After months of extreme acrimony received from Providence's fan base, HC Ed Cooley and Georgetown's program takes the court at PC, Saturday. Super-charging this hostility is Cooley's position as the modern architect of Providence Hoops, a guy that pushed the program to national notoriety over 12 seasons, one whose departure mechanics have been re-litigated ad nauseam. Add a healthy addition of conspiracy theory and simply head scratching and embarrassing drivel to this noxious mix.
Cooley rightly expects a powder keg in this energy and feeling laden tilt, one which easily carries the moniker of 'Beef Bowl'. .
"Let's call it what it is. It'll be an emotional time for all of us. (Including) Family" said Cooley after his team's disappointing home loss to Butler, Tuesday. Why? While there, Cooley took over a moribund program, powering it to great heights including a 242-153 overall record, a pair of NIT berths, seven Big Dance journey's - three wins in it including a '22 Sweet 16 berth. Individually he captured Coach of the Year, BIG EAST and nationally the same year.
Continuing on playing Providence, Cooley termed doing so "an opportunity for us" one he values. Given his tenure there, Cooley believes PC to be an "Incredible school" with "incredible leadership there" and "a great team".
"But time passes. You move on" summed Georgetown's 23rd head coach, its first outside the family hiring post the John Thompson era, which began in 1972. "It'll be a little emotional until the ball goes up. When the ball goes up it's just another BIG EAST game".
In terms of prepping for this dangerous group of Friars, Cooley simply responded "All I can tell you is we are going to do a great job with our preparation for Providence...It's a game everybody will talk about. It's another BIG EAST game we're excited to play".
Basic game information follows:
What: Georgetown (8-11, 1-7/10th in BIG EAST) at Providence (13-6, 4-5/6th)
When: Saturday, 1.27.24, 1230p EST
Where: Amica Mutual Pavilion, Providence, RI
Tix: Seats start at a reasonable (contextually) $95 each!
Broadcast: Fox, 1580 FM
Stats: GUHoyas.com
Chat: Premium Court
How do team stats look?
Individually, Jayden Epps, Georgetown's sophomore guard, paces his team and the BIG EAST in scoring at 18.9 ppg. Dontrez Styles, a junior forward, is second in Blue and Grey at 13.4 ppg, 22nd in conference, while 28th place is manned by junior center Supreme Cook (11.2 ppg}.
Cook is also one of the conference's top rebounders, pulling down 8.4 rpg, the BIG EAST's second highest mark. Seventeenth in the league at 6.1 rpg is Styles.
Devin Carter, Providence's highest scorer and the league's number two bucket-getter behind Epps, also leads PC with just 2/10ths fewer rebounds per contest than Cook (8.2 rpg), landing him third league wide.
Prior to junior forward Bryce Hopkins' season ending knee injury early in the BIG EAST portion of PC's schedule, the Friars had a pair of top ten, all conference level scoring resumes. Now, following Carter is Josh Oduro, a center who drops 14.4 ppg, 18th tops in the BIG EAST.
Be sure to double back for postgame coverage.
Any other pregame content?
Yes, as random comments, statements, tweets, etc are available, here. One can also consume a breakdown of what Providence does on the court, and how to combat them. That content is here.
