Providence's offense hits early warning signs in loss to Nebraska

UNCASVILLE, Conn. – Mohegan Sun Arena looked like Friartown West. The energy was high. The defensive effort fit the blueprint. 

But it’s hard to win a game shooting 31 percent.  

Providence did enough to make life difficult on Big Ten contender Nebraska but couldn’t make life easy on itself in a 67-58 defeat Saturday night in the Hall of Fame Tip-Off. 

“What an amazing crowd. The Friar fanbase did their job tonight. But we did not,” Providence head coach Bryan Hodgson said. “Quite frankly, we’re not good enough yet to win that caliber of basketball game. But I can tell you this: we will be.”

Nebraska withstood a burst of energy from the Friars and their crowd in the opening minutes. Both teams struggled to score for much of the first half, but the Cornhuskers slowly started to exert their will, then delivered a 9-0 run to jump in front by 11. Providence made a late charge before halftime and trailed by five at the break. 

The uphill battle included foul trouble for projected standout Miles Byrd, who sat much of the first half with two, then picked up two more in the opening minutes of the second half. The Friars made a move to get within three points with 13:31 left, but the Huskers rolled from there, out-scoring Providence 22-9 over the next 11 minutes. 

Leonardo Marangon led the Friars with 12 points. Making his debut after a preseason injury, Devin Vanterpool had 11 points and six rebounds. Nebraska’s Pryce Sandfort led all scorers with 25 points. 

Providence continued to find mixed results at Mohegan Sun Arena despite the proximity to campus, falling to 5-7 all-time. 

Here are three takeaways from the matchup. 

Offensive woes too much to overcome 

The numbers said it all for the Friars at the offensive end: 31 percent from the field, 18 percent from 3-point range, 18 turnovers. Nebraska used some matchup zone, and the Friars never looked comfortable against it. At times, they executed for open looks but couldn’t get them to fall. Other trips looked disjointed. 

“Offensively, we were in a massive rut,” Hodgson said. “Can’t win a game when you have 10 assists and 18 turnovers, shoot 18 percent from 3.”

The 3-point shooting was especially troublesome, given the volume of shots the Friars took. Thirty-eight of their 62 field-goal attempts were from beyond the arc, and they made only seven. 

The obvious about the offensive struggles: was it just a bad night against a good team or will it be a trend? 

“They’re about as disciplined a defensive team as I’ve faced in my coaching career,” Hodgson said. “I didn’t put our guys in a good enough position offensively to win that game, and we’ll get that fixed.”

Defense and effort are something to build on 

The Friars plan to make defense their calling card this season, and they look capable of doing so. Nebraska won despite shooting 45 percent from the field and making just five of 24 from beyond the arc. Providence forced 15 turnovers and out-rebounded the Huskers 33-31. 

For Hodgson, the defensive effort featured good flashes, but not a sustained 40 minutes. 

“I thought that our defensive effort was good enough for about 70 percent of the game,” Hodgson said. “The problem was we’d give up a turnover for an easy basket, and next thing you know, a five-point deficit turns into seven and then it turns into nine.” 

Still, the performance left Nebraska coach Fred Hoiberg impressed. 

“Providence just makes life so difficult on you in the half-court,” Hoiberg said. “Bryan does an unbelievable job. These kids play so hard and they’re relentless on the glass.”

Missed opportunity but more to come 

The matchup had all the makings of an ambush. Friar fans – including several busloads of students – packed into the arena and were at a fever-pitch in the opening minutes. It felt like a true road game for the Cornhuskers, but they were largely undeterred.  

“That goes in as a neutral-site game but it definitely wasn’t,” Nebraska’s Sandfort said. “The crowd was awesome. Playing in that kind of environment was so fun. It takes a different level of focus, for sure.” 

A victory would have provided an early signature moment for Hodgson in his debut season at Providence. Now attention turns to future chances. The Friars will host Colorado next Saturday and will jet off to the Maui Invitational soon after. The field includes first-round opponent VCU, as well as Arizona, Clemson, BYU and Ole Miss. 

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Providence’s offense hits early warning signs in loss to Nebraska