The stings have been painful for the Providence College men’s basketball team with a trio of losses at the Battle for Atlantis, winding up with an 89-73 setback to No. 14-ranked Indiana on Friday. After winning their first five games of the season against teams all ranked well over 300 in the KenPom poll, the Friars traveled to Paradise Island in the Bahamas where they lost a two-point game to Oklahoma, dropped a 69-58 decision to Davidson and were dumped by the Hoosiers.
“Offense and defense are married,” PC head coach Kim English said. “In each game, it was a different story. Defense is harder when you’re turning it over, harder when you’re missing layups — it’s a harsh truth.
” Indiana shot 53 percent from the floor, tallied 38 points in the paint and had 20 assists on 32 field goals. Jayden Pierre scored 22 points (on 8-for-16 shooting) for PC. Corey Floyd (14 points, five rebounds) and Jabir Abdur-Rahim (14 points, three rebounds) also factored in for the Friars.
“We have to buckle down defensively,” Pierre said after Oklahoma hit at a 59 percent rate from the floor and Davidson at 47 percent. “All three games our opponents have shot over 40 percent which is our main objective.” The Friars faced a 10-point halftime deficit against the Hoosiers, shooting 12-for-33 overall, and 6-for-15 during the first 10 minutes of the game.
PC also surrendered 20 points in the paint to Indiana — the preseason No. 2 pick in the Big Ten Conference — and gave u.