PC Friars Ranked #25 in Coaches Poll, LaDontae Henton Big East Player of the Week
PC news release…
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The Providence College men’s basketball team is ranked No. 25 in the most recent USA Today Coaches Poll, which was released today (Nov. 24). It marks the first time the Providence College men’s basketball team has been ranked in a national poll since the conclusion of the 2004 season when Providence was No. 21 in the Associated Press Poll and No. 19 in the USA Today Coaches Poll.
Providence also received 63 votes in the most recent Associated Press Top-25 poll and was three spots outside of the Top-25 rankings.
The Friars have posted a 5-0 mark to open the season. Providence, which captured the 2014 BIG EAST title and advanced the NCAA tournament, has earned wins this season over Albany (64-60) on Nov. 15, Binghamton (66-45) on Nov. 17, Navy (88-51) on Nov. 20, Florida State (80-54) on Nov. 22 and Notre Dame (75-74) on Nov. 23. By defeating Notre Dame on Nov. 23, Providence captured the 2014 Hall of Fame Tip Off at Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Conn.
The Friars will return to action on Friday, Nov. 28 versus Yale at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center at 4:00 p.m. Following the Yale game, Providence will travel to Kentucky to face the top-ranked Wildcats on Sunday, Nov. 30 at 2:00 p.m. on ESPN2.
To purchase game tickets please call the Providence College ticket office at (401) 865-GOPC or visit Friars.com.
USA TODAY COACHES POLL (Nov. 24, 2014)
1 Kentucky (29) 5-0 796
2 Duke 5-0 733
3 Wisconsin (2) 4-0 726
4 Arizona (1) 3-0 723
5 Louisville 3-0 622
6 North Carolina 3-0 617
7 Virginia 4-0 585
8 Gonzaga 4-0 558
9 Texas 4-0 541
10 Wichita St 3-0 491
11 Villanova 3-0 469
12 Kansas 1-1 458
13 Iowa State 2-0 378
14 VCU 3-0 369
15 San Diego St 3-0 348
16 Florida 2-1 303
17 Ohio State 3-0 281
18 Michigan 3-0 265
19 Michigan St 2-1 238
20 Miami (FL) 5-0 160
21 Oklahoma 2-1 114
22 Connecticut 3-1 112
23 UCLA 4-0 93
24 West Virginia 5-0 81
25 Providence 5-0 47
•Others receiving votes: Stanford 42, Arkansas 35, Utah 27, Syracuse 26, Georgetown 23, Notre Dame 20, Nebraska 17, Oregon 11, Baylor 10, Minnesota 9, Creighton 9, Oklahoma St 8, California 6, Northern Iowa 6, UTEP 5, Indiana 5, Colorado 4, Charlotte 4, Iowa 4, Louisiana Tech 3, Wyoming 3, Saint Mary’s 3, George Washington 3, Rhode Island 2, Memphis 2, Kansas St 2, Illinois 1, SMU 1, LSU 1
It was announced on Monday, November 24 that Providence senior forward LaDontae Henton (Lansing, Michigan) was named BIG EAST Player of the Week. It marks the first time that Henton has earned BIG EAST Player of the Week accolades.
Henton has led the Friars to a 5-0 record by averaging 23.4 points and 5.8 rebounds, while shooting 56.4 percent from the field (44-78), including 9-21 from three-point territory (42.9 percent). Henton scored 21 or more points in four of the five games, including a career-best 38-point effort in a win versus Notre Dame on Nov. 23. The victory over ND helped the Friars claim the Dave Gavitt Cup as the champions of the Hall of Fame Tip-Off at Mohegan Sun. Henton scored 38 of the team’s 75 points, while shooting 14-19 from the field (73.6 percent) and 4-8 from three-point territory against Notre Dame. He hit what proved to be the game-winning free throws to the put the Friars up by one point with 14 seconds remaining in the contest. He also recorded 21 points and 11 rebounds versus Albany (11/15), 22 points versus Navy (11/20), and 24 points and 10 rebounds versus Florida State (11/22).
Henton ranks 15th all-time in scoring at Providence with 1,507 points. He also has registered 861 rebounds (ninth). He is trying to become the seventh player all-time at Providence to score more than 1,000 points and grab more than 1,000 rebounds.
The Friars (5-0) will return to action on Friday, November 28 when they host Yale at 4:00 p.m. on Fox Sports 1.
