Men's Basketball Game Notes vs. No. 9 Villanova

Friars To Play Villanova On January 25: The Friars will play No. 9/11 Villanova on Saturday, January 25 at 1:00 p.m. on CBS. The Friars have posted a 39-66 mark all-time versus the Wildcats. The Friars are 25-21 at home, 13-32 on the road and 1-12 on neutral courts all-time against Villanova. The two teams first met on February 15, 1936 with the Friars earning a 46-37 win in Providence. In the first meeting with the Wildcats last season, Villanova earned a 65-59 win on January 5, 2019 in Providence. In the second game, Villanova defeated the Friars, 85-67, in Philadelphia on February 13, 2019. In the third meeting, Villanova earned a 73-62 victory at Madison Square Garden in the Quarterfinals of the BIG EAST Tournament on March 14, 2019. The Friars' most recent win over the Wildcats was a 76-71 victory on February 14, 2018 in Providence.

Friar Tid Bits Entering Saturday's Game:
*Friars are 4-3 in BIG EAST play this season (2-1 at home, 2-2 on the road).
*The Friars have won five of their last eight games.
*Saturday's game will mark the Friars' third consecutive game, and fourth in the last five, against a ranked opponent (0-4).
*The Friars are looking for their first win over a ranked team since 3/9/18 - defeated No. 3/2 Xavier at the BIG EAST Tournament.
*The Friars' last win over a ranked team at home was a 76-71 win over No. 3/4 Villanova on 2/14/18.
*The Friars' last win over a ranked team on the road was a 68-66 win at No. 23/23 Creighton on 2/22/17.
*The Friars are a combined 10-3 on Tuesdays (4-1), Saturdays (5-2) and Sundays (1-0).
*The Friars are a combined 1-6 on Wednesdays (1-2), Thursdays (0-1) and Fridays (0-3).
*The Friars posted a 4-4 mark in Nov., a 4-2 record in Dec. and have a 3-3 record in Jan.
*The Friars are shooting 36.6 percent (79-210) from three-point territory at home (10 games) and 27.8 percent (62-223) in 10 games away from the Dunkin' Donuts Center.
*The Friars rank tied for second in the BIG EAST in assists (15.4 apg).
*The Friars rank tied for second in the BIG EAST in steals (9.1 spg).
*The Friars rank second in the BIG EAST in turnover margin (+2.7).
*Friar senior Alpha Diallo leads all active BIG EAST players in rebounding with 392 boards in league regular-season games.

Duke Milestones In 36-Point Performance At Creighton On Jan. 18:
*Career-high 36 points (12-18 FG, 6-8 3PT FG, 6-7 FT)
*Career-high 3-point effort (six)
*Career-high field goals (12)
*Ninth most points scored in a BE regular-season game ever by a Friar
*Most points scored by a Friar since Ben Bentil scored 42 in 2OT at Marquette (2/10/16) *First 30-point game by a Friar since Rodney Bullock had 31 vs Sacred Heart (12/22/17)

Diallo Leads Team In Scoring And Rebounding: Senior forward Alpha Diallo (New York, N.Y.) is averaging 14.0 points and 8.3 rebounds through 20 games this season. He leads the team in scoring and rebounding. Diallo has posted a double-double in seven of the Friars' 20 games, including a 12-point, 11-rebound effort at Marquette on January 7. Diallo ranks fourth in the BIG EAST this season with seven double-doubles. He has registered 22 double-doubles in his four seasons at Providence.

White Picking Up Pace In League Play: Senior guard Maliek White (Richmond, Va.) has come off the bench in BIG EAST play to help lead the Friars. He scored 16 points in a win at DePaul on January 4 and he had a team-high 19 points in a win at Marquette on January 7. He ranks third the team in scoring in BIG EAST play, averaging 9.9 points per game.

Duke Scoring And Assisting: Sophomore guard David Duke (Providence, R.I.) ranks second on the team in scoring (12.8 ppg) and he ranks first in assists (3.8 apg). Duke registered a career day when he scored 36 points in a 78-74 loss at Creighton on January 18. He recorded his BIG EAST career high when he posted eight assists in the Friars' win over Georgetown on December 31. Duke also is shooting a team best 46.2 percent (30-65) from three-point territory.

Friars Win When Pipkins Registers Assists: Graduate student Luwane Pipkins (Chicago, Ill.) has led the Friars to an 8-2 mark when he registers four or more assists in a game. Pipkins, who is in his first season with the Friars after transferring from UMass, is averaging 8.6 points per game.

Diallo Surpassed 1,000 Career Points: Senior Alpha Diallo (New York, N.Y.) has recorded 1,434 career points in 119 games (12.0 ppg). He became the 50th player in Friar history to score 1,000 or more career points. Diallo ranks 19th all-time in scoring at Providence.

Watson Returns To The Lineup: Junior Nate Watson (Arlington, 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 is third on the team in scoring (9.3 ppg). 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).

Friars Forcing Turnovers: The Friars are forcing turnovers this season. The team ranks second in the BIG EAST in turnover margin at +2.7. The Friars rank tied for second in the BIG EAST in steals at 9.1 per game. PC is averaging 13.4 turnovers per game compared to 16.0 by its opponents.

Friars All-Time Versus Top-25 Teams: The Friars have posted a 116-268 (.302) mark all-time versus top-25 teams, including a 0-3 mark this season.

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.

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.

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 competition. 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 173-119 mark in nine seasons as the Friars head coach.

"DG" Patch On Friar Uniforms: In memory of former Friar Head Coach Dave Gavitt the Friars have worn a "DG" patch on their uniforms since the 2011-12 season. Gavitt led PC and Eastern basketball into the modern age. In 10 seasons as the head coach of the Friars, Gavitt led PC to 209 wins, including eight consecutive 20-win seasons, five NCAA appearances, three NIT appearances and five New England Coach of the Year honors. He led the Friars to 23 wins over Top-20 teams. His 1973 team made it to Final Four. In 1971, Gavitt was named Director of Athletics at PC, a position he held until 1982 when he resigned to be the director of the BIG EAST Conference. He also was named Head Coach of the 1980 USA Olympic basketball team. He was elected to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2006.

Friars In Overtime: The Friars recorded a 1-0 mark in overtime games this season. They have registered a 65-67 mark all-time in overtime games.

Providence College Basketball: The 2019-20 campaign marks the 93rd season of basketball at Providence College. Since the program started in 1926-27, Providence has posted a 1,474-993 mark, good for a .598 winning percentage. The Friars have made the NCAA Tournament 20 times and the National Invitation Tournament on 20 occasions.

-GO FRIARS-

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Players Mentioned

Rodney Bullock

Alpha Diallo

David Duke

Luwane Pipkins

A.J. Reeves

Nate Watson

Maliek White