Over the weekend, I began writing a review of the Bad Boy Mowers Battle 4 Atlantis and previewing the Brigham Young and Rhode Island games. I spent many intense hours putting together my thoughts while sitting at my cubicle (Editor: It’s a stall). When my other job, the one that pays real money instead of this one where my cheap boss gives me a handful of expired coupons every Friday (Editor: some stores still accept expired coupons) was too busy, I did not finish. What follows is the part I had written before Tuesday game in italics, followed by a post-game update. I hope it flows well.
It was the best of times; it was the worst of times for the Friars last week in the Bahamas. Unfortunately for the basketball team, the best part of the week appeared to be the beautiful weather, as the temperatures were consistent with highs around 80 and lows around 70. The people I have heard from that attended seemed to have a great time. As for the games themselves, three losses in three days, two of which were never in doubt, and being played on a slippery floor made for a tough few days for the team and fans alike. The good news is the calendar just turned to December and there is plenty of basketball to be played. This runs counter to the panic on social media that the season is over and the sky is falling.
To be sure, there are reasons to be concerned about what we have seen to date. The near losses to Central Connecticut and Hampton had many fans on edge, and last week did nothing to alter that anxiousness. This week’s games with Brigham Young and at an improved Rhode Island team mean there is no time to fret about the past and an opportunity to change perceptions as well as picking up two solid wins. From there it doesn’t get any easier with next week’s trip to undefeated DePaul and a neutral site game against a better-than-expected St. Bonaventure to close out the non-conference schedule. As an eternal Friar optimist, this gives us the chance to put ourselves in a position to return to the NCAA tournament after last year’s terrible committee decision kept us out.
To review, last week was another opportunity for the Friars to build their resume but it didn’t work out the way we hoped. The first game against the Oklahoma Sooners was our best opportunity to pick up a quality win, and we nearly pulled it off in the most improbable fashion. In a back-and-forth contest that featured strong performances from Corey Floyd and Wesley Cardet (as well as serving as a coming-out party for Oklahoma freshman and former Friar target Jeremiah Fears) saw the Sooners finally take a seemingly insurmountable 8-point lead with 32 seconds left. The Friars then got a three pointer from Bensley Joseph, a layup from Floyd and two free throws from Jayden Pierre cut the lead to 4. A technical foul on OU for too many players on the floor and the resulting two free throws by Pierre gave the Friars one last shot. Jayden got a clean but deep shot that just missed at the buzzer.
The next two days were much more of a struggle for the Friars, especially the Thanksgiving Day turkey of a game against Davidson. (Editor: I did not approve of that mediocre pun.) The Wildcats jumped out to an early lead and the game was never in doubt. The Friars offense was never in sync, as evidenced by the fact that they shot 10-37 (27%) on 2-pointers in the game. The end result on top of the previous day’s disappointment compounded the angst in Friartown, leading to unnecessary and unhelpful outbursts on social media. It also meant the Friars had to play the first game the next morning at 11:00 a.m. against Indiana, who came into the tournament ranked in the top 15. Another slow start saw the Friars down ten at the half, and never get the lead below nine over the final 20 minutes. It was a disappointing end to a trip that began with much promise and excitement in Friartown.
There were some positives over the trip which are easy to overlook when things do not go as expected. Jabri Abdur-Rahim had his best game since the Stonehill game on November 9th against Indiana. He was aggressively looking for his shot and tied his season high with three three-pointers. He needs to play like this going forward to help open the Friars offense. Oswin Erhunmwunse continued his development with 16 rebounds (including 10 offensive rebounds) and 5 blocked shots in the final two games. His offense is definitely still a work in progress, but he is getting better. Jayden Pierre reinforced my opinion that he is the best shooter on the team, going 11-24 from three over the tournament.
What a difference a day makes! Apparently, adding one of the best players in the country to a lineup makes for a better team. Last night’s atmosphere was the best of the season, as the AMP was anticipating the return of Bryce Hopkins, as well as a BYU team featuring projected top 5 NBA draft pick Egor Demin. The ovation when Bryce was introduced showed how much he is appreciated in Friartown, both for his on court performance and community involvement. His first basket with 8:06 left in the first half extended the Friar lead to 12 points and brought another big ovation from the fans. He proceeded to add another layup and three free throws in the half on his way to 16 points, 5 rebounds, and a game high 4 assists without a turnover. Additionally, his defense which had improved tremendously last season was outstanding last night. As someone who pays little attention to the NBA unless a Friar is playing, I am not making any judgments on pro prospects, but the best player on the floor last night was wearing 23 in black and white.
As for the Friars team, it was a complete effort that led to a complete dismantling of a solid NCAA tournament level team that was in the top 15 in the country in scoring entering the game. BYU was scoring 87 points per game on nearly 50% shooting and an eFG% of 60%. Last night they scored 64 points on 33% shooting and an eFG% of 38%. I’m sure some people will try to suggest that there were other factors at play that contributed to this, and to some degree there were, but I have mentioned before that I’m a big Occam’s Razor guy and I am giving credit to Coach English’s strategy of making opponents uncomfortable and challenging shots. Right from the start, Wesley Cardet and Corey Floyd made things uncomfortable for Demin and Richie Saunders. Saunders, a 41% shooter from deep, hit his first three-point attempt, but it was his only connection from three of the game. Demin had an even more difficult time, going 0-10 from the field, including 0-5 from three. As English substituted, he brought in offensive sparks from Bensley Joseph and Jabri Abdur-Rahim, who combined for 33 points off the bench. Jayden Pierre didn’t have a great first half but played very well on both sides of the ball in the second.
Realistically, the team won’t shoot 55% from three for the rest of the season, but the presence of Hopkins gives defenses a big dawg to focus their attention, making the others on the floor a little bit freer to operate to their strengths. It was a shame that Wesley Cardet got into early foul trouble (one foul was questionable at best), as he looked much more comfortable with Bryce on the floor, scoring 7 points in 7 first-half minutes. Again, the spark given by Jabri and Bensley off the bench reminded me of how Jared Bynum changed the game when he entered during the 2021-22 season. Christ Essandoko again was solid if unspectacular, and the combination of big and small lineups with Bryce at the 5 consistently caused problems for the Cougars.
The Friars return to the road making the short journey from one of the best cities in America to the donkey pasture 30 miles south to play the improved URI Rams on Saturday. Rhody is 8-0, one of 14 remaining undefeated teams in the country. For the first time since Dan Hurley left for another job somewhere, this game is a potentially positive data point for the Friars. The Rams have a balanced lineup but are led by Providence native Sebastian Thomas and 6’7” senior guard David Green. Thomas is much improved in his return to Kingston after a season with the Albany Great Danes. A win Saturday checks a lot of boxes, as it is a road win that will likely be a Quad 2 (or possibly Quad 1) for the NCAA Net rankings. It would also continue the momentum from the BYU victory ahead of the Big East opener at DePaul and a matchup with St. Bonaventure at Mohegan Sun on the following Saturday. There’s no telling what will happen over the coming weeks and months into Big East play, but everyone in Friartown is more optimistic in Friartown with Bryce Hopkins back on the floor.
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