The Providence Friars are trying to prolong their season as they head to NYC for the first round of the BIG EAST Tournament.  Their opponent tonight is the Seton Hall Pirates, who the Friars lost to over the weekend at the DUNK as a result of a rather dull performance.  However, I think tonight is going to be different for several reasons.

• Since I started Friarblog.com, the Friars are 4-0 in games that I have personally attended.  Sure, the opponents have been Rutgers (twice) and DePaul (in the BET last year) — but the other was Gonzo’s Pirates at the Prudential Center.  Let’s hope I don’t get by a cab on my walk from the office to the Garden.
• The Hall is in a very similar situation that our Friars were in last year.   They have a good conference record, but not enough marquee wins.  Most bubble-talkin’ people have SHU needing a win against PC AND Notre Dame in order to be considered for an At-Large Bid.  Why is this important?  Well, if the Friars have any fondness for last year’s class, they are going to want to play spoiler.  After all, PC had a better conference record (10-8 vs 9-9) and did not get with only one win in the BET.  Do it for McDermott boys!
• This is Madison Square Garden in New York City.  Despite losing 10 games in a row and counting, I think the boys will up for a game of maximum effort.  Bilal Dixon will want to impress his Jersey City contingent, and Vincent Council and Greedy will hopefully shine for the Brooklyn folks.
• Sharaud Curry deserves a better ending.  Last year should have been his Senior night, Upsetting #1 Pittsburgh with the class he played for 4 years.  However, his night came on the depressing end of an awful losing streak, behind a lackluster crowd.  Sure, Curry has his flaws defensively, but he has been a great scorer at Providence College and deserves a little better ending!  Let’s hope he takes matters into his own hands and drills some threes like we’ve seen him in conference play.

WHERE TO: BOOZE

Before and after the game, I’ll be hitting up Stout (right down the street from the Garden, 133 West 33rd Street).  I’ll be rocking my homemade Friarblog.com T-Shirt, so the first person to say hi and mention this post I’ll buy them a beer :).

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WHAT TO: KNOW

Game Time: 7:00PM

Opponent: Seton Hall Pirates (18-11, 9-9)

Location: Madison Square Garden

Spread: SHU -5

ESPN AccuScore Prediction: SHU 83, PC 80 (SHU wins 56% in 10,000 sims)

Pomeroy Prediction: SHU 91, PC 87 (64% confidence)

WHAT TO: READ

StatSheet.com Pregame

Friars.com Gamenotes [PDF]

The Friars return to action on Tuesday, March 9at the BIG EAST Championship in New York, N.Y. As the No. 15 seed, PC will face No. 10 seed Seton Hall at 7:00 p.m. for the second time in three days and the first time in the BIG EAST Tournament since 2000. The Friars were defeated, 92-80, by the Pirates on March 6 at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center. Tuesday’s contest will mark the 87th meeting ever between the two teams. Providence has posted a 45-41 mark all-time against Seton Hall. The two teams first met on February 26, 1927
when the Pirates defeated the Friars, 25-24, in South Orange, N.J. The Friars are 18-25 in road games against Seton Hall, 24-12 in home games and 3-4 in games on neutral courts. The Friars last defeated the Pirates, 98-93, in overtime on January 22, 2009 in Newark, N.J.

Projo.com: PC, Hall set to tangle once more

PC guard Marshon Brooks says he sees the Friars with a bit of a mental edge. While the Pirates badly need to win the game, the Friars are riding a 10-game losing streak and clearly won’t be playing games after this week barring an unforeseen run through the Big East tourney. He expects his teammates to be excited to play for what could be the final time this year.

Projo.com: Big East Tournament preview capsule: Seton Hall vs. Providence

The Pirates find themselves squarely on the NCAA Tournament bubble after finishing at .500 in the Big East. Need a win Tuesday night and a victory over Notre Dame Wednesday to stay in the discussion

NJ.com: Seton Hall’s John Garcia hoping for a second trip to the NCAAs

Garcia, who is the only current Pirate to have known the NCAA Tournament — having been a freshman during the 2006 NCAA season — has had one goal this season: Make it back to the dance. He doesn’t care that he’s averaging less than 14 minutes a game or that his body — which undergoes 10-14 hours of treatment a week — can only take so many trips up and down the court.

