Friars Report: Strategy and Personell

Providence should be able to matchup as well as anyone with the Marquette guards. Though it may not be quite as quick as the Dominic James-Jerel McNeal-Wesley Matthews trio, the Friars guards aren’t slowpokes themselves and have the size to give them tough shooting angles on the perimeter. A key will be containing Lazar Hayward in the middle, and Jonathan Kale and Randall Hanke will have opportunities to score inside if they get the ball and are aggressive in looking for their shot.

Notes, quotes

- Providence started the season 2-0 in the Big East, putting it in a position the program has rarely seen. One of the Big East’s charter members, this marks just the fourth time in team history that the Friars have been 2-0 after their first pair of league games.

—Senior Geoff McDermott enters the week seven rebounds away from cracking the 900-mark for his career. He has the fourth-most boards of any active college player, trailing Washington’s Jon Brockman, North Carolina’s Tyler Hansbrough, and St. Mary’s Diamon Simpson.

Getting Inside

Davis is taking a long-term approach to rebuilding the Providence program, redshirting a pair of forwards in freshman Bilal Dixon and sophomore Jamine “Greedy” Peterson. Both are good enough to contribute now in the frontcourt rotation, especially for a team that isn’t very deep at forward, though neither would be likely to get more than a few minutes a game.

Strategy and Personnel

—Geoff McDermott’s 13 points and 10 rebounds against DePaul marked the 26th double-double of the senior’s college career.

—Weyinmi Efejuku hit four three-pointers on his way to an 18-point night against DePaul. He’s 8-for-14 from three (57 percent) over his last three games heading into the Jan. 7 matchup with Cincinnati.