13 Threes Help #6 Villanova Blow Out #25 PC 89-61
GoLocalProv Sports Team
13 Threes Help #6 Villanova Blow Out #25 PC 89-61
See the five takeaways slideshow below.
Providence got off to an awful start, turning the ball over five times before scoring a point which in turn spotted Villanova a 9-0 lead. Providence trailed 34-18 with two minutes left in the half before ending the half on a 7-0 run to only trail by nine going into the locker room.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTThe second started off much better for Providence as they cut thier deficit to only six points, 38-32, with 17 minutes left in the game. However, from that point Villanova used a 10-2 run to put them back up by double digits, 48-34, with 15 minutes left. PC was never in the game the rest of the way as the Wildcat seniors finished their home schedule with a blowout win.
Tyler Harris led the Friars with 18 points in the game while Kyron Cartwright and LaDontae Henton each finished with 12.
Villanova was led by Darrun HIlliard II who netted a game high 24 points while Jayvaughn Pinkston followed up with 16.
The Friars return to action on Sunday, March 1 when they host Marquette at the Dunkin' Donuts Center. Tip-off is set for 3:30 p.m.
For a further look at the Friars loss, see the five takeaways slideshow below.
Five Takeaways From The Friars 89-61 Loss to Villanova
Paschal Chukwu
Carson Desroisers did not play and did not dress in the game after sustaining a knee injury in the DePaul game.
Paschal Chukwu got the start in his place and grabbed four rebounds, scored two points on 1-of-3 shooting from the field and also registered two blocks in the game.
Chukwu played 16 minutes in the game.
Bracketology
Providence is currently slated as a 6 seed in Joe Lunardi's most recent bracket projections which were released on February, 23.
Losing to the #6 team in the country in Villanova, a team with an outside chance at a #1 seed in the tournament, on the road should not hurt them too badly as far as the NCAA tournament goes.
Will they still be ranked come March 2? It will be close, that is where getting blown out like they did could hurt them.
Crucial games upcoming.
Providence has three games left, two of which are at home and all three of which are winnable and so they need to take care of business, starting on Sunday against Marquette where they could redeem themselves.
The remaining three games are also vital because of seeding for the conference tournament. PC is currently a four seed but St. Johns is right behind them with the tiebreakers in their pocket.
With three wins and a little bit of help, the Friars could still get as high as the #2 seed in the Big East Tournament.
With all that said, the next three games are vital for the Friars.
Tyler Harris
Tyler Harris led the Friars with 18 points off the bench in the game on 8-of-11 shooting from the field in 31 minutes of play time.
The 18 points are Harris's highest point total of the season behind his 23 points he scored against Albany in the first game of the year.
Harris still needs to be better defensively. Harris only grabbed two rebounds and was burned on several occasions in the game.
Lackadaisical effort on the defensive end is part of the reason why Cooley took him out of the starting lineup to begin with.
Play calling
The Friars got off to an awful start, going down 9-0 right off the tip and turning the ball over five times in the process.
In that stretch, the Friars leading scorer LaDontae Henton took one shot and it did not come until there was eight minutes left in the half.
In a big game, Henton went the first 12 minutes of it without registering a shot and only got and took eight shots in the game.
So, what happened?
Give credit to Villanova's defense as they were tight on him all night but also wonder why coach Ed Cooley didn't do more to get him open, run him off screens or run different plays for him.
Having your star player go a 12 minute span in a huge game without even taking a shot makes no sense at all.
Turnovers
The Friars turned the ball over 15 times in the game, including five turnovers in the first half before PC even scored a point.
Kris Dunn led Providence with six turnovers in the game which cancels out the seven assists that he dished out.
Villanova registered 25 points off of the 15 turnovers.
The Friars lost the game by 28 so the turnovers, as they usually do, proved costly for Providence.
