PC's Big East Title Defense Begins vs. St. John's

PC's Big East Title Defense Begins vs. St. John's

The Providence College Friars begin their Big East Conference title quest on Thursday, March 12 when they take on the St. John's Red Storm at 2:30 p.m. at New York's Madison Square Garden. The Friars finished the regular season with an overall record of 21-10 overall and 11-7 in the Big East. 

Thursday's game will be televised on Fox Sports 1. 

Last time out

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The Friars finished the regular season on a sour note, losing 68-64 at home to #21 Butler on Senior night. 

The Red Storm are coming into the tournament off a 105-68 road loss to the #6 Villanova Wildcats.

The St. John's Red Storm 

The Red Storm beat the Friars twice in the regular season, including a nine point victory in the last meeting at the Garden. After starting conference play 0-3, St. John's ended their season with a 10-8 conference record and a 21-10 record overall. 

"They are a tough team to guard because they all can score, all can shoot, and they all can beat you off the dribble. They are a tough matchup for any defense," said Friar great Joe Hassett. 

St. John's is led by DeAngelo Harrison, who averages 18 points per game while Rysheed Jordan follows up with an average of 14 points per game. 

Sir' Dominic Pointer leads the team in rebounding, pulling down eight rebounds per game while Chris Obekpa contributes seven rebounds per game. 

As Hassett told GoLocal, St. John's plays a lot of one on one basketball and don't run a lot of set offense. 

PC vs St. John's - Jan. 31 - St. John's Wins 75-66 at MSG

St. John's held a 44-32 lead at the half before Providence made a second half run, getting as close as two, 59-57, with 6:54 to go. 

The Red Storm would score the next ten points to go up 69-57 and seal the win. 

Sir Dominic Pointer led St. John's with 20 points in the game while LaDontae Henton led Providence with 23 points in the game. 

St. John's vs PC - Jan. 14 - St. John's Wins 83-70 at Dunkin' Donuts Center

The Red Storm led 42-30 at the half before the Friars got within three, 53-50, with 8:19 left to go. 

However, the Red Storm would go on a 10-3 run  to go up 63-53 and seal the game. 

Phil Green IV and Sir' Dominic Pointer led the Red Storm with 20 points each while LaDontae Henton led the Friars with 22 points.

Kris Dunn recorded a double-double, pouring in 17 points and dishing out ten assists. 

Big East tournament round one

In both games against the Red Storm this season, the Friars have gotten off to bad starts and have had to dig themselves out from big deficits and while they have come close, PC has not been able to get over the hump. 

Providence will look to get off to a fast start and fast break. 

"The Friars are a team that when they fast break, they are very effective. [Kris] Dunn is the second leading rebounder on the team and when he grabs the rebound he starts the fast break," Hassett said of the Friars preferred route of attack. 

With all that said, how far the Friars go in the Big East tournament and beyond is going to be up to Kris Dunn and and LaDontae Henton. 

Providence will go as far as those two guys can take them. 

Title Defense Begins

The Providence College Friars battle the St. John's Red Storm in the first round of the Big East Tournament on Thursday, March 12 at 2:30 p.m. at Madison Square Garden in New York. 

The game can be seen on Fox Sports One.