Thoughts from the Road: Friars Fall Short in Double OT at Marquette

This Thoughts from the Road: Home Command Center edition is brought to you by Ben Bentil’s 42 points and fueled by some Ash Wednesday pizza from Umberto’s.

  • On it’s face, losing a double OT game at Marquette probably wouldn’t be a horrific event in Providence’s season. But, if you take it out of that vacuum and look at this loss in it’s context as the 3rd straight Big East loss for the Friars, the result becomes increasingly worrisome for Ed Cooley’s bunch. The Friars are now 6-6 in league play with the final 3rd of their Big East season beginning at home on Saturday against Georgetown. They absolutely need to win that game to stop the bleeding. It also doesn’t help that this loss brings Providence’s record against Marquette in Milwaukee to a horrific 0-10.

  • What can you say about Ben Bentil’s effort in this game? He was an absolute warrior to play through the clear pain he was in after tweaking his already-injured right ankle a few times during the game. For Bentil to still manage 48 minutes on that balky ankle says a ton about his toughness. To also pour in a career-high 42 points and grab 12 rebounds is simply amazing. Unfortunately, this effort will be for naught since Providence lost the game. This is Bentil’s 7th league game with 20 or more points — he has 14 such games overall this season — his 3rd game this season with 30 or more points and his 5th double-double of the season. He clearly was hobbled and my guess is he will be limited in practice, or won’t even practice at all, ahead of Saturday’s game against Georgetown.
  • Kris Dunn only took 9 shots in 39 minutes of action. He scored 17 points — 6 on free throws — and was certainly hounded by Marquette defenders — routinely more than one at a time — but Dunn needs to be more assertive within the offense. I say “within the offense” because I want to make it clear that I’m not advocating for Dunn to go all Marshon Brooks and start jacking up fadeaway jumpers, but I think there is a happy medium that he needs to find between getting teammates involved and finding that takeover gear at the right times. Once Dunn fouled out, this game was essentially over. The only reasons Providence had a remote chance in the second overtime were Marquette’s miscues and Bentil’s absurd shooting.
  • Rodney Bullock continues to leave fans wanting for his non-conference self. Bullock scored 9 points and grabbed 4 rebounds in 27 minutes before fouling out, but it certainly felt like he contributed less than those numbers. He also had 2 recorded turnovers, though it certainly seemed like that number could have been higher. Marquette’s size gave Bullock problems, but he still should have played better than he ultimately did.
  • Junior Lomomba was a bright spot on the night. He scored 11 points on 4/5 shooting in 38 minutes, while also dishing out 6 helpers and grabbing 3 rebounds. Lomomba played pretty well on the defensive end, too.
  • Ryan Fazekas seemed to have turned a corner recently in his battle to return to form after missing a month with mono. He got off to a good start in this game by draining his first attempt from beyond the arc, but it was all downhill from there. He would end the game 1/7 from the floor, including 1/6 from 3-point range and had an uncharacteristic airball, to boot. Many of his misses from downtown looked good out of his hand and some went halfway down before spitting out, but Providence could have really used an “on” night from Fazekas in a game they attempted 31 triples.
  • Kyron Cartwright didn’t do much scoring in this game, but he dished out 7 assists in 41 minutes of action and was leaned on heavily once Dunn fouled out. Cartwright missed more than one layup on the game and finished 1/6 from the field, including a desperate and pointless heave from downtown at the buzzer.
  • Jalen Lindey had moments where Cooley must have wanted to murder him, but he also had some positive moments. On the positive side, he pulled down 8 rebounds and made 2 clutch free throws to tie the game at 81 and send the teams into the second overtime. On the negative side, he took too many jumpers and had critical turnovers. Lindsey continues to be the most confounding player on this team and this game was a perfect microcosm.
  • This is certainly gut-check time for this Providence team. Cooley’s teams have traditionally gotten better as the season has gone along, but this skid has lasted longer than just the last 3 games. Providence shot under 40% from the field for the 7th time in 12 league games and they gave up a plethora of offensive rebounds and second chance points in a number of games, including the last 3 times out. The Friars looked good down in DC against the Hoyas at the end of January and they absolutely need to leave the Dunkin’ Donuts Center on Saturday afternoon with a win. There will be another sellout+ crowd as it’s Alumni & Family Weekend in Friartown, and the fans will be restless.
  • Cooley may want to divide the league season into thirds and emphasize that his team needs to be better than .500 in this final third to solidify their NCAA Tournament hopes. He has openly talked about the “blue carpet” with his players in recent years and should do so again. That’s their goal, to get to the NCAA Tournament. It looked like a matter of seeding just a few weeks ago, but the L’s keep mounting and the ancillary stats — namely RPI — are starting to tumble.

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5 responses to “Thoughts from the Road: Friars Fall Short in Double OT at Marquette”

  1. PG@@ Avatar
    PG@@

    Just a HUGE disappointment!!! This team is going no where!!

  2. Matt Avatar
    Matt

    Kriss Dunn draft stock in slowly falling. Such a shame.

  3. Pat Avatar
    Pat

    I really do not agree with Lindsy trying to take lost shot in regulation. I know probably Bentil was second option. But thats none of my business. Cartwright needs to finish at the rim or pull up and shoot more. He some nights has carried them Cartwright.

  4. […] ICYMI – Thoughts from the Road: Friars Fall Short in Double OT at Marquette […]

  5. PG@@ Avatar
    PG@@

    Not only is Dunn’s stock falling fast as it should!! The teams stock is falling FASTER and this team will be lucky to make the NIT if they continue down this same road. Dunn kills this team with crucial turnovers, playing like he is on the playground!! He needs to play like a Big East point guard!! This team is becoming a bigger disappointment every game!!

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