Ed Cooley had just seen his Providence Friars dodge a major bullet when Creighton’s Mitch Ballock misfired on a wide-open three-point attempt with two seconds to play in overtime, a miss that vaulted the Friars into Friday night’s semifinals.
But before he talked about his team’s hold-your-breath victory and about his senior class that he loves so much, he first wanted to talk about the atmosphere at a rocking Madison Square Garden Thursday afternoon.
“You can’t say enough about the BIG EAST, you really can’t,” Cooley said. “And the competitive nature of our game. The spirit that’s always in this building, great, great atmosphere.