NCAA Basketball: Duke and Providence Friars leads the Sunday Mailbag
By Bryan Mauro
2. Of the teams that have lost some games early, which ones are built for the long haul and a deep run in the NCAA tournament– Brandon Carlson (@BrandoTr3y)
One of the main things that need to be considered with this question is the fact of how will a team react to playing in mostly empty arenas? The other question is how teams will react to having so many games either canceled, postponed, or rescheduled. Teams also don’t know how firm the schedule is going to be, and conferences are already moving games around to make sure the games get played and will reschedule the games as they can.
The team that has the most upside and should be able to bounce back from some early season losses is the Providence Friars. I picked Providence to finish in the top half of the Big East and with the roster they currently have that is what I am going to stick to.
Every single season everyone writes off Providence before conference play begins and that is not usually ever a good idea. Friar head coach Ed Cooley always seems to find something with his team and can get them to play their best basketball after Christmas.
Providence took some losses early on this year mainly in the Maui Invitational that gave many causes for alarm and wanted to reevaluate the Friars. Don’t be alarmed, Providence is going to figure it out they do something like this every season and the Friars are already starting to play better.
The duo of Nate Watson and David Duke is one of the best in the Big East and those two are going to win a lot of games for Providence. The duo has played a ton of games for the Friars and knows how to win in the Big East, they both play the grind it out style that the league requires you to play every night.
I also expect the key transfers like Ed Croswell and Noah Horchler to play much better than they have early. Once the Friars get into conference play and their new pieces get comfortable in the offense, they will play like the team we all thought they would be.
One thing that has been so frustrating to watch for Providence is their lack of defense at points in a game. Providence got exposed in a big way in the Maui Invitational and they were allowing too many easy looks at the basket inside the paint. If the Friars don’t shore that up, which I believe they will, just given their overall length and experience, they likely won’t go far.
It will be something to watch for as they face high powered offenses in Seton Hall and Creighton in the league. Can they shore up the defense enough to win those games? They have in the past.