Men's Basketball Game Notes vs. Long Beach State

Friars Versus Long Beach State: Thursday's game at the Wooden Legacy will mark the first matchup all-time between Providence and Long Beach State.

Friars All-Time Versus Big West Teams: The Friars have posted a 4-1 mark all-time versus Big West teams. In the Friars' most recent game versus a Big West team, Providence was defeated by Hawaii, 54-43, on December 27, 1982. The Friars' most recent win over a Big West team was a 94-76 victory over Hawaii on January 15, 1977.

Friars All-Time In In-Season Tournaments: The Friars' have posted a 97-66 (.599) mark all-time in in-season tournaments. The Wooden Legacy marks the Friars' 72nd in-season tournament appearance, they have captured 16 championships and have been runner-up 14 times.

Friars All-Time In The Wooden Legacy: The Friars are making their third appearance in the Wooden Legacy. The team has posted a 3-3 mark all-time. In the team's first appearance in 2008, the Friars posted a 1-2 mark in games versus Baylor (76-56, loss), Charlotte (67-62, win) and St. Mary's (81-75, loss). In the team's most recent appearance in the Wooden Legacy in 2015, the Friars reached the championship game with wins over Evansville (74-64) and Arizona (69-65) before being defeated in the title game by Michigan State (77-64).

Friars Forcing Turnovers: The Friars are forcing turnovers this season. The team ranks first in the BIG EAST in turnover margin at +7.7. PC is averaging 12.0 turnovers per game compared to 19.7 by its opponents. The Friars also are outscoring their opponents, 149-63, on points off turnovers.

Diallo Leads Team In Scoring And Rebounding: Senior forward/guard Alpha Diallo (New York, N.Y.) is averaging 13.7 points and 9.3 rebounds through six games this season. He leads the team in scoring and rebounding. Diallo has posted a double- double in three of the Friars' six games. He had 19 points, 14 rebounds, four blocks, three steals and three assists in a 106-60 win over Sacred Heart on November 5. On November 9, he recorded 15 points, 10 rebounds, two blocks and three steals in a 76-47 victory over NJIT. Diallo recorded his third consecutive double-double with 15 points and 14 rebounds in a loss at Northwestern on November 13. He has registered 19 double-doubles in his four seasons at Providence.

Pipkins Registering Assists And Steals: Graduate student Luwane Pipkins (Chicago,
Ill.) is leading the BIG EAST in steals (2.7 spg). He ranks second in the league in assists
(6.2 apg) and third in assist/turnover ratio (4.1). Pipkins, who is in his first season with
the Friars after transferring from UMass, recorded 18 points, eight assists and three steals in the Friars' win over Merrimack on November 19. He is averaging 10.3 points per game.

White Has A Strong Week: Senior guard Maliek White (Richmond, Va.) had two strong games last week for the Friars. White averaged 17.5 points and 3.5 assists as PC posted a 1-1 mark last week. He shot 6-12 from three-point territory and only made one turnover. He had a career-high 20 points in a loss to Penn on November 23. He also added 15 points and four assists in a win over Merrimack on November 19.

Watson Returns To The Lineup: Junior Nate Watson (Portsmouth, Va.), who missed the first four games of the season with a knee injury, returned to the lineup versus Merrimack on November 19. The junior center scored 14 points in 14 minutes of action after shooting 6-7 from the field. Last season, Watson ranked first on the team in field goal percentage (59 percent), second in scoring (11.7 ppg) and second in rebounding (5.2 rpg) last season.

Holt Posts First Double-Double Since March 2017: Graduate student Emmitt Holt (Rochester,
N.Y.) missed the last two seasons with injuries. On November 19, he recorded 11 points and 10
rebounds in the Friars' win over Merrimack. For Holt, it marked his first double-double since he had 18 points and 11 rebounds versus USC in the NCAA Tournament on March 15, 2017. Holt has five career double-doubles.

Breed Signs NLI To Attend Providence: Ed Cooley announced on November 13 that student-athlete Alyn Breed (Powder Springs, Ga.) has signed a National Letter of Intent to attend Providence College beginning in September 2020. Breed attends IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla. Breed, a 6-foot-3-inch, 185-pound shooting guard, enters his first season at IMG. In 2018-19, he attended McEachern High School in Powder Springs, Ga. Breed, who averaged 14.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists last season, helped lead McEachern to a 32-0 mark with wins over eight nationally ranked high schools. The squad captured the Georgia Class 7A State Championship. The team also won tournament titles at the City of Palms Classic, the Bass Pro Shops Tournament of Champions and the Hoophall Classic. In the summer of 2019, Breed played for the AOT Running Rebels.

Friar Milestones In The 106-60 Win Over Sacred Heart:
*Friars scored 100 points for just the second time under Ed Cooley
*Friars scored 106 or more points for the first time since 3/9/10
*Friars made 16 threes in a game for first time since 12/28/17
*Friars had 31 assists for the most by the team since 2/22/01
*Friars blocked 10 shots for first time since 1/6/15
*Seven Friars scored 10 or more points for first time since 11/18/08

Diallo Named To Naismith And Wooden Watch List: It was announced November 5 that Providence College senior forward Alpha Diallo (New York, N.Y.) was named one of 50 players to the 2020 Naismith Trophy Watch List. He also has been named one of 50 players for the 2020 Wooden Award Watch List. The Naismith Trophy will be awarded in the hometown of the Atlanta Tipoff Club during the Final Four at the Naismith Awards Brunch on April 5, 2020. The winner of the 2020 John R. Wooden Award will be presented by Wendy's during the ESPN College Basketball Awards on Friday, April 10, 2020.

