Coach Keno Davis will likely have to guide Providence to the Big East title if his Friars are to get an NCAA Tournament invitation.
PROVIDENCE - The Providence College Friars still have a chance to play in the NCAA Tournament. But doing so will require five feats of tremendous good fortune.
The Friars begin a quest for postseason participation with an opening round game tonight against Marquette in the Big East Tournament at Madison Square Garden.
To advance to the NCAA Tournament, the Friars would have to win five games.
To win the Big East Tournament title and its automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament, the Friars would have to reverse a season-long curse on five consecutive nights - that is win on the road, a feat they did not accomplish once in any of nine Big East road games this season.
"Not many people give us a chance," said Friar coach Keno Davis, PC having lost seven straight games before beating Rutgers by a one point. "But the margin between us and the top teams is very slim - we have not had many lop-sided losses. A lot of our games have come down to the wire, come down to the last few minutes."
But the numbers beg to differ. The Friars lost at Marquette by 24 points two weeks ago and in their nine road losses, PC is allowing an average of 82 points per game. The Friars lost their nine Big East road games by an average margin of 15 and only three of those (seven points to Syracuse and South Florida and two at Georgetown) were by margins of 10 points or less.The matchup features the top two scoring teams in the Big East, Marquette ranking No. 1 in scoring offense (76.7) and the Friars being No. 2 (76.1). Neither the Warriors (69 points per game allowed), nor the Friars (75) have shown defensive prowess, being Nos. 14 and 15 respectively in the Big East in points allowed. The Friars also have the second-worst field goal defense in the Big East, foes shooting at a .447 success rate.
"The one thing that I like about our guys is that they never give up," added Davis. "We've tried a lot of different defenses, different offenses to see what our guys might respond to. We're trying to develop a team to play 40 minutes."
The Friars will take their cue from the Big East's scoring leader and nation's No. 2 ranked scorer (at 24.8 ppg) in senior Marshon Brooks, who was limited to 17 points on 16 shots by Marquette two weeks ago. "They did a good job of being physical with me, they closed my driving range," said Brooks, who has had 25 games in which he has scored 20 or more points, including a Friar and Big East single-game record of 52 against Notre Dame.
"We wanted another chance at Marquette, to see if we can't defend (the Golden Warriors shooting 53 percent) and rebound (a 48-33 gap) better," said Davis. The Friars shot just 32 percent in that game, taking 73 shots, 14 more than Marquette.
"So to be able to get a win is going to be tough," added Davis. "I think you go in with the confidence that we know we can play against the best in this league. You go on the road and you have to be able to execute even better than you do at home.
"I think like a lot of teams in this conference, we know we can play with the best. We have to play even better to win on the road."- The Friars' was not a unanimous selection for the first Big East all-star team, a feat enjoyed only by Notre Dame's . However, Brooks is a prime candidate with St. John's guard and Pitt guard for Player of the Year to be named today. Brooks, incidentally, has taken 744 free throws, the third-most in the Big East, but is not even among the top 15 best foul shooters, having just a 67-percent success rate ... , the Louisville and former Friar coach, probably said it best on the eve of the tournament, "it was easier to understand back in 1987 when I was at Providence. It was easy to understand everybody. You had , you had , you had , you had . You could figure everybody out. Now it's just so difficult. It's so big. You just don't know where to turn. Everybody's styles are so different." ... Twenty-three Friar foes scored 70 points or more and in 18 games in which PC trailed at halftime, the Friars came out with wins just four times ... , Syracuse's senior forward, has been named the Big East "Defensive Player of the Year." Hardy received the "Most Improved Player," the Red Storm's , is the winner of the "Sixth Man" and Pitt guard won the "Sportsmanship Award" ... "I think it will be very interesting because there will be some head scratchers," said Rutgers coach . "There will be some teams from the bottom that will surprise some people. With the parity in this league, anything can happen. I think that's what's so exciting for the college basketball fan right now watching." ... Ten teams will enter the Big East Championship with at least 20 wins. Since the Big East Tournament winner received an automatic bid to the NCAA Championship, 128 of 132 teams with 20 wins reached the NCAA tournament ... Marquette enters on a two-game losing streak, having been beaten by seven by Cincinnati and by 13 by Seton Hall. Your Email is your "Member ID"
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