2017–18 Providence Friars men's basketball team

2017–18 Providence Friars men's basketball
2K Sports Classic champions
NCAA tournament, First Round
Conference	Big East Conference
Record	21–14 (10–8 Big East)
Head coach	Ed Cooley (7th season)
Assistant coaches	Jeff Battle Brian Blaney Ivan Thomas
Home arena	Dunkin' Donuts Center

2017–18 Big East men's basketball standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
No. 3 Xavier	15	–	3		.833			29	–	6		.829
No. 2 Villanova †	14	–	4		.778			36	–	4		.900
Seton Hall	10	–	8		.556			22	–	12		.647
Creighton	10	–	8		.556			21	–	12		.636
Providence	10	–	8		.556			21	–	14		.600
Butler	9	–	9		.500			21	–	14		.600
Marquette	9	–	9		.500			21	–	14		.600
Georgetown	5	–	13		.278			15	–	15		.500
St. John's	4	–	14		.222			16	–	17		.485
DePaul	4	–	14		.222			11	–	20		.355
† 2018 Big East tournament winner Rankings from AP poll

The 2017–18 Providence Friars men's basketball team represented Providence College in the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Friars, led by seventh-year head coach Ed Cooley, played their home games at the Dunkin' Donuts Center as members of the Big East Conference. They finished the season 21–14, 10–8 in Big East play to finish in a three-way tie for third place. As the No. 5 seed in the Big East tournament, they defeated Creighton and No. 1-seeded Xavier in back-to-back overtime games to advance to the championship game. In a third straight overtime game, the Friars fell to Villanova in the championship game. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as the No. 10 seed in the West region where they lost to Texas A&M in the first round.^[1]

Previous season

The Friars finished the 2016–17 season 20–13, 10–8 in Big East play to finish in a four-way tie for third place. As the No. 3 seed in the Big East tournament, they lost in the quarterfinals to Creighton. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as a No. 11 seed where they lost to USC in the First Four.

Offseason

Departures

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Notes
Bryan Donovan	2	G	6'0"	180	Freshman	Gainesville, FL	Transferred to Roger Williams University
Casey Woodring	12	G	6'2"	190	Senior	Darien, CT	Graduated
Ricky Council II	22	G	6'5"	200	Sophomore	Durham, NC	Transferred to UMBC
Ryan Fazekas	35	G	6'8"	215	Sophomore	Chesterton, IN	Transferred to Valparaiso

2017 recruiting class

College recruiting information

Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Makai Ashton-Langford PG	Worcester, MA	Brewster Academy	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	Apr 10, 2017
	Star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 89
Dajour Dickens C	Hampton, VA	Bethel High School	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	Feb 27, 2016
	Star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 80
Nate Watson C	Arlington, VA	Bishop O'Connell High School	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	Sep 10, 2016
	Star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 80
Overall recruiting rankings:
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2017 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved August 2, 2016.

Preseason

Prior to the season, Providence was picked to finish fourth in a poll of Big East coaches.^[2]

Roster

2017–18 Providence Friars men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown C 0 Nate Watson 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 260 lb (118 kg) Fr Bishop O'Connell High School Arlington, Virginia G 1 Makai Ashton-Langford 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Fr Brewster Academy Worcester, Massachusetts G 4 Maliek White 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) So George Wythe High School Richmond, Virginia F 5 Rodney Bullock (C) 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 225 lb (102 kg) RS Sr Kecoughtan High School Hampton, Virginia G 10 Andrew Fonts (W) 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Fr Portsmouth Abbey School Portsmouth, Rhode Island G 11 Alpha Diallo 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 211 lb (96 kg) So Brewster Academy New York, New York F 13 Kalif Young 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 255 lb (116 kg) So Orangeville Prep Vaughan, Ontario F 15 Emmitt Holt 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 240 lb (109 kg) Sr Webster Schroeder Indian Hills CC Webster, New York F 21 Jalen Lindsay 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 227 lb (103 kg) Sr Huntington Prep Murfreesboro, Tennessee G 24 Kyron Cartwright (C) 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Sr Compton High School Compton, California F 25 Drew Edwards 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) RS So Calvert Hall Perry Hall, Maryland C 33 Dajour Dickens 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Fr Bethel High School Hampton, Virginia F 34 Tom Planek (W) 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Sr Fenwick High School Oak Park, Illinois G 44 Isaiah Jackson 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 225 lb (102 kg) RS Jr Villages Charter School George Mason Gainesville, Florida	Head coach Ed Cooley (Stonehill) Assistant coach(es) Jeff Battle (Marshall) Brian Blaney (Roanoke) Ivan Thomas (VCU) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster

