March 3, 2009 - Providence vs. Louisville in the Big East Tournament
Louisville tortured Providence in three of the four halfs the teams played a year ago. Losses tend to blur together throughout the years, but we always remember what happens in Madison Square Garden. Most Friars fans would like to forget last year's ugly 73-55 loss to the Cardinals. Providence turned the ball over 26 times (one shy of the Big East Tournament record) and was lucky Louisville was almost as sloppy offensively or they would have lost by 30.
How poor was the Friars' ball handling in that game? Their power forward turned the ball over 7 times. Sharaud Curry was PC's best ball handler a year ago, but lead guards his size, without blinding speed, get eaten alive by Louisville's press. Providence simply never got into their offense against a team that was peaking defensively. Curry turned the ball over four times and his 1-6 effort from 3 contributed to PC's 2-17 effort from beyond the arc.
The lack of ball handlers was never more apparent.
February 18, 2009 - Providence @ Louisville
While not as memorable, the Friars trip to Freedom Hall might have been more telling. Inexplicably, Rick Pitino did not press Providence in the first half. The AP recap noted, "Louisville had been reluctant to trap in the first half, afraid of Providence's ball handlers." Okay, Rick.
The Friars actually led this game at the half (46-45) thanks to 75% shooting from the field. How did the Cards keep it so close? PC turned the ball over nine times in the first half.
Someone turned on Pitino's lightbulb in the second half and he applied pressure. Providence wilted. Leading 53-50, PC was held without a field goal for over nine minutes as the Cards went on a crushing 22-3 run.
Will Pitino call off the pressure tomorrow night? Unlikely. Providence turned it over 22 times on the night, shooting 1-12 from 3.
In two games PC turned the ball over 48 times and shot 3-29 from 3. Not exactly a winning offensive formula.
Looking Ahead
This is where Council comes into play. Providence simply lacked enough ball handlers, especially those with size, to handle Pitino's pressure. A legit 6'2, with more explosion than Curry, Council will play a critical role in helping Providence break the press and should see big minutes.
Offensive Woes
Defensive woes have been harped on, but Providence has been quietly below average offensively in comparison to the rest of the conference. The Friars are second to last in field goal percentage and 13th in the conference in 3 point percentage.
Quick Louisville hits:
Fans looking for reason to think the Friars can pull the upset tomorrow night might be tempted to point to the Cardinals' losses to Charlotte, Western Carolina, and even UNLV. Not so fast. UNLV is a borderline top 25 team and Charlotte features Boston College transfer Shamari Spears and one time Georgetown commit Chris Braswell (who put up 21-14 in their beatdown of the Cards).
If Providence can limit the turnovers to 15 or under we'll have a game. In 2008 PC only turned it over 14 times and led with three minutes to play.
