College basketball is in full swing and there are plenty of storylines to talk about so far this season. But one team that has impressed in a big way has been the Friars at Providence, who sit at 13-3 overall and 5-0 in the Big East.
The Friars are an interesting team, as they sat at 5-3 overall just a month or two into the season, but they have now won eight straight and are flying high after their strong win against then No. 4 UConn at home.
When you watch this team and dive into the stats for the Friars, there is a lot to like. It starts first with their head coach Ed Cooley and their staff, who have done a great job in securing talent and using a balanced attack. They understood what they were needing and were able to build that in this team this season.
This is a team that has depth and uses a balanced offense, with 10 players earning strong minutes this season. They are led by sophomore Bryce Hopkins who has been incredibly strong in averaging 16.4ppg and 9.2rpg. But they have others that have stepped up big and brought that leadership quality.
Hopkins has been incredible this season as we mentioned above, and sophomore Devin Carter is right behind him at 12.8ppg this season. But then you also must notice the veterans helping out and bringing that experience to the table, as Ed Croswell, Noah Locke, Jared Bynum, and Clifton Moore (all seniors or graduates) have been huge for this team. All those guys once played at another program, but now are part of the success at Providence (once again, credit to the coaching staff at Providence).
Looking at this Providence team, you can see this team understands how to win in multiple ways, but they also have an identity. Overall, they have proven that they can score the ball extremely well, averaging nearly 80 points per game, and are physical on the boards, averaging 40.3 rebounds per game (32nd in the country).
But this is a team that has also shown they can go to battle and get it done on both ends. In the last three games, the Friars have been only giving up 57ppg and have held opponents under 65 or fewer points nine times this season.
Now, their schedule doesn't get any easier with key road games coming up, but Coach Cooley and the Friars may be looking to build something special, and we need to start noticing QUICKLY.
