PC Set to Face Creighton in Big East Tournament Quarterfinal
Thursday, March 08, 2018
The Providence College Friars men’s basketball team is set to begin their Big East Tournament run when they face Creighton in the quarterfinal round on Thursday at Madison Square Garden in New York.
“We are in a good spot. We have the ability to control where we end up. We are going to face a tough Creighton team and we are going to need to play tough and focused,” said PC head coach Ed Cooley during the Friars media availability on Monday.
Game time is set for 2:30 p.m.
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The Friars and Blue Jays met two times in the regular season, each team winning on their home court.
The first meeting came on December 31, 2017, in Nebraska with Creighton cruising past Providence 83-64.
The Friars were in the game early before Kyron Cartwright reinjured his ankle and missed most of the first half. PC shot just 38% from the field and 13% from three.
In the second meeting on January 20, the Friars cruised past the Blue Jays 85-71 behind a double-double from Alpha Diallo.
In the game, the Friars would lead 67-56 with 7:33 to play, before holding off Creighton to win their fourth straight game.
Keys to the Game
Jalen Lindsey
Since missing the game against DePaul due to illness, Lindsey is just 6-of-27 from three, including 0-for-3 in each of PC’s last two games.
In his career, Lindsey has shot the ball well at The Garden, knocking down 46% of his threes - a good sign for the Friars.
Rebounding
A big key in this game will be for PC to beat Creighton on the boards.
When the Friars grab rebounds on the defensive end, it often leads to fast break offense and easy points.
In the last game against Creighton, PC outrebounded the Blue Jays by a significant margin, 40-27, including 33-20 on the defensive end.
Freshman Nate Watson and sophomore Kalif Young will be the keys to winning the rebound battle.
NCAA Tournament Ramifications
The Friars enter the Big East Tournament just inside the NCAA Tournament bubble.
“I’m always optimistic, I think we are a tournament team. I think we have had some tough losses, but we had some great wins. I still think we are the only team in the conference to be both Nova and Xavier. If we go down there and win, there will be no question,” said Cooley.
As of Wednesday, March 7, ESPN’s Joe Lunardi has the Friars as a ten seed and playing Arkansas in the first round.
He projects the Friars as one of the last four teams with a bye.
CBS’ Jerry Palm projects the Friars as an 11 seed, and also playing Arkansas in the first round.
Earlier this week, both Palm and Lunardi told GoLocalProv in a phone interview that they don’t believe the Friars need to win Thursday to get in.
“I’m not sure they have to win and there is no way to know that, but I still think their odds are better than 50/50 if they don’t. I just think their good wins and the number of them are better than the other teams at the end of the line,” said Lunardi of PC's wins over Villanova and Xavier.
Palm added, “their [PC] chances of getting in are pretty good. If they go out in the first game against Creighton they will probably be a double-digit seed or could be out entirely, but I don’t think so. I don’t think their situation it is quite that bad.”
While Palm and Lunardi project the Friars in the tournament no matter what happens, a loss would likely drop PC to an 11-seed and potentially a First Four game.
Related Slideshow: Providence College Basketball 2017-18 Projected Starting Lineup
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