NEW YORK -- An air of confidence surrounded Providence coach Tim Welsh on Wednesday as he described his team's 73-50 victory over West Virginia in a first-round Big East Tournament game at Madison Square Garden.
"They've got a lot of swagger to them right now," said Welsh, after his Friars won their first conference tournament game in five years. "I saw it in practice this week. I saw it the last two or three weeks. They're just playing with a lot of confidence and we came here to show that we're a good basketball team. Today was another step toward that."
Next on the docket for the Friars (16-12) is a quarterfinal matchup with No. 5 Pitt (23-4) at 2 p.m. today. The Friars are riding a three-game winning streak, have won six of their last seven and are considered a darkhorse at this four-day event.
"We're feeling pretty good about ourselves," Welsh said. "Things are coming together at the right time."
Pitt, meanwhile, enters as the favorite after finishing 13-3 in the conference and earning a first-round bye as the No. 2 seed out of the West Division. The Panthers have been to the championship game the past two seasons, have a lineup filled with veterans and are riding a six-game winning streak.
The winner of today's game moves to the semifinals to face the St. John's-Boston College winner.
"Our guys know what to expect," Pitt coach Ben Howland said. "Maybe we'd have first-game jitters if we had never been here, but we've been through it. It'd be pretty scary if we'd have jitters at this point."
Howland expects to see a different Providence team than the one his Panthers defeated by seven points on Feb. 4 at Petersen Events Center. Welsh has revamped his lineup and has disregarded every type of defensive style other than the 2-3 zone.
The results have been impressive, considering the Friars have turned a 9-11 record into a 16-12 mark, which includes back-to-back victories over Connecticut on the road and Seton Hall in overtime to close out the regular season.
The triggerman is 6-foot-7 sophomore forward Ryan Gomes, a second-team All-Big East pick who averages 19.4 points and 9.4 rebounds. He scorched West Virginia for 26 points and 15 rebounds yesterday and has hit the 20-point plateau 13 times this season.
There is also 6-7 forward Rob Sanders, who had 17 points against the Mountaineers, and guards Donnie McGrath and Sheiku Kabba.
Junior center Marcus Douthit, 6-10, has recorded 15 blocks the past three games and averages 3.19, second best in the Big East.
"It's not just one guy, it's the whole group that's come together at the right time," Howland said of the Friars, who lead the nation in free-throw shooting percentage at 78.8. "This team is dangerous. We know that. We have a challenge in front of us."
Perhaps the most compelling argument to support the Friars' ascent came from West Virginia coach John Beilein, who watched Providence go into halftime with a 17-point lead and pretty much dominate his team in very phase of the game.
"We've played a lot of good teams this year," Beilein said. "We went through a span where the average RPI of eight of our opponents was 15. Providence is playing well enough right now that I have to rank them with any of them (including Florida and Tennessee).
"They pass the ball, shoot the ball, they have the mid-range game. They're a very, very good team."
Good enough to beat Pitt⢠Beilein didn't answer that one, but Gomes did.
"I think the big difference from the first time we played Pitt was that they had the crowd on their side," Gomes said. "Now, we're at a neutral site and I think we have a good chance of going out there and playing a good game and hopefully winning."
Added Sanders: "Pittsburgh was a hard place to play. I think we can get them here."
Welsh indicated at the conclusion of the Pitt game in February that the Panthers got away with being too physical. He continually pointed to the disparity in foul shots attempted. Pitt went to the line 32 times and Providence 11.
Pitt point guard Brandin Knight accused Welsh of calling Pitt a "football team." Welsh denied it yesterday.
"I don't remember saying that," said Welsh, who had the luxury of facing the Panthers without their leading scorer, guard Julius Page, who sat out with a sprained right ankle. Page averages 12.5 points per game and is the team's best on-ball defender. "Brandin Knight is a terrific basketball player. Pitt plays a physical game, and, obviously, when you play physical and you establish yourself out there as a physical team, you are going to be able to play that way. They are a very good team. I would never take anything away from what they have done this year, especially their defense. The numbers speak for themselves."
Welsh was calm and collected when being grilled about his alleged comments. The coach is unflappable. His team is good ... and he knows it.
"My guys are feeling good; they're enjoying the game," Welsh said. "I like what's going on here."
| Troutman questionable for game |
NEW YORK -- Pitt sophomore forward Chevon Troutman is listed as questionable for the Panthers' Big East Tournament quarterfinal game with Providence at 2 p.m. today.
Troutman, 6-foot-7, sat out of No. 5 Pitt's regular-season finale Sunday at Villanova with a sprained right ankle, which he injured Saturday, and has not practiced since.
He was held out of Wednesday's workout at John Jay College.
"We'll have to wait and see," said coach Ben Howland, who will make a game-time decision. "He's undergoing treatment."
Pitt struggled with Troutman out of the lineup in a two-point win over a Villanova team that had only seven players available, including two walk-ons.
Troutman averages 11.4 points and a team-best 5.3 rebounds.
| No. 7 Pitt (23-4) versus Providence (16-12) |
Game info: 2 p.m., Madison Square Gardens, Big East Tournament quarterfinal
Coaches: Pitt ---- Ben Howland (4th year at Pitt, 84-39; 9th year overall, 163-98); Providence --- Tim Welsh (5th year at Providence 79-71; 8th year overall 149-93).
Probable starters: Pitt --- Jaron Brown, F, 6-4, Jr., 102, 4.7 rpg.; Donatas Zavackas, F, 6-8, Sr., 10.0, 4.2; Ontario Lett, C, 6-6, Sr., 10.2, 5.0; Julius Page, G, 6-3, Jr., 12.2, 3.7; Brandin Knight, G, 6-0, Sr., 10.8, 3.7. Providence ---- Ryan Gomes, F, 6-7, Soph., 18.4, 9.4; Rob Sanders, F, 6-7, Soph., 6.1, 3.2; Marcus Douthit, C, 6-10, Jr., 5.1, 4.5; Sheiku Kabba, G, 6-2, Jr., 10.1, 2.7; Donnie McGrath, G, 6-4, Fr., 8.6, 2.1.
The skinny: Providence has won 6 of 7 and Gomes is playing as well as anybody in the conference. He had 26 points and 15 rebounds in an easy first-round win over West Virginia on Wednesday. Pitt received a bye in the first round. The Friars aren't nearly as experienced as the Panthers, who've been to the finals the past two seasons, but they have the makings of pulling off an upset. The winner moves on to the semifinals, where they'll face today's St. John's-Boston College winner.
