Men's Basketball Game Notes vs. Davidson

Friars To Play Davidson On December 1: Tuesday's game will mark the first meeting all-time between Providence and Davidson.

Friars All-Time In In-Season Tournaments: The Friars' have posted a 99-69 (.589) mark all-time in in-season tournaments. The Maui Invitational marks the Friars' 74th in-season tournament appearance. They have captured 16 championships and have been runner-up 14 times.

Friars At The Camping World Maui Invitational: The Friars are participating in the Maui Invitational for the third time (1991 and 1984). The Friars won the tournament title in 1984 after defeating Virginia and Chaminade. In 1991, the Friars posted a 1-2 mark with a win over Lamar and losses to Chaminade and Minnesota.

Friar Tid Bits Entering Tuesday's Game:
*Monday's loss ended the Friars' seven-game winning streak which dated back to last season.
*The Friars were picked third of 11 teams in the Preseason BIG EAST Coaches' Poll.
*Ed Cooley is 0-0 all-time versus Davidson as a head coach.
*Ed Cooley will look to earn his 275th win as a head coach in Tuesday's game vs. Davidson (274-192).
*The Friars have two players on the roster from North Carolina (Greg Gantt, Fayetteville and Kris Monroe, Raleigh).

Friars Defeated By Indiana: The Friars were defeated in their opening game of the Maui Invitational by Indiana, 79-58, on Monday, Nov. 30. Senior Nate Watson (Portsmouth, Va.) and junior David Duke (Providence, R.I.) each scored 12 points to lead the Friars. The Friars committed 13 turnovers in the game, which led to 17 points for Indiana.

Nate Watson Closing In On 1,000 Career Points: Senior Nate Watson (Portsmouth, Va.) is looking to become the 51st Friar all-time to register 1,000 career points. In 98 career games, Watson has registered 913 points (9.3 ppg).

Watson Registers A Double-Double: Senior Nate Watson (Portsmouth, Va.) recorded a double-double with a career-high 23 points and 10 rebounds in the Friars' season opening win over Fairfield on November 25. For Watson, it marked the second double-double of his career.

Friars Picked Third Of 11 Teams In Preseason BIG EAST Coaches' Poll: It was announced on October 28 during the BIG EAST Virtual Media Day that the Friars were selected to finish third of 11 in teams in the Preseason Coaches' Poll. The Friars, who return three starters from last season, finished 2019-20 with a 19-12 overall mark and a team record 12 wins in BIG EAST play. The Friars entered the 2020 BIG EAST Tournament as hot as any team in the country. The team had won six straight and eight of 10 games to close the regular season with a NET ranking of 37. The squad finished fourth in league standings and was set to play fifth-seeded Butler on March 12 in the BIG EAST Tournament. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic the BIG EAST and NCAA Tournaments were cancelled. The Friars were projected to be a No. 7 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

Duke And Watson Earn BIG EAST Preseason Honors: It was announced on October 28 that junior guard David Duke (Providence, R.I.) and senior center Nate Watson (Portsmouth, Va.) were named to the Preseason All-BIG EAST Teams. Duke was named to the First Team and Watson earned Second Team honors. Duke had a strong sophomore season as he improved in each significant statistical category from his freshman season. His points per game improved from 7.1 in 2019 to 12.0 in 2020. His rebounding also improved from 2.6 rpg to 4.0 rpg. His shooting took a dramatic rise with his field goal percentage (.387 to .409), three-point field goal percentage (.297 to .420) and free-throw percentage (.689 to .793) all making improvements from freshman through sophomore seasons. In 2019-20, he finished fourth in the league in three-point shoot- ing (42.0 percent) and steals per game (1.5). He also finished first on the team in three-point shooting (42-100, .420) and assists (97, 3.1 apg). Duke also was second on the team in scoring (12.0 ppg). He recorded a career-best game at Creighton on January 18, 2020 when he scored 36 points and was 6-8 from three-point territory. In 2019-20, Watson finished fourth on the team in scoring (9.0 ppg). He led the squad and ranked ninth in the league in field goal percentage at 51.1 percent. He reached double figures in scoring in 11 of the 27 games he played. Watson also was third on the team in rebounding at 4.6 boards per game.

