UPDATED: Court Condensation, Poor Shooting Costs PC in 64-60 Loss to #9 Villanova
Joe Calabro, GoLocalProv Sports Team
UPDATED: Court Condensation, Poor Shooting Costs PC in 64-60 Loss to #9 Villanova
PC knocked down just three shots from deep the entire game and they all came in the first half.
“This is back to back games where we are just having a tough time making open and uncontested shots. We have to keep taking them, eventually, they will fall. It has been really disturbing seeing that because in practice they are going down,” said PC head coach Ed Cooley after the game.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTAfter starting Big East play 3-0, Providence has now dropped three straight games and four of their last five.
PC is just 11-10 overall and 4-4 in the Big East.
“I thought we had opportunity after opportunity under the four-minute time out, we just couldn’t capitalize. I thought the game was there to be had, collectively the players and the coaches, we have to find a way to win," added Cooley.
Things don’t get easier for the Friars, who now have a week off before traveling to #13 Butler next Saturday.
Villanova improves to 16-3 overall and 6-1 in the Big East.
Court Condensation Costs PC Late
With PC down five, 57-52, with just under five minutes to play, Providence players slipped on the court in the corner opposite the PC bench on two separate occasions.
The slips resulted in two turnovers for the Friars, the first one coming from Luwane Pipkins and the last one coming from Maliek White.
"It's tough, there may be some condensation on the court, just try to get a shot off. But both teams had to play on the same floor, I’m not going to blame that," said Cooley after the game.
Cooley added, "I don't know how to answer that question."
The Dunkin' Donuts Center has had condensation issues in each of the last two seasons.
In 2018, the issue resulted in PC's game against Seton Hall being suspended and moved to Alumni Hall the next day.
That resulted in tickets for the continuation being very limited and PC losing the game.
End of Game Struggles
Providence trailed by three, 59-56 after two Nate Watson free throws with 3:34 to play in the game.
Watson led the Friars with 18 points in the game on 7-of-12 shooting from the field.
Villanova would go scoreless on their next four possessions, but the Friars were not able to cut into the lead.
During that stretch, David Duke missed two three-pointers and Luwane Pipkins also missed a three.
Following the Pipkins miss, Jeremiah Robinson-Earl got a dunk to go to push Villanova’s lead to 61-56 with 53 seconds left.
A dunk by Duke would get PC back within three, 61-58, with 48 seconds to play in the game, but Villanova would again respond, pushing their lead to 63-58 on two free throws from Collin Gillespie with 27 seconds left.
Two A.J. Reeves free throws would see the Friars back within three again, 63-60, but a Robinson-Earl free throw with 12 seconds left would seal the 64-60 win for Villanova.
Overall, PC shot 31% from the field in the game.
Diallo Sits in 2nd Half
Senior forward Alpha Diallo played just 14 minutes in the game, and sat on the bench for nearly the entire second half.
“It just wasn’t his day. We all have those, we have them as coaches, players, you guys have them as writers. Days where it is just not your day. You have to make decisions and I thought we made the right decision to go with the guys that we had there," said Cooley.
In his time on the court, Diallo went 0-for-6 from the field, grabbed four rebounds, committed three fouls and turned the ball over three times.
Two of his three fouls came in the first four minutes of the game.
PC Down at Half
After holding brief one-point leads early in the half, the Friars trailed 21-18 with seven minutes left in the opening frame.
From there, Villanova went on a 6-2 run to take a 27-20 lead on a three from Justin Moore with 5:17 to play in the half.
Providence would get back within four, 29-25, on a three from A.J. Reeves with 3:14 to go before the break.
The Wildcats would then go on an 8-2 run to build a 37-27 lead on a dunk by Rhode Island native Cole Swider with one minute to play in the half.
PC would cut their deficit to seven, 37-30, just before the half on a tip-in by Nate Watson and a free throw from Maliek White.
The Friars shot 39% from the field in the first half, but just 23% from beyond the arc.
They also didn't get themselves to the free-throw line, making down just 1-of-3 shots.
Meanwhile, Villanova knocked down 52% of their field goals and got to the line eight times, making seven shots.
Next Up
The Friars now have a week off before traveling to #13 Butler next Saturday, February 1.
Game time is set for 2 p.m.