Behind its dynamic duo, Providence advances to Big East Tournament quarterfinals by sweeping Georgetown

"I want him to enjoy these moments, but sorry, he’s going to have to relish that moment after the season is done because we have business to attend to."

There wasn’t a ton of drama in the third meeting between Providence and former head coach Ed Cooley and Georgetown once the ball was tipped on Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden. The stage was certainly set for an angst-filled evening for the Friars, with their NCAA Tournament hopes in the balance and Cooley aiming to salvage his season by ending PC’s, but ultimately the Hoyas didn’t have enough. They didn’t have enough offense outside of Jayden Epps, and they didn’t have enough to slow down Providence’s outstanding duo of Devin Carter and Josh Oduro.

Carter was named Big East Player of the Year just five hours prior to this one, thanks to a dynamic junior season that saw him score over 21 points and grab more than nine rebounds a game in conference play, all while doubling as perhaps the best defensive guard in the country. 

Georgetown didn’t have many answers for Carter or Oduro on Wednesday. The Friars led for nearly 37 minutes, knocked down 12 three pointers, and saw Oduro (20) and Carter (19) combine for 39 points in their 74-56 victory. Despite a huge night from Epps (30 points), Georgetown didn’t threaten the Friars, falling for the third time in three tries against Providence this season.

“Proud of our guys. It’s a new season, and the mission is to go 1 and 0 (every night). The most important game to win in tournament settings is the first game,” Providence head coach Kim English said after winning in convincing fashion in his Big East Tournament debut.

“To end someone’s season is difficult. Those guys over there had a tough season, and I have immense respect, one, for Ed, and then those players for never quitting. They competed to the bitter end, even in the second half.”

While Carter, deservingly, garnered all of the attention pregame, Oduro served as this team’s stabilizer seemingly every time Georgetown made a push. In 39 minutes, he scored 20 points, snatched nine boards, and dished out three assists. Oduro shot 9-9 from the free throw line, making them at critical moments when the Hoyas looked to make this a two-possession game.

Carter made 7-16 from the field and ended a busy night with 19 points, nine rebounds, and six assists.

“I really try to be in the moment, but it was tough for me earlier,” English said when reflecting on joining Carter as he accepted the Player of the Year award earlier in the afternoon. “Dev had such a career-defining moment earlier today, winning the Player of the Year award.”

“As I was sitting in the back of our Uber I had to tell him, I want him to enjoy these moments, but sorry, he’s going to have to relish that moment after the season is done because we have business to attend to.”

Wednesday wasn’t a flawless performance for the Friars. They had a prolonged scoring drought late in the first half, and then survived when both teams traded misses for a long stretch when PC led 49-40 in the second. Oduro eventually snapped the scoreless streak with a top-of-the-key 3-pointer to make it 52-40, as Georgetown didn’t make much of a run from there.

Carter put the finishing touches on Georgetown late with a 3-pointer that hit just about every part of the rim before going down, and then scoring on a drive to the bucket.

“I mean, just late game, my teammates, they all have confidence in me shooting the shots that I shoot. So, I definitely give a lot of credit to these two guys (Oduro and Ticket Gaines, who were at the post game podium with Carter) and the rest of the people back in the locker room. They tell me to shoot shots, and they just space out and let me go to work,” Carter said of his closing ability.

There’s certainly irony in Providence ending the season of Cooley on his favorite stage. Georgetown was uncharacteristically subpar defensively this season, and late in the year Cooley had been more forthcoming about his team needing to make changes. He simply didn’t think his group was physical enough.

“I want to thank my team. This has been a very challenging year, an emotional year. I wish I could have done a much better job with them over the course of the 32 games we played. It didn't turn out the way we wanted, but it's an opportunity for us to grow, get better,” Cooley shared.

“And it wasn't a good year, and I think all these losses, I take. I gotta do a better job as a leader, and I'll continue to get better. But I thought the struggles this year helped me become a much better coach, helped me become a better listener, more attention to detail.”

He continued, “It's obvious we have to add a lot more talent. We played a very talented team. We played a very talented player, a really talented player. So I'm really proud of Devin being the Player of the Year. I definitely voted for him.”

Now the Friars move on to face the tournament’s second seed in Creighton on Thursday night. PC and the Jays split their two meetings during the regular season. The first came in Omaha just days after Bryce Hopkins tore his ACL, then PC won the return match in overtime in a shootout at the AMP.

All seven Friars that played on Wednesday night made a shot from beyond the arc, highlighted by Gaines’ 4-7 shooting night from distance. They will need to put points on the board to give themselves a chance on Thursday.

In the last meeting, Providence scored 47 points in the second half and saw Oduro go for a season-high 32. Carter also made huge shots down the stretch.

“Very good opponent, coming off a great win last Saturday at Nova,” English said of Creighton. “Them, UConn, Marquette, are maybe the smartest teams in our league. The players are like coaches. They just play the right way, never make mistakes, don't beat themselves. We're going to have to be very mature.”

The Friars head into Thursday with a 20-12 mark on the season, with the understanding that their NCAA Tournament hopes hinge on at least making it to the Big East Tournament semifinals on Friday. 

They got through what English said is the most challenging part of a tournament (the opener), avoided the indignity of seeing their season end at the hands of Georgetown, and will take to what should be a charged Madison Square Garden with everything on the line Thursday night.