.
At one point in the Creighton game, the Jays had an 18-6 advantage in free throw attempts and every time the Friars got a foul call in their favor he enthusiastically clapped and motioned for the PC contingent to do the game.
“We’re fighting for our lives,” was English’s response when asked about the heightened emotion that we saw this week.
Unsurprisingly, Providence’s fanbase made their presence known. It was such a stark difference from my first time at the Big East Tournament. Back then PC was four years removed from a Big East Tournament championship, and a year from being an overtime session away from the Final Four, but PC just has such a stronger presence in, and around, the arena now. The building was completely electric when Providence pulled out the Creighton game, and Friar fans flooded the streets and restaurants around the arena.
Final notes
It was great spending time with friends, meeting so many Friar fans, and covering the event with Bill Ricci this week. Bill had a great 1:1 interview with Jayden Pierre following his big game against Creighton, and also shared a variety of thoughts on the tournament in an article on Saturday.
Not much went well in regards to the bubble and Providence’s NCAA Tournament chances this weekend, but we’ll find out the Friars’ postseason fortunes in a few hours. We’ll continue to keep you covered throughout whatever the postseason brings in Friartown.
Too funny, that was my first BE tourney, in 98. I took my wife, and couldnt figure why she kept falling asleep with all these crazy overtime games. Turns out she was prego, and junior was hatchted that November. Nothing better than Big EAst tourney and NY city for a few days.