#6 Villanova vs. PC - A Battle of Original Big East Foes

Wednesday, February 11, 2015

GoLocalProv Sports Team

The Providence College Friars  men's basketball team (17-7, 7-4 Big East) are set to host the top team in the Big East and the #6 team in the country Villanova Wildcats (21-2, 8-2 Big East) on Wednesday, February 11 at the Dunkin' Donuts Center. Tip-off is set for 8 p.m.

The game features a battle between two original Big East teams and two teams that are in the top half of the Big East this season. A Friars win would put them only one game back of first place in the conference and coupled with a win over Seton Hall on Saturday, would put the Friars back in the the national rankings. 

Big East Originals

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The Wildcats and Friars will meet for the 92nd time on Wednesday night with Villanova holding a 54-37 record all time against PC. 

Villanova swept the Friars last season, winning 91-61 on their home court and then winning 82-79 at the Dunkin' Donuts Center in a double overtime thriller. 

The last time Providence beat Villanova was in January of 2013 when they edged the Wildcats 69-66 at the Dunkin' Donuts Center. 

PC is 24-17 at home against Villanova and they will be looking for their 25th home win, and in turn, snap their small losing streak against the the Wildcats. 

Rallying around Ed Cooley

Friars head coach Ed Cooley left PC's Saturday afternoon game against Xavier and went to the hospital due to illness. Cooley said in a statement that he was exhausted and dehydrated. 

Cooley will return to the sidelines against Villanova, triggering an automatic rallying point for his Friars, like they did last season. 

In early January of 2013, Ed Cooley had a small fire at his house. No one was injured, but he lived out of a hotel for several days while his home was repaired.

Meanwhile, Big East play had just begun and PC was off to a dismal start, suffering a bad loss to Seton Hall, 81-80 in double OT and then getting embarrassed on the road against #11 Villanova, 91-61. 

PC returned home after Villanova already in early danger only to have Georgetown waiting for them. However, the Friars rallied around Ed Cooley and his family and won four straight games and five of six to put them in position for the Big East Championship run that would come a couple of months later. 

Now, PC returns home after an emotional loss and though they certainly are not in danger like last season, this is a huge game and once again, Ed Cooley can serve as a rallying point. 

#6 Villanova 

The #6 Wildcats are coming off a 69-53 win over Georgetown on Saturday night to improve to 21-2 on the season and 8-2 in the Big East, good enough for the top seed in the conference. 

Villanova is led by senior guard Darrun Hilliard who comes into the game against PC averaging 13 points per game. Hilliard has been in double figures in four straight games for Villanova and eight of the last ten. 

Meanwhile, junior forward Daniel Ochefu averages nine points per game and also leads the team in rebounding, pulling down just over eight rebounds per game for the Wildcats. Ochefu has five double-doubles on the season. 

Providence 

The Friars come in looking to bounce back after a tough loss to Xavier and with two wins at home this week, could further secure a spot in the NCAA tournament. 

Providence has been carried all season by senior LaDontae Henton and sophomore guard Kris Dunn. For the Friars to pull off the upset, both Henton and Dunn are going to have to have big games. 

LaDontae Henton was recognized as one of the top 25 players in the country late last month and comes into this game after a 24 point performance against Xavier and is averaging 20 points per game on the season.

Henton has found himself in double-figures in 16 straight games for Providence, a streak that started on December 8 against Brown. 

Kris Dunn has proven to be one of the best guards in the conference and in the country, having won Big East Player of the Week twice in the last four weeks. 

Dunn has averaged 15 points, 7.5 assists and six rebounds for the Friars and has found himself in double-figures in ten straight games. 

However, turnovers have plagued Dunn all season and have done so in the Friars last two games in which he has turned the ball over five and six times respectively. 

#6 Villanova vs. Providence 

The Friars host #6 Villanova on Wednesday, February 11 at the Dunkin' Donuts Center in front of what should be a sold out crowd. Tip-off is set for 8 p.m. and the game will be televised on Fox Sports 1. 

For tickets to the biggest game of the season so far, click here. 

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Related Slideshow: Providence College Friars 2014-2015 Projected Starting Lineup

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