The Week Ahead: The Season is Here
Providence kicks off its season this week with a pair of home games against Fairfield (Nov. 9) and Sacred Heart (Nov. 11).
The Friars are a combined 40-5 all-time against these opponents, with the last loss coming to Fairfield way back in 1968.
Here’s a look at each matchup:
November 9 vs. Fairfield at 7pm (Dunkin Donuts Center, FS1, WPRO 630AM/99.7FM)
The Friars make their long-awaited return to the Dunkin Donuts Center on Tuesday with a somewhat familiar opponent.
Providence is 34-5 all-time against Fairfield, including 4-0 under Ed Cooley, who started his Division 1 head coaching career with the Stags. Cooley went 48-19 in his final two seasons at Fairfield before making the jump to PC.
Cooley’s most recent victory over Fairfield came a year ago, as Providence rolled to a 97-56 win in their season opener. There were no answers for Nate Watson, who made 8-11 shots from the field en route to finishing with 23 points and 10 rebounds. Providence’s big men had their way with Fairfield, as Noah Horchler added 11 points and nine rebounds off the bench, and Ed Croswell chipped in with ten points and six boards of his own. AJ Reeves scored 14 points.
Cooley’s second career PC victory came over Fairfield in Bridgeport, CT on Nov. 14, 2011. Providence trailed by a point at the half before putting up 51 in the second. Vincent Council (26) and Bryce Cotton (24) combined for 50 points on that night. Gerard Coleman scored 17 off the bench.
Providence then defeated Fairfield in 2012 (66-47) and 2013 (78-69) before the two programs took a seven-year break from one another. Cotton led PC in scoring in each of those wins, putting up a combined 45 points. He also took a combined 28 free throws in those two games.
The Stags finished the 2020-21 season 10-17 overall and 7-11 in the Metro Atlantic Conference. Head coach Jay Young does return all five starters, however, from a team that reached the MAAC conference championship — a 60-51 loss to Iona. They started 2-12 last season, but got a big boost when Richmond transfer Jake Wojcik was deemed eligible mid-way through the season.
Ken Pomeroy has ranked them 230th in the country in his preseason rankings.
November 11 vs. Sacred Heart at 6:30pm (Dunkin Donuts Center, FS1, WPRO 630AM/99.7FM)
Providence’s history isn’t quite as rich with Sacred Heart. The Friars are 6-0 all-time against the Pioneers. Two of those wins came under Ed Cooley — an 89-75 win in 2017, and an impressive 106 point outburst to kick off the 2019 campaign.
Seven Friars scored in double figures in the 2019 opener, with eight players connecting on at least one 3-pointer. Alpha Diallo dominated with 19 points and 14 rebounds. Nate Watson was sidelined for that game, leaving AJ Reeves as the only Friar left to have gone against Sacred Heart from that year. Reeves scored 15 points on 6-10 shooting and 3-6 from deep that game.
The 2017 group was led by Rodney Bullock, who scored 31 points to go along with eight rebounds. Freshman Nate Watson started and scored eight points for a Friar team that was without Kyron Cartwright and Maliek White.
Notably, Providence has never scored below 85 points against the Pioneers. The 106 they put up in 2019 is only the second highest total PC has scored against them. The 2008 Friars won, 111-87, behind 30 points and five steals from sophomore Marshon Brooks.
In 2007, Geoff McDermott put up a massive stat line (21 points, 10 rebounds, 6 assists, 6 blocks, 3 steals) in a 94-89 win.
Sacred Heart, a program that also hails from Fairfield, CT, finished 9-9 last season (9-7 in the Northeast Conference). They reached the NEC semifinals before being trounced by Bryant, 85-55.
Like Fairfield, Sacred Heart returns experience — namely, their top nine scorers from a season ago. Providence will have to focus on guard Tyler Thomas, who averaged over 19 points per game in 2020-21 and led the NEC in scoring. He was named the league’s most improved player for his efforts.
The Pioneers shot over 41% from three last year.
Ken Pomeroy rates Sacred Heart #261 in his preseason rankings.
After the Sacred Heart game, Providence will then have four days to prepare for a road trip to take on Wisconsin to kick off the following week.
Featured Big East Game of the Week:
Villanova at UCLA on Friday, Nov. 12 at 11:30pm
In August, Villanova and UCLA announced a two-game home-and-home series that kicks off this November with a return date in Philly during the 2023-24 season. UCLA is coming off of a Final Four run last season, and both teams are considered top 10 quality teams nationally heading into 2021-22. Villanova leads the all-time series 3-2, with the most notable game coming in 1971 in the national championship — a game the Bruins won 68-62.
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