Busting Brackets
Fansided

Providence Basketball: 3 keys for Friars to upset Kansas in Sweet 16 matchup

By Connor Wilson

Mar 19, 2022; Buffalo, NY, USA; Providence Friars forward Justin Minaya (15) celebrates beating the Richmond Spiders during the second round of the 2022 NCAA Tournament at KeyBank Center. Mandatory Credit: Mark Konezny-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 19, 2022; Buffalo, NY, USA; Providence Friars forward Justin Minaya (15) celebrates beating the Richmond Spiders during the second round of the 2022 NCAA Tournament at KeyBank Center. Mandatory Credit: Mark Konezny-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
2 of 4
Next
Ochai Agbaji Kansas Jayhawks (Photo by Kyle Rivas/Getty Images)
Ochai Agbaji Kansas Jayhawks (Photo by Kyle Rivas/Getty Images) /

Locking Down Top Scorers

The main point of emphasis defensively for Providence has to be Ochai Agbaji, the senior leader and leading scorer for Kansas who averaged 19.3 PPG this season. Despite having, for his standards, a quiet tournament so far at just 13 PPG, he has the ability to explode every night. He had huge games such as scoring 37 points in a win vs. Texas Tech and 29 points against both Michigan St. and Kansas St. Agbaji can also torch you from distance, having four games this season with at least five three-pointers made.

Justin Minaya will likely draw the assignment of guarding Agbaji, and that is good news for the Friars. Minaya is one of the best perimeter defenders in the country and many people are debating that he should have been the Big East Defensive Player of the Year over Creighton big man Ryan Kalkbrenner. Even though he didn’t end up with any hardware, he still is the heart and soul of the Friars on defense and it is key that he plays up to his standards vs. the Jayhawks.

Another player that Providence has to watch out for is junior Christian Braun, who averaged a career-high 14.6 PPG this season shooting over 50% from the field. Braun is another playoff that can go off at any time, highlighted by his five 20+ point games this season including a 31-point outburst against St. John’s. Like his teammate Agbaji, Braun has underperformed in the NCAA Tournament based on his season stats but is only down one point at 13.5 PPG.

To start off the game, it is likely that Braun will be guarded by A.J. Reeves and potentially either Al Durham or Alyn Breed at some stages in the game depending on matchups. Noah Horchler is also an outside candidate to guard Braun for some plays if the Jayhawks decide to go small.

Despite both players playing below average, the Friars shouldn’t plan for them any differently as things could easily backfire if they do.

Home/Big East