LINKS: Hoyas Have Huge Chance Facing Providence at Home

The Providence Friars (7-6) come to D.C. to play the Georgetown Hoyas (5-7) on Wednesday night at 8:30(ish) on FS1.

There are some interesting matchups this week to watch as the BIG EAST Tournament seeding is starting to develop:

Feb. 17, 2020

• Xavier at St. John’s University 6:30 p.m. TV: FS1

Feb. 18, 2020

• Creighton at Marquette 8:30 p.m. TV: FS1

Feb. 19, 2020

• Butler at Seton Hall 6:30 p.m. TV: FS1
• Providence at Georgetown 8:30 p.m. TV: FS1
• Villanova at DePaul 9 p.m. TV: CBS Sports Network

Feb. 22, 2020

• Marquette at Providence Noon TV: FOX
• Villanova at Xavier 2:30 p.m.. TV: FOX
• Georgetown at DePaul 9 p.m. TV: FS1

Feb. 23, 2020

• St. John’s University at Seton Hall 2 p.m. TV: CBS
• Butler at Creighton 4 p.m. TV: FS1

Here are the links:

Diallo explodes for 35, leads Friars to upset of Seton Hall, 74-71 | PROVIDENCEJOURNAL

The start of the game was truly ugly as both teams came out misfiring on 1-of-8 streaks. The Friars flipped a switch, however, and enjoyed their best offensive run of the season. Diallo lit the fuse with two 3-pointers and when Pipkins hit another and then Diallo banked one in, the Friars had scored 19 straight points and led 20-2. Seton Hall’s first field goal didn’t come until the 11:57 mark as the Pirates began just 2-of-17 from the floor. The bricking continued as PC’s defense kept digging in and before long the home team was dancing with a 34-9 lead.

Providence upsets No. 10 Seton Hall as fans storm court before final buzzer | USATODAY

Unfortunately for the home team that sluggish offense and shaky ballhandling carried over into the second half. Diallo scored the first bucket of the half to make it 43-27 but Seton Hall answered with a spell-binding 15-2 run that was filled with missed shots and turnovers by the Friars.

Providence began the half 2-of-12 from the floor and saw its lead melt to just 45-42. Diallo scored inside out of a timeout and then tied his career high by canning a fifth 3-pointer to give the Friars a 50-45 lead. A few seconds later he was called for his fourth foul with 10:32 left on a soft push-off coming off a screen. He went to the bench and before long a 52-45 lead was down to just 52-50.

Providence’s Diallo, Villanova’s Robinson-Earl Take #BIGEASTmbb Weekly Honors | BIGEAST

Diallo averaged 27.0 points and 13.5 rebounds while shooting 63.3 percent from the field, 5-of-5 from 3-point range and 9-of-11 from the foul line. In a 74-71 victory over 10th-ranked Seton Hall, the senior forward poured in a career-high 35 points and pulled down 10 rebounds. Diallo registered 19 points, a career-high 17 rebounds and four assists in an 80-69 loss at St. John’s. For the season, Diallo is averaging 14.0 points and 8.2 rebounds...

Terrell Allen, Georgetown, G, Gr. Tied a career high with 21 points in a 73-66 victory at Butler. Shot 9-of-14 from the field and 4-of-4 from 3-point range.

St. John’s vs. Providence: TV, streaming, preview, game information | RUMBLEINTHEGARDEN

Providence has proven to be a good defensive unit. [T]he Friars are good at stealing the ball. Just around 22% of the time Providence turns their opponent over, while 12% of the time they end a defensive possession with a steal. Furthermore, they have been good all season defending the perimeter. Providence opponents are shooting a lousy 32% from three.

Expect to see a lot of sophomore guard David Duke (#3). He currently leads the Friars in minutes per contest. So far he is averaging about 13 points, five rebounds, and four assists. Duke is the main shooting threat from Providence. He is shooting 46% from distance this year.

Friars Fall Apart in Queens, Now What? - Friar Basketball | FRIARBASKETBALL

Following an aberration against Creighton, in which PC made 12-20 from 3-point range in a 73-56 victory, the offensive attack regressed to the mean the past two times out. On Saturday, Providence let a winnable game slip away at Xavier because they scored just three field goals in the game’s final ten minutes. On Wednesday at St. John’s the bottom fell out. Providence turned the ball over 24 times, missed 12 foul shots, and made just 6-22 from deep. They took a whopping 23 free throws in the second half, yet were still outscored 47-44 over the final 20 minutes...

Xavier v. Providence: Preview, matchups, keys to the game. | BANNERSONTHEPARKWAY

Providence, like Xavier, has been getting it done on the defensive end. Their defense is 39th in the nation for the year and held Creighton’s vaunted offense to .89 points per possession. The Friars sell out for turnovers, eschewing the defensive glass to rack up the 12th highest steal rate and at 22% turnover rate. Teams can get shots against the Providence defense, but only if they get set long enough to get a look...

Providence is also a terrible shooting team that has shown signs of life recently. The Friars are 305th in the nation in effective field goal percentage and are genuinely horrible inside the arc... [T]hey aren’t good behind the arc or from the line, but they do move the ball around well on the offensive end. They make up for missing a lot of shots by attacking the offensive glass relentlessly through Alpha Diallo, Nate Watson, and Kalif Young.

Georgetown owed credit for overcoming lots of controversy | NYPOST

What happened with those players is at least partly Ewing’s responsibility. He recruited the players. It’s his program, some of his detractors have rightly pointed out. It all depends on your point of view. This hasn’t been a breakthrough season for Georgetown as some predicted — the defections ruined that — but it hasn’t been a failure, either.

College basketball’s 15 essential numbers 1 month before March Madness begins | NCAA.com | NCAA

Patrick Ewing coaching his first NCAA Tournament team, 35 years after he played his final game as a Hoya in the famous championship game loss to Villanova. Just one of the scenarios still on the table. One month to go.