There is a significant difference in the Big East between winning as a home favorite in men’s basketball and trying to take down an expected contender on the road.
That was brought home again at Providence College Tuesday night in Omaha. Creighton absorbed a few points but were never really threatened in the second half after Isaac Traudt made his key contribution.
More: Here’s how Providence Basketball defended its home court for the second time this week
The reserve forward came off the bench on fire and the Bluejays extended their lead from four points to double digits. They slowed down the streak for an 84-64 victory at CHI Health Center, denying the Friars what would have been a third straight victory.
Traudt scored all of his 13 points in the first 6:26 after the break, and Creighton tied its biggest advantage at 61-48. Providence never saw a number again, following a blowout from Butler and a solid offense against Seton Hall with a clunker.
“Against the upper echelon of this league, we talk about it with our team,” Providence coach Kim English said. “Marquette, (Villanova), Connecticut and Creighton – we have to be better. We’re 0-3 against these four so far with another Friday.
The Friars will visit the Wildcats next, and they will do so on just 38.2 percent shooting and eight assists. Providence was 4 of 20 from 3-point range and was outscored by 30 from beyond the arc. Wesley Cardet Jr., Ryan Mela and Corey Floyd Jr. shared the team honors with just 10 points each.
“They have their five men parked at the edge,” English said. “If you’re a shooter, they stay attached to you. They make you play 2-on-2 ball screens without much help.
Mela connected on a second free throw to make it a 46-42 game with 17:36 left before Traudt warmed up. He shot a 3-pointer and followed it up with a four-point play, a jumper and a foul from the right corner with 15:47 to play. Traudt hit again from the right wing and made a perfect 4-for-4 from deep with another contested jumper from the left corner.
“It’s a lack of execution,” English said. “These are faulty switches. It’s about guarding a deceased shooter. The ball is dribbled towards you – you should push towards this shooter.
The Bluejays (11-6, 4-2 Big East) emptied the bench with 2:25 remaining after the 10-0 knockout series. Steven Ashworth and Ryan Kalkbrenner shared the game honors with 20 points and Kalkbrenner celebrated his 150th varsity game with 10 rebounds to post a double-double. Ashworth had all six of his assists in the first half – five of them going to Kalkbrenner at the rim.
“Our change didn’t bother them at all and they carried on,” English said. “They have great shooters on the team.”
The Friars (9-9, 3-4) have been motivated by their point guards over the past three games, including an 87-84 road loss to the Huskies. That wasn’t the case that night: Jayden Pierre and Bensley Joseph combined for nine points, two assists and no steals while shooting 3 for 19. Oswin Erhunmwunse was the only Providence player among the 11 to see the field to finish with a plus-minus score, finishing plus-1 in 23 minutes.
“The standard is the standard,” English said. “In practice, whether it’s Creighton or not, do your best in transition defense. That’s enough. And if you do that, you end up in front of the room. You have a better chance.
“They were just too good tonight.”
PROVIDENCE (64): Wesley Cardet Jr. 4-8 1-1 10, Jayden Pierre 2-9 2-2 7, Ryan Mela 4-6 2-3 10, Corey Floyd Jr. 5-11 0-0 10, Oswin Erhunmwunse 4-5 0 -0 8, Christ Essandoko 3-7 0-0 7, Jabri Abdur-Rahim 0-3 3-3 3, Justyn Fernandez 2-5 0-0 5, Anton Bonke 0-0 0-0 0, Bensley Joseph 1-10 0-0 2, Eli DeLaurier 1-4 0-0 2; totals 26-68 8-9 64. CREIGHTON (84): Jasen Green 2-5 0-0 4, Steven Ashworth 8-19 0-0 20, Jamiya Neal 2-8 3-6 8, Ryan Kalkbrenner 8-12 2-4 20, Jackson McAndrew 1-5 0-0 3 , Fedor Zugic 3-4 0-1 6, Ty Davis 0-0 0-0 0, Shane Thomas 0-0 0-0 0, Mason Miller 3-4 0-0 8, Frederick King 1-1 0-0 2, Isaac Traudt 4-4 1-1 13; totals 32-62 6-12 84.
Halftime – C, 43-34. 3 points – P 4-20 (Cardet 1-2, Pierre 1-4, Floyd 0-1, Essandoko 1-2, Abdur-Rahim 0-2, Fernandez 1-4, Joseph 0-3, DeLaurier 0-2) , C 14-32 (Green 0-2, Ashworth 4-10, Neal 1-4, Kalkbrenner 2-4, McAndrew 1-4, Zugic 0-1, Miller 2-3, Traudt 4-4). Rebounds – P 40 (Floyd 8, Erhunmwunse 8), C 35 (Kalkbrenner 10). Assists – P 8 (Mela 3), C 15 (Ashworth 6).
bkoch@providencejournal.com
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This article was originally published in the Providence Journal: Providence Friars lose to Creighton Bluejays in Big East basketball