NorthJersey.com: Herb Pope pumped for the Garden

“I’m going to be juiced,” he said. “It’s going to mean a lot to me. That’s MSG. That’s where Michael Jordan and guys tried to come in there and put on a great show for everybody. If you come out there and you’re not playing basketball, [the fans] will let you know it. So you have to come out with your ‘A’ game.”

NewJerseyNewsRoom.com: College Basketball: Seton Hall (18-11) vs. Providence (12-18)

For the season, Jeremy Hazell leads Seton Hall and ranks third in the conference with 21.2 points per game. Herb Pope became the first Pirate to finish a season leading the Big East in rebounds per game (11.1).

SNY.tv: Big East casts large shadow on the week

No. 15 Providence vs. No. 10 Seton Hall: The Friars followed up its near-miss at Pittsburgh with a clunker in their home finale against these same Pirates. For once, the defense wasn’t the primary problem — not to imply that PC’s defense was good on Saturday. Worse was the offense, which shot just 42.3 percent eFG and committed turnovers on one quarter of its possessions. The latter has rarely been a problem this season. If the Friars can clean up the turnovers and get Greedy Peterson more involved — the double-double machine had just six points and four rebounds before fouling out — PC could pull off a crushing upset. The bad matchup for PC — and this isn’t new — is on defense, where Seton Hall doesn’t turn the ball over. Forcing turnovers is the primary way that PC gets stops, and without that out, the Friars’ only option is to pray for missed shots. Teams don’t generally miss layups.

SBRForum: Seton Hall Pirates on bubble and needing wins in Big East tourney

As far as a game plan goes, it’s as simple as throw the ball on the court and get out of the way. Both teams love to run and their scoring averages prove it. Providence is averaging 81.6 points per game while surrendering 81.3 ppg. Seton Hall is tickling the twine to the tune of 80.3 points per game while allowing 74 and change. The first half-court set you see tonight might be the last one, so enjoy it.

WHERE TO: WATCH

The game will be carried on ESPNU

WHERE TO: FOLLOW

Friars.com Gametracker

As always, I’ll be on Twitter @friarblog with in-game updates.

Greedy Peterson might only be playing one or two games in this year’s BIG EAST Tournament, but the Bleacher Report gave him some props in their “10 Things You Need To Know About the Big East Tournament” post.

This sensational sophomore has really flew under the radar this season for Providence and the Big East. He has quietly put together a stellar season for the Providence Friars; what else does Providnce fans have to look forward to? Not much, but Peterson gives them a small light of hope.

Many fans have missed this, but Jamine Peterson has averaged 19 points and 10 rebounds throughout the year, and 20 and 10 in Big East play. That’s right, THE BIG EAST.

It’s tough to got out every night and produce like Peterson does, but somehow, someway, he finds a way to do so.

I’m not saying that he deserves to be considered as a Big East Player of the Year candidate, but hopefully he can get noticed a tad more after this week. After all, he is being showcased in the center of the basketball world: the one and only Madison Square Gardens in New York City.

I wish this young kid all the luck in the world.

Senior Brian McKenzie has played his last game in a Friar uniform after injuring his ankle on Saturday against Seton Hall.

According to Kevin McNamara of the ProJo

PC senior Brian McKenzie was wearing a boot on his injured foot and did not practice Sunday. He is not expected to play on Tuesday.

Brian has taken plenty of abuse this season, but you hate to see a kid from Brooklyn miss out on his last shot to play basketball in New York City.

So I was a little MIA for the final weekend of the BIG EAST regular season, and it appears I didn’t miss much.  From what I have been reading about the SHU game on Saturday night, it was a flat performance and a subdued atmosphere at the DUNK.  With the Friars finishing up at 4-14 in the BIG EAST, they get the #15 seed and the right to rematch Seton Hall on Tuesday night at 7PM at Madison Square Garden.  Let’s start to get back into the final week of PC basketball season with a few links.

