Providence 70 DePaul 63 (OT)
The conference season creeps in earlier and earlier every season.
Some major conferences have already played two conference games. The Big East kicked off the early portion of the college schedule with Providence visiting DePaul.
Both teams are looking for improvement.
On paper, head coach Kim English had a tournament team in his first season at Providence until the Bryce Hopkins injury. The best the Friars could do after that was find its name on the bubble, but ultimately failed to make the NCAA tournament.
For DePaul, it’s been multiple generations since the school was relevant. Tony Stubblefield was the latest Blue Demons coach to fail in turning the program around.
Next up is Chris Holtmann.
Coming into the Big East opener, the Friars needed a win. English’s crew had lost four of their last five. The Friars only have one win against a team against a power conference team (BYU).
Providence jumped out to a 10-point lead before letting DePaul back in the game via turnovers.
The Blue Demons would use a 25-5 run to go up by 10 with 3:45 left. DePaul would lead 30-27 at the half.
The second half was a back-and-forth affair until DePaul created some space with an eight-point lead with 3:37 left.
Providence would close the half on a 10-2 run and force overtime, where the Friars dominated, coming away with a 70-63 win.
Takeaways:
Turnovers: Providence established control of the game early until the turnovers took over. The Friars committed ten turnovers in the first 20 minutes, and they weren’t turnovers forced by DePaul. Poor decisions and sloppy play caused the turnovers.
In the second half, the Friars cut down the turnovers to six (still too many), and they only committed one in overtime.
The Friars don’t have enough wiggle room to win conference games if they are going to play a low-IQ brand of basketball.
David Skogman: The Blue Demon big man was DePaul’s most impactful mismatch, and they made sure he was fed the ball. Skogman had the most shot attempts of the season, going 8-16 from the floor.
Skogman’s ability to score enough inside opened up the floor, and he got great looks, especially off penetration. He finished the night 6-10 from three, with most attempts coming on wide-open looks.
DePaul deserves credit for recognizing who the hot shooter was and for Holtmann’s willingness to simply stick with what was working.
Hopkins Effect: This roster needs Bryce Hopkins to be Bryce Hopkins. Early on, Hopkins looked more comfortable out by the three-point line than anywhere else on the floor, but that changed as the game progressed.
Hopkins was 3-4 from the three-point line as he attempted ten shots in the first half. Though he was 2-7 from the field in the second half, he started looking like the old Hopkins. The bug-a-boo was finishing around the rim in the second half. Hopkins missed three layups. The second-half line looks a lot different if he makes him, and he eventually will.
That’s the Hopkins Providence desperately needs. He needs to be a force inside via the pass and off the bounce while making opponents pay if they don’t guard him out by the three-point line.
