PC Upsets Creighton In BIG EAST Quarterfinals, Bolsters March Resume at MSG
Providence College Press Release
NEW YORK, N.Y. – The No. 7-seed Providence College men’s basketball team (21-12, 10-10 BIG EAST) upset the No. 2-seed and No. 8/6-ranked Creighton Bluejays (23-9, 14-6 BIG EAST), 78-73, in the BIG EAST Tournament Quarterfinals on Thursday, March 14 at Madison Square Garden in New York, N.Y. This win secured the sixth Quad 1 victory of the season for the Friars. Junior Devin Carter (Miami, Fla.) led the charge for the Providence, scoring a game-high 22 points while grabbing 11 rebounds for his13th double-double of the season. Graduate student Josh Oduro (Gainesville, Va.) aided the team with 17 points and nine rebounds. Sophomore Jayden Pierre (Elizabeth, N.J.) added 15 points, four rebounds and seven assists. The Friars shot an impressive 14-14 from the free throw line.
The Friars will return to action on Friday in the BIG EAST Semifnals at 8:00 p.m. on FS1. The Friars will be making a return to the BIG EAST Semfinals for the 13th time and first time since 2022. It also marks PC’s sixth trip to league Semifinals in the last 11 years.
“We had 40 minutes.” Head Coach Kim English said. “It’s all about mindset and moments. This was one of the team’s best efforts of the season. I am extremely proud of our group.”
FIRST HALF:
• Ticket Gaines (Buffalo, N.Y.) put the Friars on the board first with a mid-range jumper.
• The Bluejays went on an early 7-0 run to jump out to a 13-6 lead. Creighton held the Friars scoreless for nearly three minutes of action.
• Corey Floyd, Jr. (Elizabeth, N.J.) made an immediate impact off the bench. With 12 minutes left in the half, Floyd knocked down three-pointers on back-to-back possessions.
• Providence countered Creighton’s early run with an 11-2 surge of their own. PC led 17-15 after Floyd’s triples and a basket from Jayden Pierre (Elizabeth, N.J.).
• The Friars erupted for another scoring run (14-2), spearheaded by Carter. PC held a 31-22 advantage heading into the final four minutes of the half. Creighton had missed eight of their last nine shot attempts.
• Creighton cut the deficit to three points, 33-30, just before halftime.
• Providence shot 13-34 (38.2%) from the field, 2-12 (16.7%) from three and 5-5 (100%) from the free throw line.
• Creighton shot 8-31 (25.8%) from the field, 3-16 (18.8%) from three and 11-11 (100%) from the free throw line.
SECOND HALF:
• Rich Barron (Chicago, Ill.) opened the second half scoring with a reverse layup. It marked his first basket of the night.
• Barron maintained the strong offensive momentum by scoring six points in just 19 seconds, sinking back-to-back three-pointers, which extended the lead to 41-32.
• Carter flushed a step-back three to send PC into the first media timeout (15:07 mark), with a ten-point lead over the Bluejays, 46-36.
• While Creighton endured a drought lasting over three minutes, the Friars surged ahead with a 5-0 run, shooting a perfect 3-3 from the field.
• The Friars struggled to score a basket for over three minutes as the Bluejays went on a 10-2 run, effectively cutting the lead to three, 61-58.
• With 5:36 on the clock, Creighton regained the lead with a three-pointer. The Friars quickly countered with two made free-throw attempts from Pierre.
• The two teams went back and forth, with three lead changes occurring within a span of two minutes. As they entered the final media timeout (3:34 mark), the Friars held a slim two-point lead, 70-68.
• In the final moments, the Friars staged a 7-0 run to extend the lead to 74-68 with just 54 seconds remaining.
• The Friars were able to maintain the lead and secure the win as they finished on top, 78-73.
HIGHLIGHTS:
• Providence finished 29-70 (41.4%) from the field, 6-23 (26.1%) from three and 14-14 (100.0%) from the free throw line.
• Creighton finished 22-58 (37.9%) from the field, 6-26 (23.1%) from three and 23-26 (88.5%) from the free throw line.
• Three Friars finished in double figures: Carter (22), Oduro (19) and Pierre (15).
• Ryan Kalkbrenner led the way for Creighton with 19 points.
• The Friars outrebounded the Bluejays by a margin of one (40-39).
•PC outscored Creighton in points off turnovers (9-4), second-chance points (6-5), bench points (14-3) and points in the paint (36-28).
• Barron scored all his eight points in the second half.
NOTES
•This is the first time a seventh seed has qualified for the BIG EAST Semifinals since 2017.
• The Friars secured their sixth Quad 1 victory of the season tonight.
•PC captured the BIG EAST Tournament title in 1994 and 2014.
•PC has posted a 27-40 mark all-time in the BIG EAST Tournament.
•The Friars have now posted a 3-2 mark versus Creighton in the BIG EAST Tournament.
•Devin Carter was named BIG EAST Player of the Year on 3/13.
•Devin Carter was named All-BIG EAST First Team, Josh Oduro was named Honorable Mention and Rich Barron was named to the All-Freshman Team on 3/10.
•Devin Carter is the eighth PC player to capture the BIG EAST scoring title (21.4 ppg in 20 league contests).
• The Friars are 20-2 this season when scoring 71 or more points.
• The Friars are 16-1 this season when leading at halftime.
• The Friars are 18-1 when outrebounding opponents this season.
UP NEXT
The Friars will advance to the BIG EAST Semifinals. They will face the winner of the No.3-Seed and No.10/10-ranked Marquette, against the No.6-Seed Villanova. The Semifinal match will held at the Madison Square Garden in New York, N.Y. Tip-off is slated for 8:00 p.m. on FS1.
