The Providence Friars are coming off of a big win Wednesday night over Seton Hall in a late January Big East conference matchup. This was a critical upset win for Providence as Seton Hall was in second place in the Big East and moves the Friars to 4-4 in conference play. It was also only the Friars second win since losing star forward Bryce Hopkins to a torn ACL. He had suffered the injury when the Friars played Seton Hall earlier in the season, and while they were still ranked in the top 25 in the nation.

It has been a tough ride ever since they announced that Hopkins would be out for the season, as the Friars lost four straight games and went from being a top 25 team to an unranked team. Hopkins had been Providence’s best player since transferring to the Friars from Kentucky in the Spring of 2022. And with Wednesday’s win over Seton Hall, Providence moved from 8th in the Big East to 6th and are now projected to be back in the March Madness bracket after falling out of it just a week ago.

The next two upcoming games for the Providence Friars are both very big games as they are meeting up with longtime Providence College men’s basketball coach Ed Cooley for the first time since he left, as well as playing the nation’s best in UConn.

Ed Cooley is making his first return back to Providence after spending 12 seasons as the Head Coach. Coach Cooley posted a record of 242-153 which included seven trips to the March Madness tournament, with a Sweet Sixteen best finish, a Big East regular season title, and a Big East Tournament title as well as being named Naismith Coach of the Year. The reason Cooley gave for finally leaving Providence even though they still had a talented and proven team was that it was the best move for his family. There is no doubt that the players and fans are excited for his return this Saturday, and I am sure that there will be a healthy mixture of cheering and boos in Cooley’s direction. The Georgetown Hoyas are having an underwhelming season at 8-11 overall and 1-7 in conference play.

After Cooley’s return, Providence will have to face the number one ranked team in the nation in UConn on Wednesday January 31st. If Providence can get hot and go on a run to beat these two teams it would be huge for their confidence going into the Big East tournament as well as for seeding in the March Madness Tournament.