It was another Big weekend of College Basketball. Here are three big thoughts on Devin Carter willing providence, the wide open Big 12 and Maryland pushing themselves.
by Jordan Beckley
1. Devin Carter is going to do everything possible for the Friars
It was a huge Saturday in Rhode Island with former coach Ed Cooley returning home to play in Providence for the first time since “betraying” the fans and taking a job with in-conference rival Georgetown.
Ed Cooley was one of the All-time great coaches at Providence College if not the best ever. He is the only Providence Coach to ever win the Big East Regular Season Title. All of that history didn’t matter to the fans and how they welcomed him home:
So, we tipped off with an amped up Friars crowd ready to rip up the 2nd to last place Hoyas. Except it wasn’t a blowout. Cooley had Georgetown ready for the raucous environment and despite being down 12 in the second half, Jayden Epps and the Hoyas fought back to take the lead late.
But it was Coach Cooley’s former star Devin Carter that slammed the door shut on Georgetown. Carter scored 11 of his 29 points in the last 1:53 of gametime including this stretch that was the icing on the cake:
It was a statement from the junior guard who was visibly exhausted in the handshake line after taking over. Since Bryce Hopkins’ season ending injury in the Seton Hall game, Devin Carter is averaging 23.7ppg, 7.8rpg, 3.5apg & 2.5 spg. He leads Providence players in all of those categories.
Devin Carter is willing Providence to victory as best he can.
The Friars are 3-3 in the stretch without Hopkins with wins against Depaul, Georgetown and Seton Hall and losses to Xavier, Creighton and St. John’s.
We already saw in Football with Jordan Travis and Florida State that the Selection committee will spurn you and your results after injuries to star athletes. The wins over Wisconsin and Marquette earlier this season with Hopkins might not be weighted the same now. Providence will still need to prove themselves without Hopkins and Carter knows it.
No matter what, Saturday was a sweet moment for Carter, Coach Kim Inglish, and every Providence fan both in the stadium and at home. The win didn’t prove it was the wrong decision for Cooley, but it did prove that Providence is a special place with or without him.
2. Maryland is starting to put it all together
The Terps have gone through a little bit of a slump in year two of Kevin Willard, but it seems like Maryland might be turning the corner.
It seemed like Kevin Willard had found something with the win in Champaign against a Top 10 Illinois before they lost their next two games. However, if you watched those games you knew how close Jahmir Young and the Terps were to breaking through.
Maryland lost to Michigan State and at Northwestern by a combined 5 points. There was an identity forming with Jahmir Young playing at not just an All-Big Ten level but an All-American level coupled with the best defense in the entire Big Ten and maybe the country.
If Wednesday’s 69-67 nail-biting win in Iowa City was the process confirming win for the players, then Saturday’s 73-51 annihilation of Nebraska was a statement for the fans.
Maryland has been about 1.5 more threes made per game from being 7-3 or maybe even 8-2 in the Big Ten. That is why it has been so great for Maryland fans to see Donta Scott, Jordan Geronimo, Jahari Long and especially Freshman Jaimie Kaiser have some positive regression in that department recently.
Kaiser has struggled mightily in his first season hitting shots but on Saturday he had his best game with 14 points and 4-5 shooting from deep. He and Long were so good that Jahmir Young got to take it easy with just a ho-hum 12 points, 9 boards and 6 dimes.
A huge factor of the transformation has been the doubling down on their defensive identity. Julian Reese has been the man on that end. Reese had 15 points, 16 rebounds, a block and 3 steals in the win against Nebraska. Reese has been erasing opponent possessions as a maniac on the boards, blocking a ton of shots and stealing the ball like a pesky guard.
The Terps have a top 8 defense according to Kenpom and are the no.1 Big Ten scoring defense by more than 3 points. Jahmir Young has somehow gotten better than he was last year, and if the players around him just chip in a little, Maryland can finish in the Top 4 of the Big Ten and get back into the Tournament discussion.
Oh and the Terps only play the Big Ten’s top three (Purdue, Wisconsin, Illinois) twice in their last 10 Big Ten games by the way.
On the other side, Nebraska is now 0-5 in Big Ten road games this year and 5-0 in home games. That dichotomy is just as bad with their past 10 Big Ten games in each location going 9-1 at home and 2-8 on the road. I’m guessing Nebraska will have to win a road game to make the Tournament.
3. The Big 12 isn’t a lock for Kansas to win
Kansas has won a share of or just outright 19 of the past 22 Big 12 Regular Season Championships.
Bill Self has owned the Big 12.
That reign of terror might be over (at least this year).
Kansas lost to Iowa State this weekend to fall to 4-3 in conference play. The Jayhawks barely beat Cincy the game before that and lost to 2nd to last place West Virginia before that. Kansas has not looked as impressive as Top 10 Houston or even league-leading Texas Tech.
It is only going to get harder for the Jayhawks too. KU still has to play Houston twice, Baylor twice, Kansas State twice, Texas Tech and BYU. The Big 12 isn’t a lock for Kansas anymore.
If they have any hope of turning it around it all starts with beating Houston next Saturday in Phog Allen. If they lose that game the Jayhawks might even be out of the conversation for a share of the title.
Parting Shots
- North Carolina won in Tallahassee to secure a 2.5 game lead in the ACC ahead of this Saturday’s game against 2nd place Duke.
- After Kansas State lost to Iowa State this week, Jerome Tang hinted that the Cyclones pulled a Michigan and were stealing signs. Iowa State beat Kansas the next game and Kansas State lost by 22 to Houston. Maybe a fan listening in on the huddles wasn’t the source of the Wildcats’ problems.
- After Rodney Terry’s tirade about Horns down at UCF, the front row of the BYU student section showed up wearing Horns Down painted on white T-shirts across the front row. The students were forced to change. Texas was forced to take an L 72-84.
- Richmond protected homecourt and upset no. 16 Dayton to improve to 7-0 in A-10 play on Saturday. The Spiders do not play the Flyers again (who are 6-1), but do have to play at VCU & at George Mason to earn the A-10 Title.
- Arizona won a crucial game at Oregon to reestablish themselves at 1st in Pac-12 after a bad loss at Oregon State earlier in the week.
- Auburn dropped two road games this week to Alabama and Mississippi State. They will fall considerably in the AP poll today.
- UConn beat Xavier by 43 points on Sunday. 43 POINTS!
- And Finally, Purdue beat their boogeyman in Rutgers winning in Piscataway for the first time in 6 years to improve to 4-2 on the road in Big Ten play.