BigEast.org: 2010 BIG EAST Tournament Bracket

2010 Tournament Bracket

FriarBasketball.net: Gerard Coleman wins MVP as his team wins NEPSAC Class B Championship!

We may have lost 10 games in a row and counting, but at least we have some good news from one of our incoming players.

Coleman wins the Class B title for the second time in two years and takes home the MVP in 2010 after a 20 point finale (15 in the first half).  This game was not vintage Gerard though, as Marianapolis played a zone, negating his slashing drives to the basket.  He struggled to get his outside shot going, scoring a majority of his points in transition.

Stub Hub: Looking for Tickets for PC-SHU?

You’ll probably pay around $20-25, and you’ll also get access to the 9PM game of Rutgers and Cincy.

Friars.com: Final Keno Davis Radio Show Of Season To Air Monday At P.J. Clarke’s

This is part of the BIG EAST fundraiser event at P.J. Clarkes (55th st. in NYC).  The minimum donation to attend the event is $500.

The final Keno Davis Radio Show of the season airs Monday, March 8 at 7:00 p.m. live from P.J. Clarke’s in New York City. Located at 205 E 55th Street, the show takes place on the eve of the 2010 BIG EAST Championship.

Projo: Awful finish leaves URI and PC down in the dumps

The other reason the Friars carried some disappointment into their practice Sunday night was the news that leading scorer and rebounder Jamine Peterson did not make any of the three all-league teams. Instead, he was one of three players who were tossed honorable mentions. Peterson certainly deserved more respect based on his statistics. He recorded eight double-doubles in Big East games and finished fourth in scoring (19 ppg.) and second in rebounding (10.0).

YouTube: PC-Pitt Finish

You may have noticed (like commenter Bob who called me a “joke” haha) that I didn’t post anything after the Pitt heartbreak.  Well, let’s just say that I couldn’t bring myself to post anything on Thursday night.  After a long 3-day weekend away from the computer, it was probably best I couldn’t watch or follow the SHU game (hence no updates for several days).

I know this hurts to watch, but someone posted the last play on YouTube, so here ya go.

Congrats to Vincent Council, who made the BIG EAST All Rookie team!

All-BIG EAST Men’s Basketball Teams Announced

BIG EAST ALL-ROOKIE TEAM
Lance Stephenson, Cincinnati, G, Fr., 6-5, 210, Brooklyn, N.Y. *
Alex Oriakhi, Connecticut, F/C, Fr., 6-9, 240, Lowell, Mass.
Vincent Council, Providence, G, Fr., 6-2, 180, Brooklyn, N.Y.
Dane Miller, Rutgers, F, Fr., 6-7, 210, Henrietta, N.Y. *
Brandon Triche, Syracuse, G, Fr., 6-4, 198, Jamesville, N.Y.
Maalik Wayns, Villanova, G, Fr., 6-1, 185, Philadelphia, Pa.

All of the court-storming hoopla this year in college basketball has finally gotten to Rick Reilly.  While it’s debatable how Friar fans acted after beating UConn this year, you will be happy to know that “The Storm” last year after beating #1 Pitt passed every single rule!

Rush to rush

Let’s go through his rules one by one, thinking of that great Pitt game last year.  My comments are in bold

• You’ve won an NCAA title in the past 20 years. - Well, the Final Four is our NCAA title, and we haven’t even reached that in 23 years.

• You’ve been in the Final Four in the past five years. - Next!

• The team you just beat is not in the top three. - We’re good here, Pitt was ranked #1

• Or is ranked within 15 rungs of you. (Somebody do the math for Wake.) - You would need several ladders to get the rungs for this one.

• Or is really a football school. This includes Florida, Texas and Ohio State. Get over it. What’s football???

