After an atrocious loss on Saturday night at the Dunk, the Friars regrouped and were able to knock
off #19 Connecticut by a score of 81 to 66. After falling down by as much as ten in the first half, the Friars were able to rally and went into the locker room leading by one. The second half was close and the teams exchanged leads at one time, but Providence built upon their half time lead and stretch things out to as much as 18 at one time. The Friars were led in scoring by Greedy Peterson who netted 23 points in yet another double double performance. Bilal Dixon also had a double double and after scoring no points in the first half Sharuad Curry tallied 18 in the second. UConn had two players score 17 in Gavin Edwards and Kemba Walker. Walker played an outstanding game, but senior leader Jerome Dyson was not much of a factor. With the loss UConn drops to 3-4 in the BIG EAST. They will next take on Marquette. With the win the Friars improve to 4-4 in league play and will travel out to Ohio to play Cincinnati in their next contest.
Going into this game we weren’t expecting too much, especially after what happened against USF on Saturday. In the pregame we asked that we just see inspired basketball. That meant hitting the boards like never before, beating UConn on every hustle play, not taking a single play off, and most importantly an intensity on defense unlike anything we have seen from our guys this year. We are happy to say that we got it! By no means did we shoot the ball particularly well, but it turns out when you play defense and do the other small things you don’t always have to… how about that.
For people who were at the game, the environment was great. It has been slow going this year so far, but the students came out for the big game and had a positive impact. There are few things better than Greedy throwing down a put back on a PC run and having UConn call a 30 second time out, which happens to be just enough time to Fist Pump Jersey Shore Style to Sandstorm. Speaking of Jersey shore, the large head cut-outs of Snooki and Pauly D. could have only helped our cause. We also enjoyed the Tiger Woods head.
Back to the game though. You look at UConn and no doubt about it they are intimidating. They have great height and athleticism, and have NBA talent in Dyson, Walker, and Robinson. But that never deterred the Friars. Even with the height difference Providence played well inside. In the first half it seemed like we were more likely to get out shots blocked by Ater Majok than to get any sort of rebound, but in the second half we owned the boards. We wound up out-rebounding the Huskies 46 to 35 and pulled down 17 offensive boards in the process. Hats off to Greedy and Bilal… and VC for taking control of the glass.
We also saw some defensive intensity. Sure we got beat down the court a few many times. Or gave up way too easy alley-oops, and maybe were caught a little out of position on small plays, or looked flat just a few times, but those were the exceptions this game which is a good thing. There was such a noticeable change in the intensity and the effort the team put forth. It was just great to see. We blew it against USF, no doubt about it, but we responded as good as we possibly could have. And that was great to see, and says a lot about this young team and Coach Keno. And we aren’t so sure we would have beat UConn had we not lost to USF. Maybe not though.
But it was a great game to watch, especially because we won, and it was a great atmosphere. The team showed resilience and it is always nice to beat our neighbors in UConn. This makes it four out of the last five or something like that. We don’t know what it is, but we just play well against them. Maybe Providence really is the bain of UConn athletics. Probably not, but its always nice to beat them on a consistent basis.
PFB Player of the Game: Greedy Peterson- We know VC had a great game. No doubt about it. And we know people are getting numb to Greedy’s double doubles. But we liked Greedy in this game for a few reasons. His work on the boards was essential. 14 rebounds is huge. And his timing in this game was great. He got something done when we needed. Whether it be is first half semi-dunk when fans had nothing to cheer about, or his timely three when we were down, or his monster follow on a fast break miss that sent the crowd into an eruption as UConn had to call a time out, or retrieving a Curry air ball to put it in for a dunk, Greedy came up big. Greedy is exciting and gets the fans into the game, which can not be underestimated. We are taking nothing away from VC, who filled up the stat sheet with seven rebounds, eight assists, and four steals (he did have 5 turnovers). Greedy beat or tied him in most statistics and only had one turnover, but the way VC pushed up the ball and looked in control out there was great. But we thought Greedy with his 23 points, 14 points, three assists, and four steals was the key… but this is the closest we have come to giving a co-player of the game.
Links:
Friars.com
ProJo.com
Friarblog
Friars Can Ger 700 Miles to the Gallon on this Hog [Game Recaps]
UCHuskies Blog
UConn Huskies Basketball Blog
Enrollment(UG) 29,000 / BIG EAST / Ranking: #19
What you should know about UConn: UConn enters tonight’s contest with a 13-6 record overall and at 3-3 in the BIG EAST. Once again they will be without Head Coach Jim Calhoun who has left the team for medical reasons. In his place will be Associate Head Coach George Blaney. Blaney is 2-0 with the team so far including a very big win over then top rated Texas. The Huskies had been on a skid in the BIG EAST, but are coming into the game against the Friars on a hot streak. They are led by senior Jerome Dyson. Dyson is averaging just under 20 points a game and takes the majority of the shots for the Huskies. He will slash and shoot, and has a very quick first step and will finish at the rim, but he will also spot up and hit the three. Dyson’s main support comes from Stanley Robinson and Kemba Walker. Robinson is a superior athlete with great height and length. He is versatile in that he will play you inside and out. Sometimes he has trouble finishing, but at 6’9″ and super athletic he is hard to defend. Walker is not very tall but is as fast as they come. He is a smart player with great ball handling skills whose offensive production is getting to the rim. He finishes with both hands and is fearless on drives. There are some other supporters, such as Gavin Edwards, Alex Oriakhi, and one-time refugee Ater Majok. Majok has yet to break out in the BIG EAST, but he has only had a few games of college experience. Despite the size of the Huskies one weakness to watch for is their trouble on the defensive and offensive glass. They have a bit of a knack for given up a lot of boards so far this season.
PFB Perspective: This could be a long game. For a while we were thinking UConn was in the midst of an off year, similar to that they had back about three years ago, but their win over Texas was a statement. They are a good team. They don’t always play like it, but they have unbelievable talent throughout their team. Dyson, Walker, and Robinson are some of the best players in the league, and when they are all playing their game they are very difficult to stop.
Jim Calhoun is taking a leave from coaching the Huskies. Calhoun has had 
medical leaves prior to this, but this issue is unrelated to any previous medical condition. Prior leaves have been due to bouts with skin cancer and prostate cancer. 
UConn is our enemy no doubt about that, but you have to hope this medical issue with Calhoun isn’t anything to serious. He is a great coach, and like him or not, he adds a lot to every game he is involved in. So we hope Coach Calhoun gets better and is patrolling the UConn sidelines very soon.
Providence played in the inaugural SEC BIG EAST Challenge losing to South Carolina 68-67 at the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia. This years Invitational has some marquee matchups in UConn vs. Kentucky, and Syracuse vs. Florida. Also St. John’s will take on Georgia, and DePaul will play Mississippi State. The action tips off tonight at the Garden with St. John’s playing Georgia, and the anticipated matchup of UConn vs. Kentucky. On Thurdsay the Invitational will head south to Tampa where the other games will take place. The BIG EAST leads the all-time series 5-3 and will look to build on that over the next two evenings.
The Invitational has given us some really nice matchups this year. We have been looking forward to the Kentucky UConn game since the schedule came out, and the Syracuse Florida game has turned into a marquee matchup as well. We have really wanted to see how Kemba Walker and the taller John Wall matchup. They might not play on each other for the whole game but we look forward to when their paths do cross. Hopefully it’s more often than not. Also Syracuse once again finds themselves up against a quality opponent. They dismantled the other two top 15 teams they played but will they be able to do it again? If it was at the Garden where they are amazing yes, but this game is in Tampa and will be a big win away from the Carrier Dome. Both games have the potential to be really good.
