Providence Friars head coach Ed Cooley coaching his team at the Big East Tournament.
( Photo Courtesy ESPN)
Being a part of the media team that covered the 2023 Big East Tournament at Madison Square Garden was an amazing experience. This year’s tournament was great with close games and upsets. Seton Hall was eliminated out of the Big East Tournament and March Madness along with Georgetown, St. Johns, Butler, and DePaul. However, the number one seeded team in the Big East, the Marquette Golden Eagles showed why they are they the number one seeded team in the Big East when they defeated Xavier in the championship game 65-51 winning their first Big East championship after 18 seasons in the conference.
The Providence Friars are looking to redeem themselves in this year's March Madness. Last year, they lost in the Sweet Sixteen to the Kansas Jayhawks, who went on to the final four and won the tournament. In this year’s Big East tournament, the Providence Friars lost to the number 4 ranked team in the Big East, UConn after coming back from 26 points down and only trailing by 5 points with 3 minutes left in the 2nd half. Their fight for a comeback failed as the Friars lost 73-66.
After the lost to UConn in the Big East Tournament, Providence Friars’ head coach Ed Cooley in a press conference spoke highly about the Big East Conference saying, “The fact that UConn is relevant again is the power of the Big East in my opinion, they are the reason why they are the best team in America.” In recent days, Coach Cooley has been rumored to be on the Georgetown Hoyas radar for their head coaching position as the Hoyas fired their coach of six seasons, Patrick Ewing after Georgetown’s loss to Villanova in the Big East Tournament.
On Sunday, the 2023 March Madness bracket was announced and the Friars are ranked the number 11th seed in March Madness and the East bracket. The Friars will have a major test on Friday at 7:10 PM when they face the Kentucky Wildcats who are ranked number 6 in the East bracket. Kentucky recently lost in the SEC tournament to the Vanderbilt Commodores. In the 2022 March Madness Tournament, Kentucky ranked number 2, was upset by St Peters who were ranked 15th in the tournament. The last time Kentucky won a National Championship was in 2012. Since then, they have only made it to the Final Four once and that was in 2015 in which they lost to Wisconsin.
The Providence Friars show a lot of passion and determination on the court. They have the chance to pull off a major upset if they defeat Kentucky. Friars forward, Bryce Hopkins will be facing his former team in Kentucky so a win is especially important for him. On Friday, we will see if the Friars can pull off the win.
Have an opposing viewpoint to this opinion? Let us know. All views are welcomed. Send your thoughts to our Editorial Staff – Editor Dylan Hicks dhicks@student.dean.edu or Dean was Daily Faculty Advisor, Professor John Rooke jrooke@dean.edu