Blog.WBRU

Not the way Keno Davis probably wanted to start his tenure as PC. After the game, he led off his press conference by saying, “It’s not the outcome that we wanted from our first game of the season, but I’d be remiss if I didn’t talk about Northeastern and the quality of team they have, the quality of coaching that they were able to do. I think you saw a team that’s further along than a lot of teams are this time of year.”

Truth be told, Northeastern had played twice already, with a win against IUPUI and a loss against Michigan. Nevertheless, for the 8000+ fans in attendance at the Dunk, it was a disappointing game. Not since 2003 have more fans come out to the Friars’ home opener, which was also the last season the Friars qualified for the NCAA tournament. Read on for my Five Providence Friars Points:

[The Big Three] If you knew the Friars would shoot 6/25 from downtown, 12/22 from the free throw line, and also commit 21 turnovers, how could you have picked them to win? Those stats overshadow the fact that the Friars were dominant on the boards.

[Not since '99] The loss marked the first time in 9 years that the Friars have lost their season opener, the last coming at the hands of Holy Cross.

[Kale Calling For It] Jonathan Kale looked strong in the post. He wanted the ball and wound up with 15 points. His high last season was 16, at Syracuse.

[KeNO] Coach Davis refused to make excuses after the game or blame any players after tough questions about Geoff McDermott (5 shots) and Sharaud Curry (returning from foot injury). In response to McDermott, he said it was the coaches’ job to involve him more in the offense. For the question about Curry, he said, “When you come back from such a serious injury, I’d hate for the fans and people to get on him. Nobody wants to win more than he does. Nobody works harder, no point guard in the country works harder than he does to try to come back from this injury.”

[Catch Up] PC trailed at halftime and never took the lead in the final 10 minutes. They tied it twice: 57-57 on a Geoff McDermott three-pointer with 4:33 left, and 63-63 on a three-point play by Weyinmi Efejuku with 2:13 remaining.

- JE