Goodine And Croswell Eligible Via NCAA Waiver: Sophomore guard Brycen Goodine (New Bedford, Mass.) and junior forward Ed Croswell (Philadelphia, Pa.) are eligible to compete for the Providence men's basketball team this season. The NCAA granted Goodine and Croswell a transfer waiver and both players have immediate eligibility to play at Providence for the 2020-21 season. A New Bedford, Mass. native, Goodine transferred to the Friars following one season at Syracuse University, where he played in 23 games for the Orange. In his freshman season he averaged 1.9 points and 1.0 rebounds per game and hit the game winning shot in a win over Wake Forest (2/8/20). A former Rhode Island Gatorade Player of the Year, he attended St. Andrew's School in Barrington, R.I., where he averaged 21.5 ppg, 6.5 rpg and 5.5 apg in his senior season. Goodine finished his high school career ranked as the No. 77 player in the country in 2019, according to ESPN.com. Croswell, a 6-foot-8-inch, 245-pound forward, transferred to Providence after spending the last two years at LaSalle University in Philadelphia. In 2019-20, he averaged 10.4 points and 7.6 rebounds, while shooting 60.2 percent from the field. Croswell ranked third in the nation in offensive rebounding rate at 18.5 percent. He posted a career best game of 24 points and 18 rebounds versus Saint Louis on January 29, 2020. In his freshman season with the Explorers, he averaged 4.6 ppg and 7.0 rpg. Croswell grabbed 98 offensive rebounds in 31 games (3.2 per game), which ranked third in the Atlantic 10. He ranked first in the nation among offensive rebound percentage at 18.1 percent. Croswell led the team in rebound- ing each of his two seasons at LaSalle. He also registered 10 or more rebounds in 15 of the 58 games he played over two seasons at LaSalle. Prior to LaSalle, Croswell averaged 13.5 ppg as a senior at St. Joseph's Prep where his team advanced to the semifinals of the PIAA Class 6A Tournament. During his junior season, Croswell averaged 15 points and 12 rebounds per game. While at St. Joseph's, he was coached by Speedy Morris. He earned Second Team All-Catholic League honors in his junior and senior seasons.

Geeter And Castro Each Sign A NLI To Attend Providence In 2021-22: Providence College men's basketball coach Ed Cooley announced today (Nov. 13) that student-athletes Legend Geeter (River Rouge, Mich.) and Rafael Castro (Dover, N.J.) each have signed a National Letter of Intent to attend Providence College beginning in September 2021. Geeter, a 6-foot-8-inch, 220-pound forward, is in his senior year at River Rouge High School. He is coached by LaMonta Stone at River Rouge. Last season, Geeter averaged 16 points, 10 rebounds, two assists and two blocks per game while helping lead River Rouge to a 20-1 mark. For his efforts, he earned The Detroit News Division 1 First Team All-State honors. River Rouge, which has won more state titles (14) than any other program in Michigan, was ranked No. 1 in the state and looking to capture the state title in 2020 when the season was cut short due to the COV- ID-19 pandemic. Geeter is a 2021 candidate for Mr. Basketball, which is an annual award given out each year to the top player in the state. Former Friar LaDontae Henton of Lansing was a runner up for Mr. Basketball honors in 2011. Geeter played AAU basketball for The Family, which is where former Friars Henton and Junior Lomomba also played. He is ranked as the 48th best power forward in the county and the fifth best in Michigan by 247Sports.com. Rivals.com has Geeter ranked as the 37th power best forward in the nation. Castro, a 6-foot-10-inch, 200-pound forward attends Dover High School. As a junior at Dover, he averaged 20.3 points, 16.3 rebounds, 4.7 blocks, 2.2 assists and 1.5 steals. He is coached by Billy Connors. Castro played for the Dominican Republic at the 2019 CentroBasket U17 Championship. He averaged 4.2 points and 3.8 rebounds while helping the team to a fourth-place finish. Castro played AAU ball for Team Rio University. He is ranked as the 30th best power forward in the country and the third best player in New Jersey, according to 247Sports.com. Rivals.com ranked Castro as the 136th best player in the country and the No. 23 power forward.

