On the surface, maybe Providence got a break in their Wednesday night Big East Tournament opener at Madison Square Garden, facing 11th seeded DePaul?
Or, maybe they didn't. The Blue Demons did finish last in the regular season, played the fewest number of games (17) due to several Covid pauses and lost three straight games to end the year with a lineup full of holes.
But earlier in the season, when they were healthy and eager to get started, they played with reckless abandon and the Friars had few defensive answers. PC was fortunate to come out on the high side of a 95-90 double overtime win at Alumni Hall back at the end of December.
"We're playing another good basketball team, they are good defensively and they rebound the ball well," PC head coach Ed Cooley said. "They've had a lot of ups and downs, but when you go into a tournament anything is possible."
A year ago, the Blue Demons posted a 71-67 win over Xavier in the first round before the tournament was canceled the following day due to the COVID-19 pandemic. DePaul head coach Dave Leitao is hopeful of having second-leading scorer Javon Freeman-Liberty return to the lineup after missing the last five games…he hasn't played since the last meeting with PC on Feb. 13th.
"We put ourselves in position to what it looks like it's come to, but we're still taking one game at a time and look forward to DePaul and we're all in before we worry about the next game," second team all-Big East pick David Duke said. "We gotta be fresh and locked in and tough mentally and physically, we've got to key in on that this week in order to be successful."
That next game, should the Friars survive the Wednesday night, 9:00 pm tip against the Blue Demons, would be against third-seeded UConn…arguably one of the hottest teams going at this time of the year.
"I do see it as wide open," Cooley added. "I think Connecticut is playing as well as anybody and if we're fortunate to advance they'll be our next opponent, but you've got some teams nicked up – with us and probably Butler we have one of the least experienced teams out there in terms of tournament play.
"But I'm confident we'll play well and survive and advance one game at a time," Cooley said.
The Friars also defeated DePaul 57-47 at Wintrust Arena in Chicago nearly a month ago. DePaul is the only Big East opponent Providence swept for the season, as they hope to make the third time as 'charming' as the previous two meetings. PC has won four of six overall going into Madison Square Garden; the Blue Demons have lost eight of nine, with three games postponed, since the end of January.
The 6 vs. 11 game will be the third of a triple-header Wednesday in New York, with the 8-9 game featuring Georgetown and Marquette at 3 pm (winner meets top-seeded Villanova Thursday), and the 7 vs. 10 match-up between Xavier and Butler (winner gets 2-seed Creighton Thursday) set to tip-off at 6 pm.
Coming Tuesday: Tournament favorites, predictions
BIG EAST postseason award winners
(Player of the Year and Coach of the Year will be announced Wednesday)
BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year
Isaiah Whaley, Connecticut
Posh Alexander, St. John's
BIG EAST Most Improved Player
Julian Champagnie, St. John's
Zach Freemantle, Xavier
BIG EAST Sixth Man Award
Tyler Polley, Connecticut
BIG EAST Sportsmanship Award
Mitch Ballock, Creighton
