NEW YORK — A lone year at Alumni Hall due to COVID-19 restrictions couldn’t pass quickly enough. Providence College has certainly made up for lost time since returning to Amica Mutual Pavilion.
The Friars are a combined 45-8 downtown over the last three seasons, including 14-5 in Kim English’s debut season last year. Providence was off to a perfect 10-0 start before the Jan. 3 night when Bryce Hopkins was lost for the season due to a major left knee injury.
Could we see more of the same in 2024-25? A couple of opposing Big East coaches said on Monday at Madison Square Garden that the trip to face the Friars wasn’t exactly a favorite.
More: How good will these Friar foes be? Here’s what ex-PC coaches Rick Pitino and Ed Cooley said
More: Here’s what Big East coaches think of the Providence men’s basketball team
“When you go at Providence, you know it’s going to be a big-time environment,” Villanova coach Kyle Neptune said. “You know the team will be well-prepared. You know it’s going to be a high-level game.”
The Wildcats surged in the second half last season, recording a 71-60 victory in Providence. It was the opposite of their previous visit, an 85-72 setback that saw a one-point lead evaporate over the final 16 minutes. That turned out to be the last home win at 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 preparing their teams to play. The fanbase really supports their team.”
The Friars have sold out of season tickets over multiple seasons and are fresh off a Late Night Madness event that saw Zac Brown Band serve as the headliner. Providence plays its first five games at home this season, starting with a Nov. 4 date against Central Connecticut State. BYU will offer the first real challenge on Dec. 3, a game that’s part of the Big East-Big 12 Battle.
“If you figure out a way to win on that floor, you feel like you’re one up on everybody else in the league,” McDermott said. “You know it’s going to be difficult for someone to go in there and win.”
More: Providence basketball head coach Kim English talks about his team dealing with injuries
More: Providence basketball’s Bryce Hopkins talks about his return from injury
Creighton was the victim on the night the Friars clinched their first regular-season conference title in school history. Providence’s student section stormed the floor following a 72-51 blowout, a game that was effectively over early in the second half. The Friars had just come off a triple-overtime thriller against Xavier, a classic they survived by a count of 99-92.
“I love the city,” McDermott said. “We just haven’t had a lot of success.”
KenPom.com rates Providence inside the top third of men’s college basketball programs in home court advantage, a calculation that takes into account only the last 60 games. The Friars are a top-55 team nationally in two categories — 3.6 fewer defensive fouls called than in road games and 2.0 more blocked shots. They were a near-perfect 16-1 in 2021-22 and followed by going 15-2 in 2022-23, dropping the final two games with rumors of Cooley’s potential departure already swirling.
“We have a pretty set schedule,” Neptune said. “We get in, we do our prep and we try to get to sleep as soon as we can.”
English has coached in only one road game within state limits through three combined seasons at George Mason and Providence. That came in a 79-72 win with the Patriots over the University of Rhode Island at the Ryan Center in 2022-23. English will come calling again with the Friars on Dec. 7, as the old rivalry series comes to life on a Saturday evening.
How might English approach a hypothetical trip to face Providence?
“We’d be at home,” he said.
On X: @BillKoch25
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Opposing coaches weigh in on playing Providence basketball at the AMP
