The Season in Review: Winning in Hartford and the Birth of "Be Them Dudes"
When last we looked back on the 2021-22 Friars, Ed Croswell helped shift the momentum in a monstrous win over Texas Tech, and then dominated a URI frontcourt after some disparaging words were said about him by a family member of the Rams’ starting 4/5 duo.
Then, when Providence hosted a good Vermont team three days following the URI victory it had the makings of a potential trap game, but Ed Cooley’s group got big-time performances from veterans Nate Watson and AJ Reeves.
Watson was a force on the interior, making 10-12 shots from the field on his way to a 24 point night.
Reeves was on the verge of kicking off a terrific four game stretch — a run that came to a halt when he fractured his finger on New Year’s Day against DePaul.
In PC’s 68-58 win over Vermont, Reeves made 8-12 shots from the field and 6-8 from 3-point range in finishing with 24 points.
Reeves carried over his solid play over the weekend when Central Connecticut State visited. In that 68-53 victory, he had perhaps the most well-rounded statistical performance of his career with 17 points, nine rebounds, and seven assists. PC opened the game on a 22-4 run, and led 44-25 at the break, before letting their foot off the gas over the closing 20 minutes.
The Friars closed the non-conference portion of the schedule about as well as they could have hoped: 10-1 with their only loss coming on a neutral site against Virginia.
After a week off, Providence was set to travel to #20 UConn on Dec. 18, and then host Georgetown Dec. 22 and #15 Seton Hall on Dec. 29 to kick off Big East play.
The Connecticut game was one everyone had circled on their calendars prior to the season. Dan Hurley and Co. were in their second year back in the Big East, and had the full Big East/Fox PR machine behind them, but this would be the first time they hosted a conference opponent with a full complement of fans since their return.
Heading into the 2021-22 season, it felt to many that UConn was on the way up, while PC was fresh off of a disappointing 2020-21 campaign. And while the two programs split their two games last season, this game — a Saturday night in Hartford — felt like the first time the rivalry was truly renewed since 2013.
UConn was 9-2 and ranked 20th in the country, while the 10-1 Friars were still looking for their respect.
As everyone in Providence would be reminded for the weeks and months that followed, Connecticut was without star center Adama Sonogo, and by the end of the first half the Friars led 31-22.
Reeves sparked the first half lead by making four 3-pointers, including three over the final five minutes. He then twice drew multiple defenders late in the half which freed Croswell for dunks.
The Friars ripped off a 17-1 run that began in the first half and closed early in the second.
The UConn game also marked the return of Jared Bynum, who had been out since injuring his ankle against Central Connecticut State in November. No one saw Bynum morphing into an All Big East player at this point of the season, but his impact in his return was undeniable.
He came up with nine points, six rebounds, and two steals in Providence’s 57-53 upset victory.
His defensive activity made a big difference in the first half. The Friars were trailing 9-5 when Bynum entered the game, but went on an 8-0 run after he first stepped on the floor.
Bynum made what may have been the biggest shot of the game when he knocked down a 3-pointer with 8:24 on the clock when UConn was surging and the crowd came to life. Providence’s 16 point advantage had been cut to six before Bynum’s counter went down.
After back-to-back buckets by Tyrese Martin cut an 11-point PC lead to seven with about five and a half minutes left in the game, Bynum again responded by finishing on a lefty layup.
After leading 55-48 with 2:30 left, the Friar lead had been cut to two with just over a minute to play, thanks in part to a flagrant foul on Al Durham in the closing minutes. Durham redeemed himself by making the biggest shot of the game.
Durham slipped baseline for a layup on a pick and roll play that Providence had twice gotten dunks for their big men on earlier in the game.
As I wrote at the time:
Clinging to a two point lead with just under a minute to play in the second half, Providence drew up a play for Durham in the game’s biggest moment. PC went with a screen and roll, forcing Isaiah Whaley (last season’s Co-Defensive Player of the Year in the Big East) to make a decision as Durham drove baseline.
Would he close the baseline against Durham, or try to protect against a diving Nate Watson? Whaley took one step toward Watson, which freed Durham for an instant. The fifth year senior guard took advantage by getting to the bucket and finishing with his off hand.
The play may have looked familiar to Whaley. Providence twice got dunks off of a similar (if not the same) pick and roll play from Durham with Whaley in coverage. The first came early when Durham dumped a pass off to Watson for a dunk, then with about 11 minutes to go in the second half Durham fed Croswell for a slam.
It’s hard to imagine those two previous plays didn’t enter Whaley’s mind as Durham drove baseline in a similar fashion. He didn’t commit to Durham with the same vigor as he had on the two previous plays.
Croswell made five of six shots from the field and scored 11 points in 15 minutes off the bench, while Connecticut shot 31% from the field, 27% from 3, and went nine minutes without a field goal in the first half. The Providence zone held UConn to one bucket in 11 possessions.
And with that, a night of celebration in Hartford turned into pure frustration for Husky fans — and elation in Friartown.
Providence was scheduled to play Georgetown four days later in Providence, but due to COVID-19 issues in the Hoyas program the game was postponed until January.
Nine days after the UConn win, PC hosted #15 Seton Hall. Kevin Willard’s club made noise in the non-conference schedule by knocking off then-#4 Michigan on the road, followed by consecutive wins over #7 Texas and in-state rival Rutgers.
The Hall was off from Dec. 12 until they came to Providence for a Dec. 29 game with the Friars (COVID-related issues cost them games against Iona, St. John’s and DePaul in the meantime).
The Friars found their way into the AP Top 25 following the UConn win. They entered the Seton Hall game ranked #21. The Hall suited up eight scholarship players, but were without just one starter — 7’2 center Ike Obiagu. Providence’s big men did damage in this one, with Noah Horchler going for 17 points and 13 rebounds, while Nate Watson scored 14.
As was the case against UConn, Providence secured a double digit second half lead (40-27) before letting the Pirates creep back into the game. Unlike the UConn game, PC was never truly threatened in this one, however.
Five Friars scored in double figures, with Bynum going for 14/4/3 off the bench, Reeves getting downhill off the bounce repeatedly, and Durham making 8-10 at the free throw line.
This game also resulted in a mic’ed up Cooley dropping what would become the theme of the season when he told his team the game would be a street fight, and that his team wins every street fight. “Be them dudes,” he implored them (see the 4:50 mark of the highlights below).
With the win over Seton Hall, Providence entered 2022 with an overall record of 12-1 and a 2-0 Big East mark. It was their best start since the Kris Dunn/Ben Bentil-led team of 2015-16.
And it was only just the beginning.
The Friars would lose just twice more before the calendar turned to March.
friendly edit: i believe you meant st peters when referring to Jareds injury