Upcoming Event: Men's Basketball versus Late Night Madness on October 4, 2025 at TBA
Men's Basketball
vs Late Night Madness
TBA
Providence College Athletics
Thursday, March 9
New York, N.Y.
2:30 PM
Providence College
21-11,13-7Big East
66
vs
73
University of Connecticut
25-7,13-7Big East
1
2
F
Providence
19
47
66
UConn
35
38
73
Men’s Basketball Falls to No. 11 UConn In BIG EAST Quarterfinals, 73-66
3/9/2023 6:11:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Bryce Hopkins and Noah Locke each finished in double figures for the Friars.
NEW YORK, N.Y. - The No. 5 seed Providence College men's basketball team was defeated by the No. 11 UConn Huskies (25-7), 73-66, in the BIG EAST Tournament Quarterfinals on Thursday, Mar. 9 at Madison Square Garden in New York, N.Y. The Friars fell to 21-11 on the season. Sophomore Bryce Hopkins (Oak Park, Ill.) led the way for the Friars with 16 points and seven rebounds (both team highs). Graduate student Noah Locke (Baltimore, Md.) finished with 14 points on a 4-7 clip from three-point territory.
"I was very proud of the way we responded," Head Coach Ed Cooley said. "Our biggest adjustment was our attitude. I am proud of the attitude, energy and resilience that our players showed."
FIRST HALF:
- Alyn Breed (Powder Springs, Ga.) stole a UConn inbounds pass and finished a contested layup for the Friars' first basket.
- Neither team had scored in over two minutes heading into the game's first media timeout (15:59 mark). PC trailed 5-4.
- UConn went on a 6-0 run after the timeout to take an early lead. At the 13:50 mark, Devin Carter (Miami, Fla.) responded by making the Friars' first three-pointer.
- With just under 12 minutes left in the half, UConn extended their lead to nine points, 16-7. The Huskies had made five of their last six attempts, while the Friars had missed eight of their last nine.
- UConn went on another 6-0 run late in the half, extending their lead to 25-13. The Friars used a timeout at the 4:24 mark. PC had not scored in over four minutes of action.
- The Huskies nailed back-to-back three-balls entering the final minute of the first half.
- The Friars trailed by 18 points at halftime, 35-18. UConn made their last five shots of the half.
- Providence shot 8-27 (29.6%) from the field, 1-9 (11.1%) from three and 2-4 (50.0%) from the free throw line.
- UConn shot 15-26 (57.7%) from the field, 5-13 (38.5%) from three and did not attempt any free throws.
SECOND HALF:
- UConn's Alex Karaban and Tristen Newton each knocked down a three-pointer to start the half, continuing their hot shooting performance.
- The Friars took a timeout at the 16:23 mark, trailing 47-23. On the ensuing possession, Hopkins finished through contact and completed a three-point play.
- With over 12 minutes left, UConn's Nahiem Alleyne and PC's Corey Floyd, Jr. (Franklin, N.J.) traded three-pointers. PC trailed 58-35.
- The Friars went on a 21-5 run over a seven-minute stretch to cut the deficit to 10 with 4:32 to play. Hopkins, Ed Croswell (Philadelphia, Pa.) and Jared Bynum (Largo, Md.) each played key roles during the run.
- At the 3:46 mark, Locke drained a three-pointer from the right corner. Right after, Floyd stole the UConn inbounds pass and finished a heavily contested layup. The Friars had changed the momentum and cut the lead to five.
- UConn's Jordan Hawkins and Locke traded threes with three minutes to play. PC still trailed by five.
- With a minute and under to play, UConn's Alex Karaban and Locke traded threes. PC trailed 71-66 with 0:46 remaining.
- With less than a minute left, the Friars were unable to make a final comeback push.
HIGHLIGHTS:
- Providence finished 24-58 (41.4%) from the field, 6-23 (26.1%) from three and 12-17 (70.6%) from the free throw line.
- UConn finished 28-53 (52.8%) from the field, 13-30 (43.3%) from three and 4-5 (80.0%) from the free throw line.
- Two players finished in double figures for the Friars: Hopkins (16) and Locke (14).
- Jordan Hawkins led the way for the Huskies with a game-high 19 points. Andre Jackson, Jr. had a game-high 11 rebounds. Three Huskies finished in double figures.
- UConn held the lead for the entire game after making the first basket. Their largest lead was 26 points.
- The Huskies out-rebounded the Friars by a margin of 35-25. UConn had 10 more bench points and eight more assists. PC had seven more steals.
- Hopkins played the entire game for the Friars.
NOTES:
- PC captured the BIG EAST Tournament title in 1994 and 2014.
- PC has posted a 25-40 mark all-time in the BIG EAST Tournament.
- PC is 2-3 all-time versus Connecticut in the BIG EAST Tournament.
- PC and UConn last met in the BIG EAST Tournament in 1998.
- Hopkins is the first Friar to earn All-BIG EAST First Team honors since Ben Bentil and Kris Dunn (2016).
WHAT'S NEXT:
-
The seeds and matchups for the 2023 NCAA Tournament will be announced on Sunday, Mar. 12. Selection Sunday will begin at 6:00 p.m. ET and will be televised on CBS.
-GO FRIARS!-
Team Stats
PROV
UConn
FG%
.414
.528
3FG%
.261
.433
FT%
.706
.800
RB
25
35
TO
9
18
STL
12
5
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
16
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
6
Pts
14
FGM
5
3FGM
4
FTM
0
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Pts
8
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballF/G
/ Men's BasketballG
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