• You’ve beaten this same team in the past five years. - Had PC even beaten Pitt in the last 15 years?  We should also get extra points considering one of their players broke the effing backboard against us 20 years ago!

• You won the stupid game by more than 10 points. There is no such thing as a PRTC (Premeditated Rush The Court.) - Whew. Even though PC had a solid lead the entire game, they won by 8.

• You’re a university and you just beat a college. - Unless you count all the idiots who call us “Providence University” (Fryers!), we got that reversed baby!

• Coach K comes to your coach’s clinic. - One day, Coach K will come to Keno.  Not right now, but one day.

• You have a dead-mortal-lock lottery pick on your team. - At least Weyinmi Efejuku worked out for a few teams.  Pretty sure he plays overseas with the rest of that Friar class. I’ve never seen a lottery pick come through in my 10 years following. Ryan Gomes was the closest.

• Your team has appeared in a recent “One Shining Moment.” - I’ve never heard of this song.  Is it important in college basketball in some way???

Things have been rather quiet around these parts (I can only link to / talk about the defense problem so much without wanting to smash my laptop Office Space style), but we are almost at the conference finish line.  The Provience (get it, no D!! hahahaha, I’m here all night!) Friars have two games to go, starting tonight with a nationally televised game against Pittsburgh at the Pete.  All our defensive woes aside, there are other reasons to be worried here.  1) It’s a road game against another ranked team. 2) Pitt is going to be motivated to get that sweet double-bye in the BIG EAST Tournament. 3) Pitt wants payback for getting beat whilst ranked #1 last year on our Senior Night).  Yikes.  Let’s see if the Friars can muster any motivation on their end — after all, they have been the butt of many jokes in the media concerning their defense.  It’s obviously not something that is going to change with a flip of the switch, but the effort should be there tonight at least.

WHAT TO: KNOW

Game Time: 9:00PM

Opponent: Pittsburgh Panthers (22-7, 11-5)

Location: The Pete

Spread: Pittsburgh -11.5

ESPN AccuScore Prediction: Pitt 79, PC 71 (Pitt wins 67/1% in 10,000 sims)

CBS Prediction: Pitt 81, PC 66

Pomeroy Prediction: Pitt 82, PC 70 (86% confidence)

WHAT TO: READ

StatSheet.com Pregame

Friars.com Gamenotes [PDF]

The Friars return to action on Thursday, March 4 at No. 17/18 Pittsburgh. PC has posted a 17-27 record all-time versus Pitt. PC is 13-8 all-time at home versus Pitt, 3-18 on the road and 1-1 at neutral sites. The two teams first met on March 18, 1975 with the Friars earning a 101-80 win at Madison Square Garden in the NIT. Last year, the Friars defeated the top-ranked Panthers, 81-73, on February 24, 2009. The Friar victory ended an eight-game losing streak versus Pittsburgh. Pitt’s last win over the Friars was an 82-63 victory at Pittsburgh on February 12, 2008.

PittsburghPanthers.com: No. 17 Men’s Basketball Hosts Providence on Thursday at 9 p.m.

The contest will be nationally televised on ESPN2 with John Saunders (play-by-play) and Mike Kelley (color analyst) calling action. Eric Mosley will handle production.

Projo.com: Friars threaten to set an all-time low on defense

As Pittsburgh coach Jaime Dixon says, the Friars’ up-and-down, no-defense style is not usually seen in the Big East and clearly cannot work. “They do things a little different than I’d say most teams in the Big East do,” said Dixon. “So, with that, you are going to have higher-scoring games.”

Projo.com: Capsule preview: PC at Pittsburgh

The Panthers lost four of five games in late January but have won six of their last seven to cement their position as an NCAA Tournament team for the ninth season in a row

Pittsburgh Post Gazette: Pitt knows to be wary of Providence

It was a little more than a year ago that Pitt, with a No. 1 ranking in tow after seven consecutive victories, got drilled at Providence, 81-73, by a team that had lost five of its previous seven games.

So when No. 17 Pitt plays host to Providence tonight at the Petersen Events Center don’t expect the Panthers to underestimate the struggling Friars.