Diallo Named Preseason All-BIG EAST First Team: It was announced on October 10 that senior forward Alpha Diallo (New York, N.Y.) was named to the Preseason All-BIG EAST First Team. Diallo was a unanimous First Team selection as voted on by the coaches. The senior forward was named Second Team All-BIG EAST in 2018-19.

Friars Picked Fourth In Preseason BIG EAST Poll: It was announced on October 10 that the Friars were picked tied for fourth in the Preseason BIG EAST Coaches Poll. The Friars, who return all five starters, finished 2018-19 with an 18-16 mark and a 7-11 record in league play. PC finished last season in eighth place and the squad also advanced to the NIT where it was defeated by Arkansas in the First Round.

Diallo And Watson On Watch Lists: Senior Alpha Diallo (New York, N.Y.) and junior Nate Watson (Portsmouth, Va.) have been named to Watch Lists. Diallo was named to the 2020 Julius Erving Award Watch List. The annual award recognizes the top small forward in Division I men's basketball. Watson was named to the 2020 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award Watch List. The annual award recognizes the top center in Division I men's basketball. Both awards are organized by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and will be presented on April 10.

Diallo Registers Third Double-Double Of The Season: Senior forward Alpha Diallo (New York, N.Y.) scored 15 points and grabbed 14 rebounds in the Friars' loss at Northwestern on November 13. It was his third double-double of the season and the 19th of his career. Last season, his 10 double-doubles ranked tied for first in the BIG EAST.

Cooley And Friars Earned Seventh Consecutive Post-Season Bid: The Friars played in their seventh consecutive post-season tournament in 2019 (NIT) in Ed Cooley's eighth year as a head coach
of the Friars. It marked the first time the Friars reached the post season seven straight times since
Dave Gavitt's Friars accomplished the feat from 1970-71 to 1977-78 (eight consecutive seasons).
When Cooley was hired in 2011, the Friars had finished under .500 in six of the 10 previous seasons
and had been to just one NCAA Tournament (2004) in that 10-year span. In 2019, the Friars made
their seventh consecutive post-season appearance, including their second NIT berth in those seven
years. In Cooley's second season as the Friars' coach, he led the Friars to the 2013 NIT Quarterfinals. In 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018, Cooley guided the team to the NCAA Tournament.

Ed Cooley Was Inducted Into The Stonehill Hall of Fame On Nov. 1: Providence College men's basketball Head Coach Ed Cooley was inducted into the Stonehill College Athletic Hall of Fame on Friday, November 1. Cooley, a product of Central High School in Providence, was a member of the men's basketball program at Stonehill between 1989 and 1994, serving as team captain for three seasons. He finished his career with 795 points, 594 rebounds and over 100 assists in 107 career games. Cooley helped Stonehill to four Northeast-10 Tournament appearances, reaching the semifinals his senior year, when he finished seventh among Northeast-10 Conference leaders with 7.0 rebounds per game.

Ed Cooley And Four Friars Help USA Pan Am Games Team To A Bronze Medal In August: A select team of men's basketball standouts from the BIG EAST Conference represented the United States at the 2019 Pan American Games. Head Coach Ed Cooley served as the head coach of the team and led the squad to a Bronze Medal. Four Friars were members of the team -- Alpha Diallo (New York, N.Y.), David Duke (Providence, R.I.), A.J. Reeves (Roxbury, Ma.) and Nate Watson (Portsmouth, Va.). It represented the first time a team from a single Division l conference represented the U.S. in the sport of men's basketball in Pan American Games com- petition. Diallo led the team in scoring (15.0 ppg) and rebounding 5.6 (rpg).

Ed Cooley Ranks Third On The PC All-Time Win List: With the Friars' win versus Butler on March 9, 2019, Ed Cooley recorded his 161st victory as the Friar Head Coach and moved into third place on the all-time win list for PC Head Coaches. The two all-time winningest Friar head coaches are: Joe Mullaney (319-164), and Dave Gavitt (209-84). Cooley has a 166-112 mark in nine seasons as the Friars head coach.

Friars All-Time Versus Top-25 Teams: The Friars have posted a 116-265 (.304) mark all-time versus top-25 teams, including a 0-5 mark in 2018-19.

Diallo Surpassed 1,000 Career Points: Senior Alpha Diallo (New York, N.Y.) has recorded 1,237 career points in 105 games (11.8 ppg). He became the 50th player in Friar history to score 1,000 or more career points. Diallo ranks 28th all-time in scoring at Providence.

Diallo Finished Second In The BIG EAST In Rebounding: Senior forward Alpha Diallo (New York, N.Y.) finished second in the BIG EAST in rebounding in overall play (8.1 rpg) in 2018-19. He recorded 10 or more rebounds in 10 games in 2018-19, including a career-high 15 boards at St. John's on February 9. Diallo leads all active BIG EAST players in rebounding with 346 boards in league regular-season games.

-GO FRIARS-

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Players Mentioned

Alpha Diallo

David Duke

Emmitt Holt

Luwane Pipkins

A.J. Reeves

Nate Watson

Maliek White