Providence head coach Kim English speaks after Friars fall to Marquette
Providence College Friars lose to No. 9 Marquette, 78-50, on New Year’s Eve.
PROVIDENCE − “Auld Lang Syne” wasn’t the only thing you might have heard from certain sections of downtown on this New Year’s Eve.
Multiple smatterings of boos were in the air at Amica Mutual Pavilion, as the Providence men ended their calendar 2024 with a thud.
No. 8 Marquette used an early run to take command and never let up. The Golden Eagles outclassed the Friars, 78-50, and prompted some serious questions about where this season might go from here.
These two teams went toe-to-toe in a Big East tournament semifinal some nine months ago, but much has changed since that March night at Madison Square Garden. Marquette remains one of the premier programs in the sport while Providence suffered its worst home loss in league play since an 88-61 drubbing against Pittsburgh in March 2004.
“Got our butts kicked in every way you could spin it,” Providence coach Kim English said. “Credit to them.”
The verbal scorn started early from the crowd of 11,604 fans on hand and came in pockets until the majority of them departed midway through the second half. The Golden Eagles ripped off a 26-2 burst that overturned an early 8-2 deficit, using their smothering halfcourt defensive pressure to turn the Friars over at will. Stevie Mitchell’s runout and layup off one of his five steals had English calling his second timeout with 11:23 to play, and the tone was set for the rest of the evening.
“Marquette, one of the hardest-playing teams in the league, played harder than us tonight,” English said. “Providence fans won’t boo for missed shots. I don’t think they would boo for giving up made shots. I think they would boo for getting beat to loose balls. I think they would boo if you aren’t exerting enough effort.
“I’d say if there were jeers they were deserved, and hopefully most of them were at me. It’s my job to have the guys ready.”
The halftime numbers were grisly for Providence – 27.3% shooting, 14 turnovers, scoring margins of 20-3 off giveaways, 22-6 in the paint and 10-2 on the fast break. Wesley Cardet Jr. was a minus-31 in less than 13 minutes, with the Friars suffering the majority of their damage while deploying a smaller lineup. They went from a six-point lead after less than three minutes to an 11-point deficit by the time Oswin Erhunmwunse checked back in, as Mitchell, Chase Ross, Kam Jones and David Joplin all scored at the rim by the 12:16 mark.
“Instead of cutting and passing our guys tried to drive it,” English said. “Driving it is not good against gap pressure.
“They got some advantageous bounces on offensive rebounds. Joplin went and got some. Smallball didn’t work for sure.”
Marquette (12-2, 3-0 Big East) won here for the first time since February 2019 and offered a bit of a belated Christmas gift to a state connection. Cumberland native and former Golden Eagles guard Tyler Kolek was courtside with his family, watching on in a building where he finished 0-3 in his college career. Marquette suffered a 72-57 spanking here last season and flipped the script on this occasion.
“Really wanted to win here for him,” Marquette coach Shaka Smart said. “The last three years we were not able to get it done.”
Providence (7-7, 1-2) dropped its first two conference home games for the first time since 2018-19 and now faces a daunting Sunday trip to two-time national champion Connecticut. The Friars could again be without Bryce Hopkins (left knee), who missed his third straight despite taking part in some of the pregame warmup. Christ Essandoko (hamstring) and Eli DeLaurier (hamstring) joined Hopkins in sweatsuits on the home bench.
“(Hopkins is) doing everything in his power to get back,” English said. “He had a great day yesterday – about half of the practice. Hopefully he’ll do more on Thursday, Friday and Saturday to get ready to go at Connecticut on Sunday.”
A loss to the Huskies would drop Providence below .500 overall in January or later for just the second time since 2012-13. UConn has won its last six against the Friars on campus at Gampel Pavilion, including a 74-65 grinder last season. The Huskies could doom Providence to a second four-game losing streak in as many seasons after suffering through just one in the previous decade.
“Who we are,” English said when asked what he hoped to identify in preparation for UConn. “How we’re going to respond to this adversity. How we’re going to be in the moment during games.
“And simply, most importantly, what’s it going to take to execute what we know we need to do.”
bkoch@providencejournal.com
On X: @BillKoch25
