Friars Men’s Basketball Ranked for First Time Since 2016
GoLocalProv News Team
Friars Men’s Basketball Ranked for First Time Since 2016
Following a mammoth win at No. 20/22 Connecticut on Saturday, the Friars are #22 in this week’s AP Poll and #23 in the Coaches Poll.
It marks the first time the Friars have been ranked since they were No. 24 in the Coaches Poll on February 22, 2016.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTIt also marks the first time the team has been ranked in both polls since February 15, 2016 when the Friars were 23rd in the Associated Press Poll and 20th in the Coaches Poll.
Big East Home Opener on Thursday
The Friars will play Georgetown in the Friars' Big East home opener on Wednesday, December 22 at 6:30 p.m.
Providence and Georgetown have met 77 times in school history, with all but two meetings coming since the formation of the Big East Conference in 1979. The Hoyas lead the all-time series, 47-30.
In the only game between the two teams last season, Georgetown defeated the Friars, 73-72, on January 30, 2021 in Washington, D.C. The last time the two teams met in Providence, the Friars earned a 76-60 win on December 31, 2019.
The Friars are now 11-1 for the just the second time in Ed Cooley's 11 seasons at Providence (2015-16).
AJ Reeves Named to Big East Honor Roll:
Senior AJ Reeves (Roxbury, Mass.) led the Friars to a 1-0 mark last week and was named to the Big East Honor Roll for the second consecutive week. The senior guard scored a game-high 16 points as he was 4-8 from three-point territory as the Friars earned a 57-53 win at No. 20/22 Connecticut on December 18.
Reeves also added three rebounds and was 2-2 from the line. He helped the Friars push their winning streak to six consecutive games. Reeves ranks second on the team in three-point shooting (28-74, 37.8 percent) and third on the team in scoring (11.2 ppg).