2017–18 Providence Friars men's basketball team

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]

2017–18 Providence Friars men's basketball
NCAA tournament, First Round
ConferenceBig East Conference
Record21–14 (10–8 Big East)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Home arenaDunkin' Donuts Center
Seasons
2017–18 Big East men's basketball standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L PCTW L PCT
No. 3 Xavier153 .833296 .829
No. 2 Villanova144 .778364 .900
Seton Hall108 .5562212 .647
Creighton108 .5562112 .636
Providence108 .5562114 .600
Butler99 .5002114 .600
Marquette99 .5002114 .600
Georgetown513 .2781515 .500
St. John's414 .2221617 .485
DePaul414 .2221120 .355
2018 Big East tournament winner
Rankings from AP poll

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

NameNumberPos.HeightWeightYearHometownNotes
Bryan Donovan2G6'0"180FreshmanGainesville, FLTransferred to Roger Williams University
Casey Woodring12G6'2"190SeniorDarien, CTGraduated
Ricky Council II22G6'5"200SophomoreDurham, NCTransferred to UMBC
Ryan Fazekas35G6'8"215SophomoreChesterton, INTransferred to Valparaiso

2017 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
NameHometownHigh school / collegeHeightWeightCommit date
Makai Ashton-Langford
PG
Worcester, MABrewster Academy6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)185 lb (84 kg)Apr 10, 2017 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247SportsN/A    ESPN grade: 89
Dajour Dickens
C
Hampton, VABethel High School6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)205 lb (93 kg)Feb 27, 2016 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247SportsN/A    ESPN grade: 80
Nate Watson
C
Arlington, VABishop O'Connell High School6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)220 lb (100 kg)Sep 10, 2016 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247SportsN/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
PlayersCoaches
Pos.#NameHeightWeightYearPrevious schoolHometown
C0Nate Watson6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)260 lb (118 kg)FrBishop O'Connell High SchoolArlington, Virginia
G1Makai Ashton-Langford6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)185 lb (84 kg)FrBrewster AcademyWorcester, Massachusetts
G4Maliek White6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)190 lb (86 kg)SoGeorge Wythe High SchoolRichmond, Virginia
F5Rodney Bullock (C)6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)225 lb (102 kg)RS SrKecoughtan High SchoolHampton, Virginia
G10Andrew Fonts (W)6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)170 lb (77 kg)FrPortsmouth Abbey SchoolPortsmouth, Rhode Island
G11Alpha Diallo6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)211 lb (96 kg)SoBrewster AcademyNew York, New York
F13Kalif Young6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)255 lb (116 kg)SoOrangeville PrepVaughan, Ontario
F15Emmitt Holt6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)240 lb (109 kg)SrWebster Schroeder
Indian Hills CC
Webster, New York
F21Jalen Lindsay6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)227 lb (103 kg)SrHuntington PrepMurfreesboro, Tennessee
G24Kyron Cartwright (C)5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)185 lb (84 kg)SrCompton High SchoolCompton, California
F25Drew Edwards6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)190 lb (86 kg)RS SoCalvert HallPerry Hall, Maryland
C33Dajour Dickens7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)220 lb (100 kg)FrBethel High SchoolHampton, Virginia
F34Tom Planek (W)6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)210 lb (95 kg)SrFenwick High SchoolOak Park, Illinois
G44Isaiah Jackson6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)225 lb (102 kg)RS JrVillages Charter School
George Mason
Gainesville, Florida
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster

Schedule and results

[3]

Date
time, TV
Rank#Opponent#ResultRecordSite (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
BaruchW 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 CollegeW 86–66 5–1
Dunkin' Donuts Center (10,806)
Providence, RI
Nov 29, 2017*
7:00 pm, FSN
RiderW 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 OT7–2
Dunkin' Donuts Center (6,087)
Providence, RI
Dec 9, 2017*
3:00 pm, NESN
at MassachusettsL 63–72 7–3
Mullins Center (4,015)
Amherst, MA
Dec 17, 2017*
2:30 pm, FS1
Stony BrookW 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 HeartW 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'sW 94–72 10–4
(1–0)
Carnesecca Arena (5,602)
Queens, NY
Dec 31, 2017
2:30 pm, FS1
at No. 25 CreightonL 64–83 10–5
(1–1)
CenturyLink Center Omaha (17,768)
Omaha, NE
Jan 3, 2018
6:30 pm, CBSSN
MarquetteL 90–95 OT10–6
(1–2)
Dunkin' Donuts Center (8,375)
Providence, RI
Jan 6, 2018
12:00 noon, FOX
No. 5 XavierW 81–72 11–6
(2–2)
Dunkin' Donuts Center (12,630)
Providence, RI
Jan 12, 2018
8:30 pm, FS1
at DePaulW 71–64 12–6
(3–2)
Wintrust Arena (5,354)
Chicago, IL
Jan 15, 2018
4:30 pm, FS1
ButlerW 70–60 13–6
(4–2)
Dunkin' Donuts Center (12,407)
Providence, RI
Jan 20, 2018
3:00 pm, CBSSN
CreightonW 85–71 14–6
(5–2)
Dunkin' Donuts Center (12,927)
Providence, RI
Jan 23, 2018
6:30 pm, FS1
at No. 1 VillanovaL 69–89 14–7
(5–3)
Wells Fargo Center (8,565)
Philadelphia, PA
Jan 31, 2018
7:00 pm, FS1
at Seton HallL 57–73 14–8
(5–4)
Prudential Center (8,434)
Newark, NJ
Feb 3, 2018
2:30 pm, FS1
at MarquetteW 77–75 15–8
(6–4)
BMO Harris Bradley Center (18,958)
Milwaukee, WI
Feb 6, 2018
8:45 pm, FS1
GeorgetownW 73–69 16–8
(7–4)
Dunkin' Donuts Center (11,125)
Providence, RI
Feb 10, 2018
4:30 pm, FSN
DePaulL 63–80 16–9
(7–5)
Dunkin' Donuts Center (12,892)
Providence, RI
Feb 14, 2018
7:00 pm, FS1
No. 3 VillanovaW 76–71 17–9
(8–5)
Dunkin' Donuts Center (12,887)
Providence, RI
Feb 17, 2018
12:00 noon, FOX
at ButlerL 54–69 17–10
(8–6)
Hinkle Fieldhouse (9,184)
Indianapolis, IN
Feb 21, 2018
6:30 pm, FS1
Seton HallAL 77–89 17–11
(8–7)
Dunkin' Donuts Center (11,432)
Providence, RI
Feb 24, 2018
12:00 noon, CBSSN
at GeorgetownW 74–69 18–11
(9–7)
Capital One Arena (10,681)
Washington, D.C.
Feb 28, 2018
6:30 pm, FS1
at No. 3 XavierL 74–84 18–12
(9–8)
Cintas Center (10,715)
Cincinnati, OH
Mar 3, 2018
12:00 pm, FSN
St. John'sW 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 OT20–12
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 OT21–12
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 OT21–13
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