Providence Upsets #6 Marquette To Start Big East Season

The Providence College men’s basketball team defeated the No. 6/6 Marquette Golden Eagles, 72-57, on Tuesday, Dec. 19 at the Amica Mutual Pavilion in Providence, R.I. Junior Devin Carter (Miami, Fla.) led the way for the Friars with 22 points, finishing with a career-high five three-pointers. Graduate student Ticket Gaines (Buffalo, N.Y.) chipped in with 18 points on five three pointers. Head Coach Kim English earned his first BIG EAST win and first win as a head coach over a top-10 team.

“I’m really proud of our guys for the way we competed and the way we stayed together throughout the night,” English said. “This league is a beast. I’m really proud of our guys’ effort. That was a really good basketball team that our guys played well against and beat tonight.”

FIRST HALF:

Carter scored the first basket for the Friars off an assist by Jayden Pierre (Elizabeth, N.J.).
Marquette’s Tyler Kolek drained a three-ball to give the Golden Eagles a 9-4 lead at the game’s first timeout.
The Friars missed their first five shots from three-point territory. At the 15:10 mark, Gaines connected from deep to end the Friars’ drought.
At the 11:48 mark, Gaines’ second three-pointer gave PC their first lead, 16-14.
“If I’m open, my teammates give me the courage to shoot it,” Gaines said. “They encourage me to shoot it every time.”
Heading into the 6:07 timeout, the Friars held a slim 23-21 lead. Neither team had scored in the previous two minutes of action.
With less than five minutes remaining in the half, Carter and Marquette’s Kam Jones traded three-pointers. PC led 29-24.
Carter drew a foul on a last-second three-pointer and made 2-3 free throws. The Friars ended the half on a 10-2 run, taking a double-digit 40-29 lead into the locker room.
Providence shot 12-28 (42.9%) from the field, 6-17 (35.3%) from three and 10-12 (83.3%) from the free throw line.
Marquette shot 11-29 (37.9%) from the field, 2-9 (22.2%) from three and 5-8 (62.5%) from the free throw line.
SECOND HALF:

Marquette’s Tyler Kolek scored the first seven points of the second half to cut into the Providence lead. Carter answered with a three-pointer to end the Golden Eagles’ run. PC led 43-36.
Gaines knocked down his fourth three-pointer with just under 14 minutes left. Marquette’s Sean Jones quickly responded with a triple of his own. PC maintained an advantage, 50-41.
At the 10:31 mark, Bryce Hopkins (Oak Park, Ill.) slammed it home off a flashy assist from Garwey Dual (Houston, Texas). The Friars held firm control, 58-41, forcing a Marquette timeout.
With eight minutes left to play, the Golden Eagles had missed 13 of their last 14 shot attempts.
The Friars endured a scoring drought for over three minutes in the final stretch of the game, but still maintained a double-digit lead.
NOTES/HIGHLIGHTS:

Providence finished 22-51 (43.1%) from the field, 11-32 (34.4%) from three and 17-28 (60.7%) from the free throw line.
Marquette finished 18-56 (32.1%) from the field, 4-20 (20.0%) from three and 17-21 (81.0%) from the free throw line.
Three players finished in double figures for the Friars in Carter (22), Gaines (18) and Hopkins (11).
The Friars controlled the rebound differential by a margin of 38-35.
Carter notched a career high in made three-pointers, with five.
Dual finished with seven assists for the second consecutive game, zero turnovers, and was +25.
English earned his first BIG EAST win and first win over a ranked team.
The Friars made 10 or more three-pointers for the second consecutive game and the fifth time this season.
The Friars are 10-0 this season when scoring 71 or more points.
The Friars are 1-1 vs. ranked teams this season and 131-280 (.318) all-time.
The Friars earned a top-10 victory at home for the second consecutive season. Last season, the Friars defeated No. 4/4 UConn at home, 73-61, on Jan. 4, 2023.
The Friars have the most home wins in the country (40) over the last three seasons of any Division 1 team.
The Friars have defeated a ranked Marquette team at home in each of the last three seasons.
The Friars are 45-3 in their last 49 games at the AMP and 627-238 all-time.
Marquette holds a 22-15 edge in the all-time series with Providence. The Friars hold a 10-6 advantage at home in the series.
Attendance – 12,108
WHAT’S NEXT:

The Friars will host Butler University on Saturday, December 23 at the Amica Mutual Pavilion in Providence, R.I. Tip-off is set for 12:00 p.m. on FS1.
Providence leads Butler 18-5 all-time. The Friars swept the Bulldogs last season winning 72-52 in Indianapolis, Ind. on Dec. 29, 2022 and 79-58 in Providence, R.I. on Jan. 25, 2023.