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The Providence Friars don’t want to hear anything about not being for real. Yes, there might have been doubt after the Friars were beaten 75-66 by St. John’s last Saturday. But Providence responded in a big way, rallying in the second half to upset No. 24 Georgetown, 74-71. The Friars improved to 17-6 on the season and more importantly, are now 7-3 in the Big East, just a half-game behind Villanova for first place.
According to the CBS Sports Network broadcast, it was Providence’s first win at a ranked opponent in 11 years. And it comes at a perfect time for the Friars, who have a tough game at Xavier on Saturday before a top-of-the-conference battle with Villanova at home a week from tonight. Providence still battles the Wildcats twice before the Big East season comes to a close.
That scheduling, and the ability to notch big wins like the one in D.C. tonight, show Providence is a legit contender for the regular-season title. The Big East isn’t a great conference this season (DePaul is fifth, so that’s all you need to know about that), but the Friars can’t be discounted given their ability to overcome a 13-point, second-half deficit, foul trouble to starting guard Kris Dunn that caused him to miss several minutes down the stretch, and a late personal foul/technical foul sequence that could have deflated most teams.
But Providence wasn’t having any of that. The Friars put four players in double figures in scoring, led by LaDontae Henton and Ben Bentil each posting 16 points. Perhaps most impressively, sliced up the Georgetown (15-7, 7-4) defense to the tune of 53.5 percent shooting from the field (23-for-43). Henton was one of only two Friars of the nine who played not to hit at least 50 percent of their shots. That is a great sign for a Providence team that entered tonight’s game with a field-goal percentage of 44.5. The Friars defense also held the Hoyas to 42.6 percent while also fetching 12 steals.
Providence has everything in front of it in terms of contending at the top of the Big East. The two games with Villanova will be key, but the Friars also play Seton Hall twice, host Butler and Marquette, and go to Xavier and DePaul. If Providence can sneak a 6-2 record out of those eight games, the Friars may well win the Big East title. And after tonight’s performance, that shouldn’t come as a surprise.
Ed Morgans is an ACC Basketball Writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @writered21 and add him to your network on Google.
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