Friars Gear Up for a Hopeful NIT Run

Sophomore guard Makai Ashton-Langford drives the lane vs. Villanova in the
Big East quarterfinals. Ashton-Langford and 'mates will host Arkansas in the
first round of the NIT Tuesday night at The Dunk.

By Bob Phillips

PROVIDENCE—When Providence College dropped a 73-62 to defending national champion Villanova in the quarterfinals of the Big East Tournament at Madison Square Garden last week, it ended any hopes for the Friars to return to the NCAA Tournament. It did not, however, end the team’s season. Not by a long shot.

The young Friars, who sport a roster with only two seniors—Isaiah Jackson and the oft-injured Emmitt Holt—will be dancing to a different tune this year in the National Invitational Tournament starting tomorrow night when they will entertain the Arkansas Razorbacks at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center.

The Friars are one of five Big East teams invited to the NIT, joining Georgetown, Xavier, Creighton and Butler. The Razorbacks will be joined by the Alabama Crimson Tide as SEC representatives in this year’s NIT. Nine SEC teams overall will be playing in the 2019 postseason. Indeed, with four NCAA bids going to the Big East (Villanova, Marquette, St. Johns, Seton Hall),

This will be the sixth consecutive postseason appearance for the Friars in the Ed Cooley era, and the first time the Friars won’t be going to the NCAA’s after five consecutive trips to The Dance. (For the record, the Friars’ may have had some success getting to the NCAA’s under Cooley, but not so much after getting there. PC’s record in the NCAA Tournament is 1-5 since 2014.) The Friars’ last appearance in the NIT was in 2013 when they made a run to the quarterfinals before bowing to Baylor, 79-68.

Historically, the Razorbacks and Friars have met three times with the Friars holding a 2-1 advantage in the series. Both teams have held serve on their home courts (Arkansas in 1999 and PC in 2000), with the Friars winning the lone meeting on a neutral court, a 67-51 victory in 2007 at the Puerto Rico Tip-Off.

Arkansas finished the 2018-19 regular season with a 17-15 record, and ended up ninth in the SEC. The Friars, meanwhile, finished at 18-15, eighth in the Big East. Tip-off at The Dunk will be at 9 p.m. ET, and the game will be telecast on ESPN2. For those wishing to attend, tickets are available via the Providence Ticket Office by calling 401-865-4672, emailing attickets2@providence.edu or visiting online by clicking HERE.

This will be Arkansas’s fourth NIT appearance. The Razorbacks reached the second round of the NIT in 2014, the Final Four of the 1997 NIT, and the second round in 1987.

The 32-team NIT bracket is split into four groups of eight teams seeded No. 1-8. The first three rounds are held at campus sites—in most cases hosted by the higher seed. (The Dunk is obviously not on campus, but is where the Friars play their home games, thus considered a ‘campus site’ in NIT-speak.) The semifinals and finals will take place at Madison Square Garden on April 2 and 4, and all 31 games will be televised on ESPN networks. #gofriars #nit

—Bob Murph also contributed to this report