The Friars had a plan for Big East Player of the Year Tyler Kolek. Here's what they did.
PROVIDENCE — Kim English received a rather noteworthy text message early Tuesday morning.
Devin Carter had a request for the Providence men’s basketball coach. He wanted the challenge of limiting Tyler Kolek later that evening at Amica Mutual Pavilion.
English’s premier perimeter defender had his eye on the reigning Big East Player of the Year. It was a confidence ultimately mirrored by his teammates — the Friars were ready for No. 6 Marquette to come calling.
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This early signature win, a 72-57 triumph, came thanks to what is quickly becoming Providence’s calling card this season. Its defense has been elite on the national level, and so it was again through these 40 minutes in front of a sellout crowd.
“He’s hard to guard,” Carter said. “But I think we did a pretty good job on him as a unit.”
Carter, Ticket Gaines and Corey Floyd Jr. each took a turn in the opening minutes. Garwey Dual acquitted himself well as a freshman meeting a high-profile moment. Kolek worked hard for his 21 points, nine rebounds and five assists in front of friends and family who made the short drive from his Cumberland home.
“I thought at times tonight some of our guys were almost embarrassed with how they played,” Marquette coach Shaka Smart said. “Good teams will do that to you.”
Kolek started quickly but didn’t score over the final 13:38 of the first half. Carter switched to Kam Jones over the final 20 minutes — none of his 13 points came after the break. The Golden Eagles managed just six field goals outside that tandem, shooting a dreadful 22.2% from the floor.
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“They are an incredible guard tandem and duo,” English said. “We have to do better as a committee being able to guard a two-headed snake, and we will.”
That should be a scary proposition for any future opponents. Better than this? More connected and disciplined than on this night? The likes of DePaul might want to just sign up for a 20-point thumping from the Friars and skip to the next setback.
Carter scored a team-high 22 points on just 10 shot attempts and was a plus-20 in 35 minutes. He received treatment on a sore back earlier in the day and went through pregame, as he does every night, with a heated strap around his waist. Carter certainly didn’t show any lingering effects from being held out of Saturday’s cruise past Sacred Heart.
“I never rely on my shot falling,” Carter said. “If it’s not falling, I just try to do other things. Get assists, rebound, play the right way and obviously play defense. You can control those things.”
Dual has scored just one point over his last 56 minutes of basketball and still found multiple ways to affect winning. He’s notched consecutive games with seven assists and committed a combined two turnovers. Dual was plus-25 in 23 minutes on Tuesday — that was the best plus-minus rating enjoyed by any of the nine Providence players who saw the floor.
“He’s finding success with that,” English said. “He's defending. He’s listening. He’s really starting to come into his own.”
The Friars closed the night eighth nationally in defensive efficiency per KenPom.com — that would be a new program best dating to the first documented Providence season on the website in 1996-97. Marquette entered shooting better than 60% from 2-point range and closed just 14-for-36 in this one. The Golden Eagles were also just 4-for-20 from beyond the arc — only Illinois and Purdue, a pair of top-20 teams according to KenPom, have held Marquette to fewer attempts.
“We have a saying called LEO — loud, early, often,” Carter said. “I feel like my teammates did a great job speaking to me. Every command they said, I followed. I think it was very helpful.”
On X: @BillKoch25
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Providence basketball limits Marquette's Tyler Kolek in Big East debut
