Game Notes & Preview: PC at Creighton 3/8/14 #pcbb

Where: CenturyLink Center – Omaha, NE

When: 8:00pm

How: CBS Sports Network (Brent Stover and Pete Gillen) /WEEI 103.7 FM (John Rooke and Joe Hassett)

Game Notes

  • The Friars and Blue Jays have met 11 times all time. PC has a 7-4 edge in the series but before this season, the two teams hadn’t played since November 25, 2000.
  • Bryce Cotton leads the nation in minutes per game with 40.2. He is averaging a mind boggling 42.2 mpg in Big East contests. Anything less than overtime games is now “hurting” his average. Cotton needs 28 minutes tomorrow to break Billy Donovan’s single season record of minutes played (which Cotton already tied once, 1,234 minutes) and only 6 minutes to break the career record for minutes played of 4,128 held by Donnie McGrath. He also has a really good shot at the single season record for minutes played/game held by Jimmy Walker (39.7 mpg during 1966-1967 season). He is 10th in the nation in points per game at 21.7, 11th in the nation in total points scored at 651, T-17th in the nation in assists per game at 5.9 and T-7th in the nation in Free Throws made at 192. Cotton is now in 5th place all time on the PC scoring list with 1,863 career points in a Friar uniform. He surpassed the great Marvin Barnes for 5th all time by hitting a pair of free throws early against Marquette on Tuesday. He also is playing in his 126th game tomorrow which will break Dickey Simpkins record of 125 career games played as a Providence Friar. There are more records he is close to or may break but there just isn’t enough time in the day to list them all here.
  • Bryce Cotton is 2nd in the Big East in scoring (21.7 ppg) and Doug McDermott is 1st (25.9 ppg).
  • Bryce Cotton is 1st in the Big East in assists (5.9 apg) and Austin Chapman is 3rd (4.3 apg).
  • Kadeem Batts is 4th (7.6 rpg) and LaDontae Henton is 5th (7.3 rpg) in the Big East in rebounds while Doug McDermott is 6th (7.2 rpg).

Kenpom InstaGamePrep

Note: Rankings reflect Conference Games Only

 pc vs creighton kenpom 1

pc vs creighton kenpom 2


Game Preview

Tuesday night at the Dunk for Senior Night was a very emotional night from beginning to end. Bryce Cotton capped off a thrilling double overtime win by hitting the game winning free throws with under 8 seconds remaining after the heads up play of forcing a tie up with Marquette guard Jake Thomas who was looking to get fouled. The tie up gave PC the ball and Cotton was fouled on the inbounds, leading to his charity stripe heroics. 

Emotions will be running high again tomorrow night in Omaha but this time it will be for the other team’s Senior Night. All-world Doug McDermott, 6th yr Senior Grant Gibbs and Ethan “Wragge Bomb” Wragge are among the seniors being honored tomorrow night at the CenturyLink Center. This may not be a “must win” game for the Friars but it would sure help their chances of dancing on the Blue Carpet in 9 days. The key for PC will be to shoot well early and not allow Creighton to ride the emotional wave of Senior Night to a large early lead. In their last meeting at the Dunk, PC was able to get out to a small lead and maintain it for the wire to wire victory. The Friars had a 7 point lead at the break and they were able to stretch that lead to double figures behind some hot shooting by Tyler Harris. Cotton, Henton and Harris did most of the scoring for PC in that one while Doug McDermott (21 pts) and Devin Brooks (10 pts) were the only Creighton players in double figures. Grant Gibbs missed that January matchup at the Dunk due to a knee injury that cost him a month. His presence tomorrow should give Creighton a better balance.

Going on the road to Creighton and winning is a tough ask. It’s a tougher ask on Doug McDermott’s senior night. I think the Friars will be in this game the entire way and will fight but McDermott will prove to be too much for the PC defense to hold down.

Prediction: Providence 71 Creighton 80

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