Providence's Jamine Peterson scores two of his game high 38 points on Seton Hall's Jordan Theodore. (AP Photo/Henny Ray Abrams)

Whoa. That finish was unexpected. Written off after a 16 point deficit heading into the first half, the PC Friars stormed back late in the second half, finishing the game just three points short of overtime. And they had the chance to tie it as Duke Mondy sprinted down the court with 7 seconds left down 109-106. All that coming after an unbelievable final minute in which the Friars crawled back thanks to missed free throw after missed throw for Seton Hall and aggressive drives by the PC gang. Alas, Mondy’s shot went long and the Friars will go home, while Seton Hall gets a chance to grab a final spot in the NCAA tournament. I’m still catching my breath. Here are your Friar Five Points:

[“Whoa ho ho. I don’t play defense.”] A classic Bill Murray line from the hit film Space Jam, and an even more relevant quote for the monstrosity of a game we just witnessed. These two teams broke all sorts of records with their outright refusal to play defense. With a final score of 109-106, Seton Hall and Providence crushed the previous Big East tournament record for most combined points in a non-overtime game (215). The previous record was 186, set in a 94-92 Boston College victory over Syracuse in the 1982 tournament. Neither of those teams even broke the century mark. Come on. PC’s 106 points were also the most by a losing team in a Big East Conference regulation game. And all 10 starters scored at least 12 points. To put that final score in perspective, it should be noted that earlier today, South Florida defeated DePaul by a score of 58-49 for a total of 107 points, less than HALF the total points scored in this game.
I do think everybody expected a game like this. Seton Hall and PC rank dead last in the Big East in scoring defense, with PC tearing up the competition with an average of 81.3 points allowed per game, and Seton Hall the runner up with 74.2. But those averages add up to total 155.5 points. This game eclipsed that average by 60 POINTS. Doesn’t hurt that Providence also ranks second in the Big East in scoring offense (81.6 PPG) with Seton Hall close behind in fourth (80.3 PPG).

[That’s just Greedy being Greedy] We knew there would be a lot of offense and we knew that Jamine Peterson would play a big role in creating that offense. Greedy has been flying under the radar on a weak team for the entirety of the season- barring a few appearances on Sportscenter Top Plays- but PC fans knew he wouldn’t pass up an opportunity to show off his abilities on a national stage in Madison Square Garden. Oh boy were we right. Mr. Double Double finished the game with an absurd 38 points and 16 rebounds (10 on the offensive side) before fouling out in the final minute. That’s the most ever points scored by a Friar in Big East tournament game, breaking the previous record of 34 by Friar legend Billy Donovan in the quarterfinal round of the 1987 tournament. It was also his 16th double-double of the season, more than any other Big East player. Greedy has been dominating the competition all season long, averaging 19.8 PPG (4th in the Big East) and 9.3 RPG (2nd in the Big East) against Big East competition, but this was without question his coming out party. Unfortunately, Greedy was going up against a formidable opponent in Seton Hall big man Herb Pope, who finished the game with 27 points and 11 rebounds, enough to lead the Pirates to victory.

[Comeback almost-kings] The Friars were down 16 points at halftime. They were down 29 points with 13:36 left in the game, and 17 with under 4 minutes left in the game. I think you’ll have to forgive some people if they headed for the subway early. But those final four minutes saw an extraordinary and entirely unlikely 23-9 run, complete with 3 Seton Hall turnovers in a span of 23 seconds, and 7 missed Pirate free throws, most notably the two missed by Jeff Robinson with 7 seconds left to give the Friars a chance. Seton Hall coach Bobby Gonzalez talked about the collapse after the game:

“You know, obviously we got out and played great. Believe it or not, and I know this is kind of a funny statement, you would rather by up 29 than down 29, but sometimes when you get up like that, it’s not easy to stay ahead in a game that long. “
While the comeback was improbable, this Friars team has shown time and time again that it can be capable of scoring at will when all is going according to plan. They’ve staged a number of incredible comebacks this season, albeit not in these circumstances and with such little time left to play. Coach Keno had never seen anything like it.

“No, I don’t. I’ve seen it on TV, though. I can remember a couple of games that you think of as your biggest comebacks. And usually those are teams on home courts where they are able to get it going. But I think that it says a lot about our team going forward and why a lot of the Providence fans have been so optimistic about our future.”

Head coach Keno Davis has had a rough season, but demonstrated confidence in his team and optimism for next season. (AP Photo/Henny Ray Abrams)

[Optimism] I’m optimistic about PC’s future. This game went from an embarrassment to the program to a moral victory and a message to the league. Providence is young and they’re only getting better. Sharaud Curry has played his last game in a Friar uniform, but Greedy Peterson is ready to take control in this league and Vincent Council was just named to the Big East All-Rookie team. Despair not, Friar faithful. This season was never intended to be one of Providence’s finest. The Friars will compete next year with junior Greedy, senior Marshon Brooks, sophomore  Council, sophomore Bilal Dixon, and possibly sophomore Duke Mondy. This team is only getting better and more experienced. Back me up, Keno.

“How are we the number one offensive rebounding team in the Big East? Because it’s all about effort. It’s about just go get the ball. Now, we’re not as good on the defensive end. We’re not as good on the defensive rebounding end. And because those things you have to learn. You have to learn positioning, you have to learn your weak-side help. Those things take time. And usually freshmen and sophomores in the Big East they learn from practice. They learn from watching the veterans do it. And they wait their time until they’re a junior or senior. The great thing for our young men is right now we’re at the program they’ve been able to jump right in and get first-hand experience. And I think if anything motivates players going in to an off-season, it’s getting a little bit of taste of success. A little bit of taste of the Big East Tournament of Madison Square Garden, about going up against the nation’s best and seeing what they can do to become one of the nation’s best.”

Dixon finished the game with a double-double of his own, totaling 16 points and 12 rebounds. And it seems he believes in this team as well.

“I always knew we had to play with effort. I just knew– I didn’t know we were going to show it. It took us a long time to show– to start playing hard. But when we did, look what happened. We cut a 30-point lead to three.”

[Fin] The Friars will not advance past the first round of the Big East tournament which they entered as the 15th seed, and they close the season on a disgraceful 11 game losing streak. A disappointing season by any standard. When Providence trailed by 27 in the second half, I was almost ready to say that Coach Keno was not the man to lead this team as it progresses and matures and likely turns into a contender in the Big East. But he says the right things and motivates his team to overcome the odds and fight back, as we saw tonight.

“These guys, I told them at halftime there would be nothing better for us to end our season or to make it go another year. Everything we’ve been through with the top teams, with tough shots that have gone against us, than to come back when there’s no pressure on us. Just play as hard as we can. And I think we did that.”
Keno clearly deserved that 2008 AP Basketball Coach of the Year award and with the right talent and an older team, he just might be able to lead this Providence team to great things. Let’s hope so.

Here’s to next year.