3 Things We Learned: Villanova 75 Providence 73

Friars, despite effort, continue on the path to mediocrity

I was struck last night by just how much the Providence vs. Villanova rivalry has fallen off in recent years. For a time there from about 2015-2022 this was one of the premier rivalries in the Big East with no shortage of classic games. Now perhaps I’m biased at that 7 year time period directly overlaps with my 4 years as a student at Providence, but the Friars and Wildcats played some absolute classics over that time.

Who can forget LuWane Pipkins going for 27 points and 4 assists to knock off the 12th ranked Wildcats as the Friars caught fire before Covid ended the 2019-20 season.

Or how about way back in 2018 when Kyron Cartwright and Rodney Bullock led Providence to a pink-out upset over #3 Villanova and future NBA superstar Jalen Brunson (if you squint close you’ll see me decked out in pink losing my mind in the student section)

On the other side of the coin, there was the pink out game during the magical 2022-23 season where Collin Gillespie ripped the hears out of Friartown with a dagger 3 to ice the game…

…and of course more than a few Big East Tournament battles between Cooley and Jay Wright that Villanova seemingly always came out on top of.

Anyway, you get the point. Providence vs. Villanova had serious juice for nearly a decade. Fast forward to present day these two programs are battling it out for 6th place in a down year for the Big East in front of a half empty crowd at Wells Fargo Arena. That’s pretty grim, but that’s the truth. Here’s 3 things we learned from another disappointing loss for the Friars in a season full of them.

1. Oswin Erhunmwunse is one of the best interior defenders this program has seen in a decade.

   Not an exaggeration. Watching Oswin get better every game is the most enjoyable part of this season. It’s a low bar, but hey. His offensive game is progressing at an expected clip, more good than bad but still a long way to go to be a Nate Watson-esque threat to score in the post. His defensive however, is special. If Oswin is going to play in the NBA, it is likely his defensive prowess that’ll get him there.

   I mentioned after the Seton Hall game how what made Oswin special was his ability to deter the offense as a help defender and still have the quickness / anticipation / length to recover to the other side of the lane and contest a secondary action. Wouldn’t you know it, that’s exactly what he does here.

   The real value in a defender like Oswin is how he can eliminate mistake that happen in front of him. Here, Jabri-Abdur Rahim falls asleep to let the Villanova player sneak behind him. No matter, Oswin is there to clean it up with a filthy two handed block. When you have an eraser like this on the back line, it allows (in theory) every perimeter defender to play with just a tick more aggression.

   

   Oswin, Thomas Sorber (Georgetown) and Tarris Reed Jr (UConn) are the only players in the conference with a block percentage of more than 9% and an individual defensive rating below 100. If you don’t speak analytics, here’s the plain english. Those are 3 high level defensive players. We’re a long way from record watch, but Oswin’s 33 blocked shots through 19 games this season has him on pace to finish his career in Friartown amongst the all time leaders in that category.

2. Winning close games is a talent Kim English has yet to develop

   With 8 minutes left to go on Friday night, Providence and Villanova were tied at 63. Every possession from that point on figured to be a massive one, and for me the biggest question at that moment was who was going to be getting the shots for Providence. No Hopkins, Mela or Cardet meant that Bensley Joseph was the obvious answer, and I felt that given his strong performance in the game to that point, Corey Floyd Jr. should get some looks as well. Here’s what I tweeted at the time.

   

   To be clear, this is not some groundbreaking analysis. Joseph and CFJ were having the best games of the night (shoutout Justyn Fernandez too), they should be taking a majority of the shots down the stretch. If I can see this from my couch…