“WE ARE” Winners Once More: Friars Grab a Statement Win Over Penn State, Finally Breaking the Mohegan Curse
The Friars returned to Mohegan Sun this past Saturday, looking to break their neutral site losing streak against Penn State. Though betting favorites for the matchup, Friar fans had every right to be worried- from being 0-2 against Power 5 schools walking into the game, to a lack of certainty whether or not the blowout against New Hampshire would amount to anything, every dish ordered in the Uncasville venue came with a grain of salt. Thankfully, the next course came with a spoonful of sugar, with the Friars tasting sweet victory in a 77-65 outing.
The first half was a shooting drag for both teams, going into halftime as a 32-31 ballgame barely in favor of the Friars. Now that it doesn’t matter as much, I will openly admit such a low-scoring affair, though one had me concerned that the offense we saw the other day couldn’t get through Mohegan security. Jason Edwards was 0 for 6 through 20 minutes, with the team totaling 12 for 32 on all field goals. I suppose, though, they heard my concerns between halves, because why else would they have come out to a 7-0 run in the first minute back on the floor? The chemistry on both ends of the floor presented thereon outshone the shooting slump that, eventually, faded out of existence.
Looking through the shooting numbers, nothing overly exciting stands out. Yes, Stefan Vaaks had his nightly fifteen, including a pair of obnoxious dagger threes. If anything, the opposite- the Friars shot 6 of 33 from three-point land, their home sweet home. Don’t pull a calculator out, I’ll just tell you right now: that is 18% from beyond the arc. But when shots don’t go down, it’s important to make sure it’s not just your team in a slump, and the Friars did exactly that. Penn State was limited to 22 of 66 overall, going 8 of 24 from three, at the cost of 11 turnovers to Providence’s 7. Even with PSU’s Freddie Dilione V going for a season-high 22 in 34 minutes of play, his teammate, Kayden Mingo, wasn’t able to hold up his end of the scoring weight, going for two points (he averages eighteen) overall.
What did stand out is a perplexing stat that only got more confusing as the game went on: a total of twenty-nine fouls were called between both teams. From my eyes, half of these calls made very little sense, and some no-calls should have probably taken their place. While Providence may have taken and made more free throws, the way the whistle blew was in a tone that many ears were not a fan of.
This might sound a bit extreme, considering the expectations for this season, but this is a true statement win for Kim English. His back has been against the wall since the Colorado flop, and there were several instances of fluid schemes on both ends that amounted to exactly what they needed to. Ideally, this is a testament to continued momentum in the right direction. The team looked legit where it mattered, and many online are aware that this may be our best defensive showing, as if something clicked recently with this team, but they’re forgetting one thing: There’s a whole lot of season left. This is our best defensive outing so far. The Friars travel to San Diego to play Wisconsin in the Rady Children’s Invitational on Thanksgiving Day. Happy feast week!!