• Fri. Mar 29th, 2024

NEW YORK CITY, N.Y. – The Providence Friars took care of the Butler Bulldogs, 74-60 on Thursday afternoon to advance to the Big East Conference semi-finals. The Friars had a strong performance that game, and looked to have a good chance to knock off the Villanova Wildcats. Villanova got a fairly easy, 81-67 win over the Georgetown Hoyas to advance to their match-up against Providence.

The first half of this game had a slower, half court pace to it. The zone defense that Villanova brought out seemed to give Providence problems. As a team, Providence only shot 36% (9 for 25) from the field in the first half. The Friars did not help their cause, as they missed numerous wide open shots.

(Credit: Barry Holmes/PureSportsNY) Arcidiacono willed his Wildcats to the Big East Conference Championship Game.
(Credit: Barry Holmes/PureSportsNY) Arcidiacono willed his Wildcats to the Big East Conference Championship Game.

Villanova on the other hand, was getting what they wanted offensively. Ryan Arcidiacono was in full control of the Wildcat offense, and led all scorers with nine points going into halftime. The Wildcats as a team shot 50% from the field in the first half, and did most of their damage from the paint. Villanova out-scored the Friars 20-8 on points in the paint, which helped to build their 32-27 lead at halftime.

The second half is where the pace picked up for both sides. Kris Jenkins started to pick up the scoring for Villanova. Arcidiacono continued to press the issue offensively, and the Wildcats led by as many as 14 points with 12:01 to go. Then Providence dug deep, and fought to get back in the game. Kyron Cartwright and Rodney Bullock brought the Friars to within two points (55-53) with 7:02 remaining in the game.

However, Villanova buckled down defensively and was able to force bad shots by Providence down the stretch. Behind the stellar play of Arcidiacono and Jenkins, Villanova held on to eliminate the Friars 76-68. The Wildcats will advance to the Big East Tournament Championship Saturday afternoon.

(Credit: Barry Holmes/PureSportsNY) Dunn struggled offensively against the Wildcat defense.
(Credit: Barry Holmes/PureSportsNY) Dunn struggled offensively against the Wildcat defense.

Stats Of The Game:

  • Kris Dunn finished with just nine points, on 1 of 8 shooting from the field.
  • Jenkins led all scorers with 21 points and added four assists.
  • Arcidiacono tallied 15 points, seven rebounds and four assists.
  • The Friars only led for :09 seconds in this entire game.

Barry Holmes is a Senior Writer for PureSportsNY.com. Follow him on Twitter @BHO732

 

By Barry Holmes

Graduate of Millersville University, with a BS in Communications focused in Broadcast. Senior Writer & Social Media Manager for PureSportsNY.

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