BYU basketball will be back in action Tuesday night, as they travel to take on Providence in the Big East-Big 12 Battle. It will be the Cougars third straight game against “power six” competition, and their last big test before conference play begins on December 31st.
BYU is coming off of a valuable 1-1 showing in the Rady Children’s Invitational. They fought in a tough, but ultimately losing effort to number 23 Ole Miss in overtime, and then beat NC State 72-61 the following day.
Providence, on the other hand, is reeling after suffering three straight losses in the Battle 4 Atlantis. They were competitive in a loss to an undefeated Oklahoma, but then dropped a game to Davidson before getting blown out by Indiana. It was an ugly week, but expectations are usually high in Rhode Island and they’ll certainly be looking to get back on track and win one for the Big East.
The return of Dallin Hall has provided the Cougars a key piece as they work towards conference play. While the junior guard hasn’t exploded for any high scoring performances, he has been the consistent ball handler that he’s been in the past, allowing the Cougars to stay dangerous offensively even when Egor Demin is on the bench.
Hall has averaged four assists over his first three games back, while also limiting turnovers and being active on the offensive glass. His ability to consistently score may be the Cougars’ x-factor this year, as he was scoreless in the loss to Ole Miss, but knocked down five 3s over the other two games.
A lot of Hall’s effectiveness will be determined by how often his shooters knock down theirshots. Dawson Baker and Trevin Knell will have to be effective coming off the bench, while Kanon Catchings and Richie Saunders will be doing most of the three point shooting for the starters. They are first and third, respectively, on the team for three pointers attempted. BYU as a team is tied for eighth in the country in three pointers attempted, so we may very well be on our way to another “live by the three, die by the three” year in Provo.
The Cougars will be in for a fight though, as Providence allows the 19th fewest opponent three point attempts in the country, at 17.9 per game (a stark contrast to BYU’s offense which shoots nearly 32 shots behind the arc per game). The main reason for this is the Friars’ size. Of their four players who play over 20 minutes a game, none are taller than 6 feet 6 inches. And the tall guys they do have, Erhunmwunse and Essandoko, each average less than one block per game.
Defensively, Providence is rather inexperienced in the front court and prone to giving up a lot of points inside. They rank 254th in percentage of opponent points scored from two pointers (51.9%) and 214th in blocks per game (2.9), meaning not very many teams are worse at defending the paint. Keba Keita and Fousseyni Traore should be ready to have big nights near the rim, while Demin, Hall, and Dawson Baker should look to rack up some assists.
Offensively, the Friars have been playing without their best player, Bryce Hopkins, for almost a year. However, he warmed up before Providence’s games in the Bahamas and the thought is that his return could be any day now. Hopkins was First Team All Big East two seasons ago, and will certainly compete for those same honors should he return. He’s an athletic scorer, but also extremely dangerous on the glass. He’ll completely change the game if he checks in on Tuesday night.
Whether Hopkins plays or not, junior guard Jayden Pierre will play a large role in the PC offense. Pierre is a great all around scorer and represents the modern point guard, as he’s comfortable shooting and making threes, while also being a crafty finisher around the rim. Dallin Hall will likely get the bulk of the defensive assignment on Pierre, and we should learn a lot about him defensively in this matchup.
As a team, the Friar offense mirrors its strengths and weaknesses on defense. They don’t score much inside, but they take care of the ball and hustle after long rebounds from three pointers. Shutting down Pierre and his shooting will go a long way in shutting down the rest of the offense.
The final thing to note is that this will be BYU’s first true road game this year. Providence’s Amica Mutual Pavilion is one of the loudest environments in the Big East and the entire country. Head coaches listed it as an honorable mention for the nation’s best home court advantages in a recent CBS Sports poll, placing it in the same tier as BYU and Iowa State.
While BYU has the guns to manufacture a blowout, things might not be that close. The Cougars’ toughness will certainly be tested, but if they can withstand the crowd they’ll have a chance for a nice non conference win and to earn some bragging rights for the Big 12.