Providence has a 95-year storied history of playing college basketball, in the shadows of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield. Kansas, one of the sport's true bluebloods and residing on Naismith Drive in Lawrence, Kansas, has played the game for 124 seasons – under the auspices of Phog Allen, Larry Brown, Roy Williams and current coach Bill Self.
That’s four coaches who are all in that same Hall of Fame. And these two teams have never met on a basketball court before this weekend.
Might seem like advantage Jayhawks from the historical perspective, with all due respect to PC’s Hall of Famer Dave Gavitt and should-be HOFer Joe Mullaney. A win over the Friars Friday night in Chicago also puts Kansas in sole possession of first place for all time wins in college hoops history, with 2,354.
Plus, the Jayhawks claim five national titles, six runner-up honors and conference titles too numerous to mention. That’s not just blueblood, that’s rarified collegiate air to be sure.
The name, the brand, the image, the reputation…that’s part of what the Friars face on the floor at the United Center in the Midwest Region of the NCAA’s Sweet 16. They’ll also face a top-seeded team (30-6, Big 12 champion) from this season, which is part of the mystique of it all.
“We’re excited to play against Coach Self, against Coach Roberts (assistant coach Norm, formerly head coach at St. John’s), and the challenge ahead for Providence College,” Ed Cooley told gathered media on Tuesday. “But we also feel playing in the Big East has set us up for this opportunity.”
“This is what we’ve been dreaming about. It’s what we worked all summer for,” said Friar grad forward Noah Horchler, averaging a double-double through the first two rounds of this year’s NCAA Tournament. “So far to this day, it’s the biggest game we’ve played. They’re a blue blood team and we’re excited to play them.”
It’s an opportunity for Providence to advance its season toward a possible third Final Four of their own in school history (and first in 35 years), while beating a team that seemingly competes for a national title every year. The histories of the two may not match, but the identity of this year's teams just might.
“The team they kind of remind me of is probably us,” Self said in a Tuesday conference call previewing the Friday night game. “They have four guys in the game at all times that can stretch it. I see some similarities in our team and their team. They don’t post their guards a lot and their big guy (Nate Watson) is a guy who can make a basket like David (McCormack) can.
“They’re a lot like us.”
Providence has a Naismith National Coach of the Year candidate in Cooley. And Kansas features a Naismith National Player of the Year candidate in 6-5 senior guard Ochai Agbaji.
“He can drive, he can shoot, he can post,” Cooley said, “and he’s one of the elite, elite players in all of college basketball.”
“Our guys think they’re battle tested, but Providence thinks they’re battle tested too,” Self added. “They’ve probably been involved in as many of those close games as anybody in the country. In my mind it’s who does the best job of getting ready to play that makes the difference.”
Something that Dr. Naismith, undoubtedly, would agree with.
TOURNAMENT NOTES
Providence will board a chartered flight to Chicago Wednesday afternoon to begin on-site preparations for the Midwest Regional semifinal Friday night, with tip time scheduled for 7:29 p.m. ET (televised on TBS).
With a win on Friday, Kansas would pass another member of college hoop royalty, Kentucky, in all-time wins. The two storied programs currently sit tied at 2,353 wins apiece, even though the Jayhawks have 157 more losses than the Wildcats. A Kentucky reporter asked Self today about the significance of potentially passing Kentucky on the wins list.
“I’ll be real candid with you, all that means to me is that we beat Providence,” Self said. “That’s all that means to me. I think those types of things are great. They can be used for recruiting potentially, if you are ever in that position.”
The other side of the Midwest Region features two of the three double-digit seeded teams remaining in the Sweet 16, Miami (seeded 10th) and Iowa State (seeded 11th). Miami, of course, features Providence alumnus and former star Jim Larranaga as head coach and one-time Kansas (and DePaul and Cal) guard Charlie Moore. Iowa State, meanwhile, is coached by TJ Otzelberger (who previously coached at South Dakota State from 2016-19) and has reached the regional semis only a year after the team finished 2-22.