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When Kim English took the Providence job before the season, Friars fans had their sights set on new beginnings. The Cooley era was over, and a fresh chapter was set - with high hopes and heavy expectations. They returned their stars in Devin Carter and Bryce Hopkins, only to lose the latter to a torn ACL. From there, it's been a whirlwind. The highs have been high, like beating 15th-ranked Creighton last week, but the lows have been low, like losing heartbreakers to St. John's and Butler over the past few games.
With all that being said, this season still has showcased the talent and versatility of the program. Watching Kim English handle this adversity, witnessing the All-American season that Devin Carter is playing, and admiring the domination Josh Oduro is enduring to bigs in this league, after being doubted as just an A-10 center. But all that won't matter unless Providence can propel itself to the biggest stage in the sport. The Big Dance.
The buzz around social media and the news is Providence's going from being a bubble team to a team that can earn an outright bid. Of course, the Friars could win the Big East tournament and eliminate any doubts, but that is a feat they haven't accomplished since 2014. As of today, the Friars hold five Q-1 wins, after a much-needed victory against Xavier on the road. The defense stepped up, and their odds of earning a bid just got better. We now look at the four remaining games, and what's at stake for this team to go dancing come March.
For starters, it's not like Providence has any bad losses. The Big East is a treacherous conference, and it doesn't help that they are 3-7 when not playing at the Amica Mutual Pavilion. Their five Quad One wins can make their case, but on the flip side, there isn't much runway to be had.
Winning the past three games was a great boost to their resume, and you can hope they take down the Wildcats at home and shut down Cooley in DC. You can't count these as wins, but you have to make sure the job gets taken care of. Their biggest challenges going forward is playing the ranked Marquette in their building, and the season finale against the country's top-ranked team in UConn. It's safe to say their work is cut out for them.
Their biggest challenges of course will be against Marquette, and versus the sport's number one seed, Connecticut, which also is the season finale before the Big East tournament. The easy answer to things is just winning out. Simple, right? The realistic approach? Don't lose the must-wins and knock off the Golden Eagles.