Men's Basketball Game Notes vs. No. 12 Villanova

Friars To Play At Villanova On February 29: The Friars will play at No. 12/12 Villanova on Saturday, February 29 at 12:00 p.m. on FOX. The Friars have posted a 39-67 mark all-time versus the Wildcats. The Friars are 25-22 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 this season, Villanova earned a 64-60 win at Providence on January 25. The Friars posted a 0-3 mark versus Villanova last season. The Friars' most recent win over the Wildcats was a 76-71 victory on February 14, 2018 in Providence. The last time the Friars defeated Villanova in Philadelphia was when the squad earned an 82-76 overtime win at the Wells Fargo Center on January 24, 2016.

Friar Tid Bits Entering Saturday's Game:
*The Friars are 9-6 in BIG EAST play this season (5-2 at home, 4-4 on the road).
*The Friars have posted a 4-4 record this season versus ranked teams, with wins in the last four games.
*With the Friars' win over No. 19 Marquette on 2/22/20, the team has won four straight games versus ranked opponents. It marks just third time in Friar history the team has won four straight games versus ranked teams (1972-73 six straight wins and 1998-99 four straight wins).
*Four wins over ranked teams in a season is tied for the third most in a season all-time by the Friars (1972-73 seven wins, 1986-87 five wins and 1990-91 five wins).
*The Friars have a NET rating of 48 and have posted a 7-8 mark against Quad 1 teams, including five wins over teams ranked in the Top 25 of the NET (Creighton 8, Seton Hall 15, Butler 23 and Marquette 25 [twice]).
* The Friars have produced a combined 10-8 mark versus Quad 1 (7-8) and Quad 2 (3-0) opponents.
*Friars are 7-3 in games decided by 5 points or less.
*The Friars are a combined 13-5 on Tuesdays (4-1), Saturdays (8-4) and Sundays (1-0).
*The Friars are a combined 3-7 on Wednesdays (3-3), Thursdays (0-1) and Fridays (0-3).
*The Friars posted a 4-4 mark in Nov., a 4-2 record in Dec., a 3-4 record in Jan. and a 5-2 mark in Feb.
*The Friars are shooting 37.6 percent (109-290) from three-point territory at home (14 games) and 28.2 percent (82-291) in 14 games away from the Dunkin' Donuts Center.
*The Friars rank first in the BIG EAST in offensive rebounds (13.4)
*The Friars rank third in the BIG EAST in steals (8.4) and assists (14.8).
*Friar senior Alpha Diallo leads all active BIG EAST players in career rebounding with 451 boards in league regular-season games.

Friars All-Time Versus Top-25 Teams: The Friars have posted a 120-269 (.308) mark all-time versus top-25 teams, including a 4-4 mark this season.

Friars Earn Ninth League Win For 7th Time In Last 8 Years: On February 22, the Friars defeated No. 19 Marquette to improve to 9-6 in league play. With nine league wins, the Friars have ensured that they will finish no worse than .500 in BIG EAST action. It marks the seventh time in the last eight years the team has finished .500 or better in BIG EAST play. The Friars' best league mark in that time was 11-7 in 2014-15. The Friars have never earned 12 wins in BIG EAST action in a single season.

Diallo Leads Team In Scoring And Rebounding: Senior forward Alpha Diallo (New York, N.Y.) is averaging 14.0 points and 8.0 rebounds through 28 games this season. He leads the team in scoring and rebounding. Diallo has posted a double-double in nine of the Friars' 28 games, including a 35-point, 10-rebound effort versus No. 10/10 Seton Hall on February 15. The 35 points marked a career-high. He has registered 24 double-doubles in his four seasons at Providence.

Duke Scoring And Assisting: Sophomore guard David Duke (Providence, R.I.) ranks second on the team in scoring (12.0 ppg) and he ranks first in assists (3.4 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 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)

Pipkins Scores 24 Points Vs. Marquette: Graduate student Luwane Pipkins (Chicago, Ill.) scored 14 points, grabbed four rebounds and made three steals in the team's 84-72 win over Marquette on February 22. Earlier in the week, he had 16 points and recorded four assists in the Friars' 73-63 win at Georgetown on February 19. He has led the Friars to a 9-2 mark when he registers four or more assists in a game. Pipkins had a game-high 22 points, including a 10-10 performance from the free-throw line in the team's 65-61 win at No. 16/17 Butler on February 1. Pipkins was 6-6 from line in the final 27 seconds of the game to seal the win. Pipkins, who is in his first season with the Friars after transferring from UMass, is averaging 9.8 points per game. He leads the league in free-throw shooting at 91 percent (58-64).

Friars Play Five Straight Vs. Ranked Teams: From January 18 to February 5, the Friars played five consecutive games versus ranked teams (2-3). It was only the third time in the history of the program that the team had played five consecutive games versus ranked teams.

Diallo Surpassed 1,000 Career Points: Senior Alpha Diallo (New York, N.Y.) has recorded 1,547 career points in 127 games (12.2 ppg). He became the 50th player in Friar history to score 1,000 or more career points. Diallo ranks 14th all-time in scoring at PC.

Diallo Named BIG EAST Player Of the Week On February 17: Senior Alpha Diallo (New York, N.Y.) was named BIG EAST Player of the Week on Feb. 17. Diallo had a career week for the Friars leading them to a 1-1 mark, posting two double-doubles. It marked the first time Diallo had been named BIG EAST Player of the Week. He is the first Friar to be named BIG EAST Player of the Week since Rodney Bullock earned it on December 5, 2016. Diallo averaged 27 points, 13.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists in two games. He shot 63.3 percent (19-30) from the field and 1.000 percent (5-5) from three-point territory. Diallo had a career-high 35 points as he was 11-15 from the field, including 5-5 from three-point territory in a 74-71 win over No. 10 Seton Hall on February 15. The senior forward recorded his ninth double-double of the season as he added 10 rebounds in the win. He also was 8-9 from the free-throw line. In addition, he became the 17th Friar all-time to score more than 1,500 points (1,537 points). On February 13, Diallo scored 19 points and grabbed a career-high 17 rebounds in a loss at St. John's.

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 (Ports- mouth, 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 176-122 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 1,479-996 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