“That’s part of being in the Big East,” sophomore guard Ashton Gibbs said. “Anyone can be beaten on any given night. We didn’t come out strong. We came out lackadaisical. We came out really lazy, and they took advantage. Before you knew it, we were down 20.

“We’re definitely thinking about last year. But, at the same time, we want to treat it like any other game and play our hardest.”

Pittsburgh Tribune Review: Providence’s Peterson a big problem for Pitt

Peterson has come out of relative obscurity to average a team-high 19.3 points and 9.9 rebounds. The 6-foot-6, 230-pound forward has notched a Big East-leading 14 double-doubles this season — four more than Pitt has as a team — as well as a bunch of highlight-reel dunks.

“He’s a tough matchup,” Pitt coach Jamie Dixon said. “He’s strong enough to play inside and versatile enough to play on the outside.”

The Pitt News: Men’s basketball: Panthers can lock up a Big East tournament double bye with win against Providence on Thursday

Pitt (22-7, 11-5) will look to exploit the Providence defense, which is the worst in the Big East, giving up an average 81.2 points per game. Comparatively, the Panthers rank first in the conference in scoring defense, allowing 61.7 points per game.

American Chronicle: Pitt preps for a porous Providence defense

“We’re just going to try to play our game,” Pitt guard Jermaine Dixon said. “Even though they are struggling, they have stayed in with some big-name teams. They get up for the competition. We are just going to do what we do.”

The Sports Network: Big East action pits Panthers against Friars

The 17th-ranked Pittsburgh Panthers will try to secure a double-bye in the Big East Tournament tonight, as they host the Providence Friars at the Petersen Events Center.

Pitt Blather: If Providence Played Defense…

The Friars are not a particularly big team so there are no big match-up probles for Pitt, but as we saw last week against ND teams that can drive and shoot from outside can be more of a problem for Pitt. Regardless of their overall size.

WHAT TO: WATCH

When we played WV, I already showed the entire end of regulation plus the 3 OT game against Pitt.  So, here is a different Pitt game clip.

WHERE TO: WATCH

The game will be carried on ESPN2

WHERE TO: FOLLOW

Friars.com Gametracker

As always, I’ll be on Twitter @friarblog with in-game updates.

We’ve known about the Friars defensive problems since way back in November (remember the undermanned BC lay up line?).  Unfortunately, as the competition in conference play stiffened as the season continued on, we haven’t seen much improvement.  Jim Donaldson of the Providence Journal apparently just figured this out, since he writes a piece on defensive pretty much every other day now.

Well, now things are so bad everyone in the national media is piling on, and even ESPN announcers are ripping into the team during broadcasts of other games.  During last night’s Georgetown vs. West Virginia game, a conversation between Jay Bilas and Bill Raftery about Greg Monroe’s passing ability turned into, you guess it, Providence’s defense.

Here is the following exchange:

Sean McDonough: Monroe Leads the nation in assists for players that are 6 9 or taller, and is just under 4 assists per game.  He had a 12 assist game against Providence College earlier this year.  The only center in BIG EAST history to have a double figure assist game.

Jay Bilas: Isn’t it amazing though all the BIG EAST players who are getting career highs in everything against Providence?

Bill Raftery: Defensively they’ve had their problems.

Jay Bilas: That is…that’s their problem.  That’s the worst defensive team I’ve ever seen in the BIG EAST.

Bill Raftery: Wow. 

Bill Raftery: You didn’t see us when I was coaching. Thank you very much.  You were too busy being recruited!

Happy March folks!

Here is the explanation for play that led to the technical foul on Sharaud Curry at the end of the game, leading to the 5 point play that sealed the victory for South Florida

Asked after the game to explain the play, Curry didn’t flinch. He said he was upset that he was the only Friar who hustled back on defense and caught Jones. His frustration clearly got the best of him at the most inopportune moment.

Nonetheless, still obviously an awful play by a 5th year senior.

via Projo.com