Can the PC Friars Stop Their Free Fall and Beat the DePaul Demons? - McMahon
Robert McMahon, Sports Columnist
Can the PC Friars Stop Their Free Fall and Beat the DePaul Demons? - McMahon
Four disappointing Big East losses in a row. The losses to Seton Hall, Creighton, and St. John’s were disappointing because the Friars had a chance to win each of those games in the last 5 minutes, but couldn’t figure out how to close those games. The 85-65 loss to Xavier at home to a 1-3 Big East team was more than disappointing—it was a psychologically debilitating eye-opening loss, officially signaling that the Friars are in a free fall.
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Did you think the Friars might still beat Xavier when they trailed by only 41-40 at halftime? Actually, the game was over by then. The Friars stopped playing defense in the last 9 minutes of the first half, giving up a season-high 41 points in a half, allowing Xavier to shoot 52% from 3-pt land. The Friars’ own hot shooting in the first half was unsustainable in the second half.
Alas, here are some miserable numbers from PC in the game:
- Friars’ FG % in the second half was 25%;
- Friars’ 3-pt FG% in the second half was 8% (that’s not a typo);
- The guard combo of Ticket Gaines, Corey Floyd, and Garway Dual shot 2-12 from the field for the game;
- Xavier scored 19 points off of PC turnovers;
- Xavier’s bench outscored PC 24-10;
- Xavier out rebounded PC 38-29;
- Xavier’s 85 points were the most allowed by PC this season.
Those numbers describe a team in a free fall and now raise questions of whether PC’s Kim English can turn this team around. English appeared to be outcoached by veteran coaches Rick Pitino in the St John’s game and by Miller in the Xavier game.
It’s on to last-place Big East opponent DePaul this Wednesday in Chicago. How do you spell MUST WIN?
Friars Trivia
Last week’s question and answer:
Q. This former US Senator once dropped 41 Points on PC when he played in college. Who was he and what team did he play for?
A. Bill Bradley, Princeton, 1964-65 NCAA tournament, Elite Eight Game. March 19, 1965
Arguably, one of the best regular season teams in Providence College history, the Friars under Coach Joe Mullaney went 22-1 in the 1964-65 regular season. In the final regular season AP poll, PC ranked #4 in the country, behind Michigan, UCLA, and St. Joseph’s. The Friars had achieved national notoriety with wins in the 1961 and 1963 NIT tournaments, but the 1964-65 edition of the Friars was only the second PC team ever to be selected to the NCAA tournament. Only 23 teams were selected to participate in the NCAA tournament in 1964-65. PC, not in a conference then, was one of the independent teams selected.
PC was led by two super sophomores, Jimmy Walker and Dexter Westbrook. The NCAA still didn’t allow freshmen to play on the varsity teams, so this was Walker’s first year on the big stage. He didn’t disappoint, averaging 21 pts and 6 rebounds per game and playing 38 minutes per game.
The Friars easily beat West Virginia 91-67 in the NCAA opening-round game held at the Palestra in Philadelphia. In the next game held at the Cole Field House at the University of Maryland, PC managed to beat the #3 team in the country, St. Joseph’s, 81-73 in OT. Next up in the eastern regionals was Ivy League champ, Princeton led by scoring machine Bill Bradley. If PC beats Princeton, they would join UCLA, Michigan, and Wichita State in the Final Four.
While Princeton won the Ivy League and had a 23-6 record, they went into the game against the Friars as underdogs because, well, they were from the Ivy League. But Princeton with first-year coach Bill von Breda Kolff dashed PC’s hopes of going to a Final Four. In an absolute shocking result, PC got crushed 109-69, as sophomore Bradley tossed in 41 points. One of the little-used reserves on that Princeton team was a player by the name of Larry Lucchino. Yup, the one and the same guy who later became a Red Sox executive and who was the managing partner of the let’s-make-a-deal folks who moved our beloved Pawsox to Worcester.
Michigan beat Princeton, despite Bradley’s 58 points, in the Final Four, and UCLA beat Michigan in the championship game, one of many for UCLA and Coach John Wooden. Bradley became a three-time All-American, went on to Oxford (not to play basketball), enjoyed ten solid seasons and 2 NBA championships with the NY Knicks (where he was known in his first year as “Dollar Bill” for his rookie season contract for $100,000), and eventually became a US Senator from New Jersey for 18 years.
This Week’s Trivia Question:
Q. The University of Florida leads the NCAA this year in team rebounds averaging 45 rebounds/game. The Friars once led the NCAA with a whopping 51 rebounds/game. What year was that and who was PC’s leading rebounder?