Providence men's basketball needed a win at Georgetown; here's how it took care of business
The Providence College men's basketball team will transition back to opportunity mode after taking care of business on Tuesday night.
Georgetown could only damage the Friars as it concerns their potential NCAA Tournament chances. Banking a road win at Capital One Arena was a must — the result could only have drawn attention come Selection Sunday had it been a negative one.
The Hoyas made a couple of pushes but don’t have anything near the required quality to knock off a program playing toward the top half of the Big East standings. Devin Carter was the catalyst yet again in the second half as Providence coasted to a 71-58 triumph.
Carter collected 20 of his 24 points and eight of his 12 rebounds out of the break — his 11th double-double of a brilliant junior season. The Friars limited Georgetown to just 35.1% shooting overall and 4-for-20 from 3-point range. Jayden Epps needed 19 shots to reach a team-high 16 points for the helpless hosts.
“Proud of our guys for responding after two very tough games,” Providence coach Kim English said. “At Marquette and home against Villanova we just got outclassed.”
More: Providence basketball's path to March Madness took turn for the worse Saturday. Here's why
Providence prevented a second three-game losing streak in league play and snapped a six-game drought in March that dated back to a win over Richmond in 2021-22. That night in Buffalo saw the Friars clinch a first Sweet 16 berth in 25 years, and they did so against the opposing head coach in this one. Ed Cooley suffered a season sweep against Providence, the fourth straight time that’s happened when these two teams have met home-and-home.
“We needed to win tonight,” English said. “But we also need to play well on Saturday. We need to play well in New York.”
Upsetting Connecticut at home in the regular-season finale and making a deep run in the conference tournament at Madison Square Garden would certainly move the needle. But it wouldn’t be as impactful coming off a stumble here and the Friars made sure to avoid that pitfall. They turned a 30-26 halftime lead into a 50-37 advantage with 12:46 to play and didn’t allow the Hoyas within five points the rest of the way.
“That was a big focus at halftime — us taking smarter shots,” English said. “We went from (40.6%) to (60.9%) in the second half. Our shot quality got a lot better in the second half.”
Providence’s last real squeeze in this one came courtesy of an 8-0 Georgetown run. The Friars (19-12, 10-9 Big East) went 3:31 without scoring and 4:05 without a field goal. Carter ended both droughts with a pair of free throws and a baseline dunk, respectively. His slam off the left restored the lead to 54-45, and the Hoyas (9-21, 2-17) were out of distance when the stretch run arrived.
“(Carter is) a baller,” English said. “He's a player. Every team guards him differently, yet he finds ways to adjust and attack.”
Providence wasn’t as comfortable early. The Friars found the lane regularly to open 7-for-11 from the floor but went stale while settling for perimeter jumpers. Rich Barron’s 3-pointer from the right corner made it a two-possession lead at the break and was part of his 11 points off the bench on his 19th birthday.
“He had a good warmup,” English said of Barron, who missed the shootaround while dealing with a lower -body injury. “He said he wanted to go. It was a happy birthday for him.”
Providence allowed the Wildcats to shoot 7-for-10 from 3-point range while pulling away in the second half on Saturday. The Golden Eagles blitzed the Friars out of the gate the previous time in Milwaukee, scoring 25 of the game’s first 29 points. Georgetown didn’t find it as easy — just 0.88 points per possession, the best defensive mark for Providence since a Jan. 17 road win at dreadful DePaul.
“I look at it as two seasons,” English said. “We were in first place in the Big East — 2-0 — and then we lose Bryce Hopkins. It was a completely different fight. A revamping of everything.”
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PROVIDENCE (71): Oduro 5-8 4-4 14, Carter 9-17 3-4 24, Floyd 0-3 0-0 0, Gaines 3-9 1-1 8, Pierre 3-5 0-0 8, Barron 4-7 0-0 11, Dual 3-6 0-0 6, Castro 0-0 0-2 0; totals 27-55 8-11 71. GEORGETOWN (58): Cook 3-5 1-2 7, Massoud 1-3 0-1 2, Brumbaugh 2-5 6-7 10, Epps 6-19 2-3 16, Styles 4-10 4-4 13, Bristol 0-2 0-0 0, Fielder 4-10 1-2 10, Heath 0-3 0-0 0, Montgomery 0-0 0-0 0; totals 20-57 14-19 58.
Halftime — Providence 30-26. 3-point goals — Providence 9-27 (Barron 3-5, Carter 3-9, Pierre 2-3, Gaines 1-6, Floyd 0-1, Dual 0-3), Georgetown 4-20 (Epps 2-7, Fielder 1-3, Styles 1-5, Massoud 0-1, Bristol 0-2, Heath 0-2). Rebounds — Providence 36 (Carter 12), Georgetown 25 (Styles 8). Assists — Providence 19 (Gaines 5), Georgetown 6 (Brumbaugh 2). Total fouls — Providence 18, Georgetown 13. Records — Providence 19-11, Georgetown 9-21.
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: PC's Devin Carter gets his 11th double-double of the season
