At times, it can be easy to forget that among New England Division I schools, Providence has about as much tradition on the hardwood as any of them. UConn’s emergence as a national power and Boston College’s move to the ACC, along with an unprecedented string of success before Al Skinner was fired, certainly help, along with the Friars being a good, not great, program for a lot of the past couple of decades.
Ed Cooley is changing all of that. And it’s only fitting since he’s a hometown hero.
The Friars head coach is as Providence as you get. He’ll drop references that remind you of his hometown and how well he knows it just as fast as he might drop Stevie Wonder, Ray Charles or Barry White references. (He’s mentioned all three in ones I have attended, and in varying contexts.) He can mix humor and seriousness as well as a lot of coaches, and his sincerity is never in doubt.
Cooley is getting the results on the court, too, and a season where the expectations are a bit higher than usual is off to the kind of start that was expected, the latest being a dominating 90-63 win over Saint Louis in the championship game of the 2K Classic at Madison Square Garden last night. Providence led 41-21 at the half and was never seriously challenged, shooting a scorching 62 percent from the field including 9-10 from behind the arc, while holding the Billikens to 34.5 percent.
Lest anyone think Isaiah Jackson’s miss from deep was the only blemish on the night, the Friars did turn the ball over 16 times. That can be fixed, and with all of the other dominance, one can overlook that for the night, though you can be sure Ed Cooley won’t.
Providence returns most of the team that finished last season on a tear to get into the NCAA Tournament. This team should be as good a challenger to Villanova as any in the Big East, even though Xavier and Seton Hall are getting more press in that regard. They opened with a home loss to Minnesota, but aside from it coming on their home floor, there’s no shame as the Golden Gophers are in a much better place than over a year ago. The Friars haven’t missed a beat since then.
Last season marked the first time Providence has ever made the NCAA Tournament four years in a row, which is hard to believe given their history. Ed Cooley and his staff have this veteran team on track to make it five in a row in just a couple of months.
Side Dishes
It was a night of blowouts at The World’s Most Famous Arena last night, as Virginia Tech dominated Washington 103-79 in the consolation game of the 2K Classic. The Hokies ran out to a 59-28 halftime lead and were never seriously challenged in the second half.
In the semifinals of the Charleston Classic, Temple knocked off Auburn 88-74 to start the day behind 19 points and 10 rebounds from Obi Enechionyia, then Clemson closed out the night by pulling away from Hostra 78-59 behind another good game from Donte Grantham. In between those games, Old Dominion pulled away from Indiana State 62-44 and Dayton got 18 points and 19 rebounds from Josh Cunningham to lead a 73-59 win over Ohio in the consolation bracket.
The Islands of the Bahamas Showcase was a little more competitive overall on its opening day of action. Vermont edged Bradley 65-64 on late free throws by Trae Bell-Haynes, Northern Kentucky beat James Madison 87-78, Iona got 20 points and 13 rebounds from T.K. Edogi to beat Weber State 80-72, and Coastal Carolina got 14 points from three different players in an 83-69 win over UT San Antonio.
In the Paradise Jam, which has relocated to Liberty University, Mercer beat Liberty 63-48 and Drexel edged Houston 84-80 behind 21 points and 16 rebounds from Tremaine Isabell and overcoming 37 points from Rob Gray Jr. to get things going. Colorado edged Quinnipiac 70-69 on a buzzer-beater after a rebound by McKinley Wright IV, and Drake closed out the night by hitting 15 three-pointers en route to a 77-74 win over Wake Forest. Reed Timmer had 29 points for Drake, and they overcame 19 points and 19 rebounds by Doral Moore of Wake Forest.
Semifinal action was on tap in the second day of the Puerto Rico Tip-Off, which has also relocated to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Chandler Hutchison led Boise State into the title game with 19 points and 18 rebounds as they beat Illinois State 82-64, and they will take on Iowa State, who held off Tulsa 80-78 behind 20 points, 14 rebounds and eight assists from Nick Weiler-Babb. In the consolation bracket, Western Michigan got past Appalachian State 86-67 and South Carolina ran out to a big halftime lead against UTEP en route to an 80-56 win.
There is also the Jamaica Classic, being held at Montego Bay, which is not really a tournament with seven teams. Each team plays two games, with the opening action on Friday. Tulane opened up by running away from Colorado State 80-53, Florida State then did the same with Fordham in a 67-43 win, then Miami (Ohio) and LIU saved the drama for the last game as the Blackbirds made it a ballgame after being down by 13 at the half before succumbing to the RedHawks 78-74.
The biggest game in non-tournament action was the in-state battle between Virginia and host VCU. The Rams were able to hang in, but Kyle Guy hit two big shots late to cap a 29-point outing and lead the Cavaliers to a 76-67 win in Richmond.
Another rivalry game on the night was a bit of a snoozer by comparison, as New Mexico State turned a three-point halftime lead into a 75-56 win over New Mexico in Las Cruces.
In the latest of the Gavitt Tip-Off Games, Illinois beat visiting DePaul 82-73.
Missouri State star Alize Johnson has done it again. The senior had 23 points and 20 rebounds in last night’s 57-54 loss to North Dakota State, his second 20-20 game and the second one of the season (Washington’s Noah Dickerson has the other one).
Tonight’s Menu
It’s a busy day of games, with some tournaments in action and others taking a day off.
- Action in the Islands of the Bahamas is highlighted by semifinal matchups between Vermont and Coastal Carolina (5 p.m.) and Northern Kentucky and Iona (8 p.m.)
- The Paradise Jam has semifinal action in the evening after the consolation games, with Mercer taking on Drexel at 6 p.m. and Colorado taking on Drake at 8:30 p.m.
- The Hall of Fame Tip-Off has semifinal action at Mohegan Sun Arena in Connecticut, highlighted by Texas Tech taking on Boston College (noon), then La Salle taking on Northwestern (2:30 p.m.)
- Only one game is on tap in the Jamaica Classic, which is Hartford taking on LIU at 6 p.m.
- In non-tournament action, the best matchups look to be Princeton visiting Saint Joseph’s (7 p.m.), College of Charleston heading to Charlotte (7 p.m.), Bucknell at Maryland (8:30 p.m.), a campus game as part of the Barclays Center Classic with UT Arlington visiting BYU (9:30 p.m.), and a sleeper game being Long Beach State traveling to Oregon State (11 p.m.)
