Providence entered the Big East Tournament fighting for its NCAA Tournament dream, but left having come out on top in two of three straight overtime games, including two against potential number one seeds come Selection Sunday.
Kyron Cartwright went all Kemba Walker, Alpha Diallo emerged into a force, and Ed Cooley pushed every right button all week. After Providence came back from 17 points down to take out #3 Xavier in the Big East Tournament Semifinals, the Friars held a lead against #2 Villanova with 40 seconds left in regulation of the title game.
Ultimately, it wasn’t meant to be, as Villanova tied it on a pair of free throws with 30 seconds to play, PC couldn’t convert a last second shot, and the Wildcats closed out the Big East Championship in the final minute of overtime.