Providence frets about defense as New Hampshire awaits

Providence coach Kim English isn't losing sleep over how his team has performed at the offensive end of the court this season. It's his team's defense that keeps him awake at night.

The Friars (2-2) are averaging 96.0 points per game, but they rank last among Big East teams and 350th nationally in scoring defense (91.0 ppg) entering Tuesday night's home game against New Hampshire.

English has had three days to dwell on Providence's most recent outing -- a 97-88 loss at Colorado in which the Buffaloes shot 51.5% from the field. Colorado cranked it up to 60% shooting in the second half, when it scored 58 points.

"I didn't recognize the team that was out there and that's an unsettling feeling as a coach," English said. "That's the second time I've felt that this season -- us simply not doing what we work on or not doing what the game requires.

"We're going to revamp our practices. We're going to flip this thing and really, really hone in on our defense. Eighty-eight points is plenty."

Oswin Erhunmwunse's career-high seven blocks against Colorado were one positive for the Providence defense. Erhunmwunse entered Monday leading the nation in blocks with 18.

Jason Edwards has scored at least 20 points in two of Providence's four games and averages a team-high 19.3 points per game. The Friars lead the Big East in free-throw percentage at 82.1% (87 of 106).

New Hampshire (2-3), a member of the America East Conference, sits 0-3 on the road and both of its victories came against Division III opponents. The road losses came against Clemson (88-38), Harvard (86-75) and George Mason (61-44).

Kijan Robinson (13.7 ppg), Belal El Shakery (11.8 ppg, 9.2 rpg) and Jack Graham (11.0 ppg) are New Hampshire's leading scorers. The Wildcats turned over most of their roster from a season ago.

"It's a process, especially through the nonconference, to figure out who plays best together, what's the best way to play, lineups, things like that, so when we get into January and February we can really get rolling," said New Hampshire coach Nathan Davis.

--Field Level Media