Schedule and results

^[3]

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Exhibition
Oct 25, 2017* 7:00 pm, Fox Sports Go		vs. Connecticut ARC disaster relief exhibition	W 90–76	–	Mohegan Sun Arena (6,415) Uncasville, CT
Oct 28, 2017* 4:00 pm		Carleton (ON)	L 67–77	–	Dunkin' Donuts Center (5,216) Providence, RI
Nov 4, 2017* 2:00 pm		Baruch	W 87–53	–	Dunkin' Donuts Center (3,855) Providence, RI
Non-conference regular season
Nov 10, 2017* 7:00 pm, FSN		Houston Baptist 2K Sports Classic campus-site game	W 84–55	1–0	Alumni Hall (2,620) Providence, RI
Nov 13, 2017* 6:30 pm, FS1		No. 14 Minnesota Gavitt Tipoff Games	L 74–86	1–1	Dunkin' Donuts Center (10,214) Providence, RI
Nov 16, 2017* 9:30 pm, ESPN2		vs. Washington 2K Sports Classic semifinals	W 77–70	2–1	Madison Square Garden (6,104) New York City, NY
Nov 17, 2017* 7:30 pm, ESPN2		vs. Saint Louis 2K Sports Classic championship	W 90–63	3–1	Madison Square Garden (6,173) New York City, NY
Nov 22, 2017* 7:00 pm, FS1		Belmont 2K Sports Classic campus-site game	W 66–65	4–1	Dunkin' Donuts Center (6,857) Providence, RI
Nov 25, 2017* 8:00 pm, FS1		Boston College	W 86–66	5–1	Dunkin' Donuts Center (10,806) Providence, RI
Nov 29, 2017* 7:00 pm, FSN		Rider	W 88–84	6–1	Dunkin' Donuts Center (7,255) Providence, RI
Dec 2, 2017* 5:00 pm, CBSSN		at Rhode Island Ocean State Cup	L 68–75	6–2	Ryan Center (7,959) Kingston, RI
Dec 6, 2017* 7:00 pm, FS2		Brown Ocean State Cup	W 77–72 ^OT	7–2	Dunkin' Donuts Center (6,087) Providence, RI
Dec 9, 2017* 3:00 pm, NESN		at Massachusetts	L 63–72	7–3	Mullins Center (4,015) Amherst, MA
Dec 17, 2017* 2:30 pm, FS1		Stony Brook	W 62–60	8–3	Dunkin' Donuts Center (5,742) Providence, RI
Dec 20, 2017* 7:00 pm, ESPNU		vs. Houston Hall of Fame Holiday Showcase	L 59–70	8–4	Mohegan Sun Arena (5,518) Uncasville, CT
Dec 22, 2017* 6:30 pm, FS1		Sacred Heart	W 89–75	9–4	Dunkin' Donuts Center (6,452) Providence, RI
Big East regular season
Dec 28, 2017 7:00 pm, FSN		at St. John's	W 94–72	10–4 (1–0)	Carnesecca Arena (5,602) Queens, NY
Dec 31, 2017 2:30 pm, FS1		at No. 25 Creighton	L 64–83	10–5 (1–1)	CenturyLink Center Omaha (17,768) Omaha, NE
Jan 3, 2018 6:30 pm, CBSSN		Marquette	L 90–95 ^OT	10–6 (1–2)	Dunkin' Donuts Center (8,375) Providence, RI
Jan 6, 2018 12:00 noon, FOX		No. 5 Xavier	W 81–72	11–6 (2–2)	Dunkin' Donuts Center (12,630) Providence, RI
Jan 12, 2018 8:30 pm, FS1		at DePaul	W 71–64	12–6 (3–2)	Wintrust Arena (5,354) Chicago, IL
