#6 Villanova vs. PC - A Battle of Original Big East Foes
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#6 Villanova vs. PC - A Battle of Original Big East Foes
The game features a battle between two original Big East teams and two teams that are in the top half of the Big East this season. A Friars win would put them only one game back of first place in the conference and coupled with a win over Seton Hall on Saturday, would put the Friars back in the the national rankings.
Big East Originals
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTThe Wildcats and Friars will meet for the 92nd time on Wednesday night with Villanova holding a 54-37 record all time against PC.
Villanova swept the Friars last season, winning 91-61 on their home court and then winning 82-79 at the Dunkin' Donuts Center in a double overtime thriller.
The last time Providence beat Villanova was in January of 2013 when they edged the Wildcats 69-66 at the Dunkin' Donuts Center.
PC is 24-17 at home against Villanova and they will be looking for their 25th home win, and in turn, snap their small losing streak against the the Wildcats.
Rallying around Ed Cooley
Cooley will return to the sidelines against Villanova, triggering an automatic rallying point for his Friars, like they did last season.
In early January of 2013, Ed Cooley had a small fire at his house. No one was injured, but he lived out of a hotel for several days while his home was repaired.
Meanwhile, Big East play had just begun and PC was off to a dismal start, suffering a bad loss to Seton Hall, 81-80 in double OT and then getting embarrassed on the road against #11 Villanova, 91-61.
PC returned home after Villanova already in early danger only to have Georgetown waiting for them. However, the Friars rallied around Ed Cooley and his family and won four straight games and five of six to put them in position for the Big East Championship run that would come a couple of months later.
Now, PC returns home after an emotional loss and though they certainly are not in danger like last season, this is a huge game and once again, Ed Cooley can serve as a rallying point.
#6 Villanova
The #6 Wildcats are coming off a 69-53 win over Georgetown on Saturday night to improve to 21-2 on the season and 8-2 in the Big East, good enough for the top seed in the conference.
Villanova is led by senior guard Darrun Hilliard who comes into the game against PC averaging 13 points per game. Hilliard has been in double figures in four straight games for Villanova and eight of the last ten.
Meanwhile, junior forward Daniel Ochefu averages nine points per game and also leads the team in rebounding, pulling down just over eight rebounds per game for the Wildcats. Ochefu has five double-doubles on the season.
Providence
Providence has been carried all season by senior LaDontae Henton and sophomore guard Kris Dunn. For the Friars to pull off the upset, both Henton and Dunn are going to have to have big games.
LaDontae Henton was recognized as one of the top 25 players in the country late last month and comes into this game after a 24 point performance against Xavier and is averaging 20 points per game on the season.
Henton has found himself in double-figures in 16 straight games for Providence, a streak that started on December 8 against Brown.
Dunn has averaged 15 points, 7.5 assists and six rebounds for the Friars and has found himself in double-figures in ten straight games.
However, turnovers have plagued Dunn all season and have done so in the Friars last two games in which he has turned the ball over five and six times respectively.
#6 Villanova vs. Providence
The Friars host #6 Villanova on Wednesday, February 11 at the Dunkin' Donuts Center in front of what should be a sold out crowd. Tip-off is set for 8 p.m. and the game will be televised on Fox Sports 1.
For tickets to the biggest game of the season so far, click here.
Providence College Friars 2014-2015 Projected Starting Lineup
Guard- Kris Dunn
Kris Dunn will start at point guard for the Friars this season. Dunn hasn't played much over his first two years with the Friars because of injury but when he is in the game, he makes things happen. Last season against Vanderbilt, Dunn led the Friars in an epic comeback from an 18 point second half deficit. The 6'3" Dunn posted ten points, five assists, four rebounds and three steals in that game and then recorded six assists in the next game before having season ending shoulder surgery.
The Friars will be in good shape if Dunn can stay healthy this season.
Guard - Junior Lomomba
Junior Lomomba is a 6'5" sophomore guard who has found his way into the Friars starting lineup this season.
This season, Lomomba has averaged 1.5 points and 1.2 rebounds per game but a major reason why he is in the lineup is because he does not turn the ball over, only having three turnovers in the last four games for Providence.
Forward- LaDontae Henton
Last season, the 6'6" LaDontae Henton averaged 14 points per game which was second best to Bryce Cotton and just under eight rebounds per game which was the best on the team and second best in the Big East. Henton is a scrappy player who is not afraid to mix it up a bit and brings toughness to this Friars line up.
Henton seems poised for a big year.
Forward- Ben Bentil
6'8" freshman forward Ben Bentil will be one of the first players off the bench for Ed Cooley this year. Bentil can play three positions for the Friars, center, forward and small forward plus he is a good shooter and loves to rebound the ball.
Bentil is a player that is going to give coach Cooley several different options with his lineups and allow him to play the matchup game to perfection.
Center-Carson Desrosiers
Carson Desrosiers is a seven foot senior forward who last season finished fourth on the team in rebounding, averaging 4.8 rebounds per game. He also had 82 blocks on the season, an average of just over two blocks per game. His 82 blocked shots led the team.
Desroisers is a player that is mostly in the line up for his work on the defensive end and so like last season, he will be in and out of the line up depending on the situation.
6th man- Tyler Harris
Tyler Harris comes into this year as a 6'9" junior, however this is only his second season with the Friars after transferring from NC State. Last season, Harris averaged 11.6 points and five rebounds per game for the Friars and got better as the year went on.
"Harris and Henton will be more effective this year, then they were last year" said PC Alum and Radio Analyst Joe Hassett
