Stat Leaders

• Providence was looking for their first win against a top-5 team at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center in nearly 8 years on Wednesday night when #4 Villanova came to town. The first half was tight most of the way with Villanova’s lead fluctuating but staying manageable. The Friars closed the gap to 3 at the half and Ed Cooley had to feel pretty good that his team was still in the game despite a high number of turnovers and offensive rebounds surrendered. The second half was a different story with Villanova stretching the lead all the way to 13 at to 10:09 mark. Providence managed a few comebacks but Villanova made more winning plays down the stretch.
• Alpha Diallo was Providence’s best player in the first half. The freshman led the way for the Friars with 10 points. He has taken big steps forward over the last several weeks. Diallo finished as Providence’s leading scorer with 18 points on 5/9 from the field in 30 minutes.
• Jalen Lindsey scored on 6 points on 2/8 shooting but played solid defense on the night.
• Kyron Cartwright scored 8 points, grabbed 6 rebounds and dished out 5 assists. He appeared to injure himself early in the second half but finished the game fine.
• Rodney Bullock had a forgettable night for the Friars. He never seemed to get into the game and got himself into second half foul trouble. He finished with just 6 points on 3/11 shooting.
• Emmitt Holt went down early in the second half and was in a lot of pain. He eventually was helped to the locker room with what appeared to be a left ankle injury. He eventually re-appeared from the tunnel to ride the exercise bike for a bit before returning to the Friar bench and then into the game. Holt didn’t appeared to be too slowed when he returned and with Providence having a week between games I would expect him to be fine going forward. He finished with 7 points and 7 rebounds.
• Josh Hart led the way for Villanova most of the night. He finished with 17 points. He was perfect from downtown in the first half, going 4/4. He finished the game shooting 6/15 from the field, including 4/5 from deep.
• Jalen Brunson played a solid floor game for Villanova. The sophomore finished with 21 points and 5 assists to lead Villanova but also gave the ball away 7 times.
• Eric Paschall was a relative non-factor the last time these teams met in Philadelphia on January 21st due to foul trouble. Paschall showed up big for Jay Wright’s squad in this one. He was a bully on the boards and finished with 12 points and 6 rebounds.
• Providence falls to 10-56 all-time against teams ranked in the top-5.
• Villanova was efficient again in converting Providence’s turnovers into points. 14 Providence giveaways turned into 19 points for the Wildcats. Villanova also scored 36 of their 66 points in the paint and grabbed 11 offensive rebounds. Providence also pulled down 11 of their own misses but Villanova’s were at key times and they are too good of a team to give that many second chances to.
• Providence hosted 2017 recruit Daniel Mading at tonight’s game. He is on an official visit to Providence through Friday.
• The Friars next travel to New Jersey to take on Seton Hall at the Prudential Center. The game tips Wednesday, February 8th at 8:30pm EST. The game will be televised on FS1.

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Mike Hopkins

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