Jan 15, 2018 4:30 pm, FS1		Butler	W 70–60	13–6 (4–2)	Dunkin' Donuts Center (12,407) Providence, RI
Jan 20, 2018 3:00 pm, CBSSN		Creighton	W 85–71	14–6 (5–2)	Dunkin' Donuts Center (12,927) Providence, RI
Jan 23, 2018 6:30 pm, FS1		at No. 1 Villanova	L 69–89	14–7 (5–3)	Wells Fargo Center (8,565) Philadelphia, PA
Jan 31, 2018 7:00 pm, FS1		at Seton Hall	L 57–73	14–8 (5–4)	Prudential Center (8,434) Newark, NJ
Feb 3, 2018 2:30 pm, FS1		at Marquette	W 77–75	15–8 (6–4)	BMO Harris Bradley Center (18,958) Milwaukee, WI
Feb 6, 2018 8:45 pm, FS1		Georgetown	W 73–69	16–8 (7–4)	Dunkin' Donuts Center (11,125) Providence, RI
Feb 10, 2018 4:30 pm, FSN		DePaul	L 63–80	16–9 (7–5)	Dunkin' Donuts Center (12,892) Providence, RI
Feb 14, 2018 7:00 pm, FS1		No. 3 Villanova	W 76–71	17–9 (8–5)	Dunkin' Donuts Center (12,887) Providence, RI
Feb 17, 2018 12:00 noon, FOX		at Butler	L 54–69	17–10 (8–6)	Hinkle Fieldhouse (9,184) Indianapolis, IN
Feb 21, 2018 6:30 pm, FS1		Seton Hall^A	L 77–89	17–11 (8–7)	Dunkin' Donuts Center (11,432) Providence, RI
Feb 24, 2018 12:00 noon, CBSSN		at Georgetown	W 74–69	18–11 (9–7)	Capital One Arena (10,681) Washington, D.C.
Feb 28, 2018 6:30 pm, FS1		at No. 3 Xavier	L 74–84	18–12 (9–8)	Cintas Center (10,715) Cincinnati, OH
Mar 3, 2018 12:00 pm, FSN		St. John's	W 61–57	19–12 (10–8)	Dunkin' Donuts Center (12,627) Providence, RI
Big East tournament
Mar 8, 2018 2:30 pm, FS1	(5)	vs. (4) Creighton Quarterfinals	W 72–68 ^OT	20–12	Madison Square Garden (17,647) New York City, NY
Mar 9, 2018 6:30 pm, FS1	(5)	vs. (1) No. 3 Xavier Semifinals	W 75–72 ^OT	21–12	Madison Square Garden (19,812) New York City, NY
Mar 10, 2018 5:30 pm, FOX	(5)	vs. (2) No. 2 Villanova Championship	L 66–76 ^OT	21–13	Madison Square Garden (19,812) New York City, NY
NCAA tournament
Mar 16, 2018* 12:15 pm, CBS	(10 W)	vs. (7 W) Texas A&M First Round	L 69–73	21–14	Spectrum Center (18,489) Charlotte, NC
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. W=West. All times are in Eastern Time.

• ^A Game was suspended with 13:03 left in the 2nd half due to unsafe floor conditions and resumed at noon on February 22 at Alumni Hall.^[4]

References

1. "Villanova repeats as Big East champ with OT win". Newsday. Retrieved March 19, 2018.
2. "Villanova Sits Atop Coaches' Preseason Poll Again". Big East Conference. Retrieved October 18, 2017.
3. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on October 15, 2017. Retrieved October 22, 2017.
4. "Seton Hall vs. Providence - Game Recap - February 22, 2018 - ESPN".