NEW YORK — A lonely year in Alumni Hall due to COVID-19 restrictions couldn’t go by fast enough. Providence College has certainly made up for lost time since returning to the Amica Mutual Pavilion.
The brothers are a combined 45-8 downtown over the past three seasons, including 14-5 in Kim English’s first season last year. Providence was off to a perfect 10-0 start heading into the evening of January 3 when Bryce Hopkins was lost for the season due to a serious left knee injury.
Could we see more of the same in 2024-2025? A few opposing Big East coaches said Monday at Madison Square Garden that the trip to face the Friars isn’t exactly a favorite.
More: Here’s what Big East coaches think of the Providence men’s basketball team
“When you go to Providence, you know it’s going to be a big environment,” Villanova coach Kyle Neptune said. “You know the team will be well prepared. You know it will be a high level match.
The Wildcats surged in the second half last season, recording a 71-60 win at Providence. It was the opposite of their previous visit, an 85-72 loss that saw a one-point lead evaporate over the final 16 minutes. This proved to be the final home win in Providence for Ed Cooley, who is entering his second season as head coach at Georgetown.
“It’s just a very difficult place to play,” Creighton coach Greg McDermott said. “Coach Cooley and now Kim have done a great job getting their teams ready to play. The fan base really supports their team.
The Friars have sold out their season tickets over several seasons and are fresh off a Late Night Madness event that saw Zac Brown Band serve as headliners. Providence plays its first five home games this season, starting Nov. 4 against Central Connecticut State. BYU will offer the first real challenge on December 3, a game that is part of the Big East-Big 12 Battle.
“If you find a way to win on that field, you feel like you’re ahead of everyone else in the league,” McDermott said. “You know it’s going to be tough for someone to go out there and win.”
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Creighton was the casualty the night the Friars clinched their first regular-season conference title in school history. The Providence student section stormed the court after a score of 72-51, a game that effectively ended early in the second half. The Friars were coming off a triple-overtime thriller against Xavier, a classic that they survived by a score of 99-92.
“I love the city,” McDermott said. “We just haven’t had a lot of success.”
KenPom.com ranks Providence in the top third of men’s college basketball programs in terms of home-court advantage, a calculation that only takes into account the last 60 games. The Friars are in the top 55 nationally in two categories: 3.6 fewer defensive fouls than in road games and 2.0 more blocked shots. They were a near-perfect 16-1 in 2021-22, then 15-2 in 2022-23, losing the final two games as rumors of Cooley’s potential departure were already swirling.
“We have a pretty specific timeline,” Neptune said. “We go in, get ready and try to get to sleep as quickly as possible.”
English only coached one road game within the state in three combined seasons at George Mason and Providence. That happened in a 79-72 Patriots victory over the University of Rhode Island at the Ryan Center in 2022-23. The English will return with the Brothers on December 7, as the old series of rivalries comes back to life on a Saturday evening.
How could the English approach a hypothetical journey to confront Providence?
“We would be at home,” he said.
On X: @BillKoch25
This article was originally published in the Providence Journal: Opposing coaches speak out about playing Providence basketball at AMP