Friar Tid Bits To Close The 2019-20 Season:
*The Friars won six consecutive games and eight of their last 10 contests to close the season.
*The Friars' six straight BIG EAST wins tied the team's longest streak in league play (1987, 2004, 2017)
*The Friars earned 12 BIG EAST wins for the first time in team history - 12-6 in BIG EAST play (7-2 at home, 5-4 on the road). Twelve wins is the most ever for a PC team in a BIG EAST season.
*The Friars clinched a bye in the First Round of the BIG EAST Tournament for the sixth time in the last seven years.
*For the first time in the history of the program, the Friars defeated every team in the BIG EAST at least once in the regular season.
*The Friars posted a 5-4 record in 2019-20 versus ranked teams, with wins in the last five games.
*With the Friars' win at No. 12 Villanova on 2/29/20, the team won five straight games versus ranked opponents. It marked just the second time in Friar history that the team won five straight games versus ranked teams (1972-73 six straight wins).
*The Friars posted five wins in February versus ranked teams, PC was just the fifth team in the history of college basketball to register five wins over ranked teams in a calendar month during the regular season.
*Five wins over ranked teams in a season tied for the third most in a season all-time by the Friars (1972-73 seven wins, 1990-91 six wins and 1986-87 five wins).
*The Friars finished with a NET rating of 37 and posted a 7-8 mark against Quad 1 teams, including six wins over teams ranked in the Top 26 of the NET (Creighton 11, Villanova 13, Seton Hall 16, Butler 18 and Marquette 26 [twice]).
* Friars improved their NET ranking from 156 to 37 over the final 13 games of the season. The largest increase (119 spots) of the 353 division 1 teams from December 19 to March 13.
* The Friars produced a combined 12-8 mark versus Quad 1 (7-8) and Quad 2 (5-0) opponents.
*Friars were 8-3 in games decided by 5 points or less.
*The Friars posted a 4-4 mark in Nov., a 4-2 record in Dec., a 3-4 record in Jan., a 6-2 mark in Feb. and a 2-0 mark in March.
*The Friars shot 38.2 percent (128-335) from three-point territory at home (16 games) and 28.6 percent (87-304) in 15 games away from the Dunkin' Donuts Center.

After Seven Years, Friars Have Third Best Record In BIG EAST Action: Since the formation of the new BIG EAST, the Friars have posted the third best mark in league play over the last seven years. The Friars' 70-56 mark (.556) trails only Villanova's 103-23 record (.817) and Xavier's 74-52 record (.587).

Friars Earn At Least 10 BIG EAST Wins for Sixth Time In Last Seven Years: On March 7, the Friars defeated DePaul to improve to 12-6 in league play. It marked the sixth time in the last seven years that the Friars won 10 or more games in BIG EAST play. The Friars' 12 wins in BIG EAST action in 2019-20 is the team's all-time single season high.

Friars All-Time Versus Top-25 Teams: The Friars have posted a 121-269 (.310) mark all-time versus top-25 teams, including a 5-4 mark in 2019-20.

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 182-122 mark in 10 seasons as the Friars head coach.

Friars In Overtime: The Friars recorded a 1-0 mark in overtime games in 2019-20. They have registered a 65-67 mark all-time in overtime games.

"DG" Patch On Friar Uniforms: In memory of former Friar Head Coach Dave Gavitt the Friars have worn a "DG" patch on their uni- forms 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.

-GO FRIARS!-

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Players Mentioned

Ed Croswell

David Duke

Greg Gantt

Brycen Goodine

Kris Monroe

Nate Watson

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