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| Jaylin Sellers launched this three-pointer near the tournament logo to put Providence up, 68-58, with 9:33 remaining. Photo by Jason Schott. |
The matchup everyone was anticipating would happen in the early part of the Big East Tournamentt will tip off at noon on Thursday at Madison Square Garden, as top-seeded St. John's will face ninth-seeded Providence.
That is because the last time they met, on February 14 at Providence, a brawl ensued after Providence's Duncan Powell clotheslined Bryce Hopkins at the 14:25 mark of the second when he was going up for a dunk, clipping him before he touched the rim, sending Hopkins flying.
The impetus for it was Hopkins transferred from Providence to St. John's this in the offseason, and a brawl ensued which saw six players ejected.
St. John's was trailing 40-39 at the moment, and that halted Providence's momentum.The Red Storm raced out to an 8-0 run and they went on to win 79-69. Aside from the fight, it was a massive win after Providence stunned St. John's at Madison Square Garden in a 77-71 win.
That was one of just two losses St. John's had all season on their way to a second straight Big East Regular Season Championship.
On Wednesday afternoon, Providence earned a comeback win over Butler, 91-81, to advance to the Big East Tournament Quarterfinals.
Early on, the Friars found themselves in a deep hole, 25-9, to Butler nine minutes into the game.
Butler was up 29-14 at the 9:25 mark of the first half when Providence went on a 10-0 run capped by a Stefan Vaaks three-pointer at the 5:47 mark.
Providence tied it at 38 on a Ryan Mela three-point play at 1:39, and they went into the half trailing by just two, at 42-40.
In the second half, Butler opened up a six-point lead, at 48-42, at 19:06.
From when Butler led 50-45, Providence reeled off a 16-2 run to take a 61-52 lead on a Jayin Sellers layup on a fast break at the 12:25 mark.
A Sellers three at the 9:33 mark put Providence up 10, at 68-58, with 9:33 remaining.
Providence somewhat maintained that lead until Butler pulled within two, at 77-75 when Jamie Kaiser Jr. buried a three-pointer at 3:52.
The Friars responded with a 7-1 run capped by a Mela second-chance tip-in to make it 84-76 with 2:05 remaining, and a pair of Vaaks free throws put them up 12, at 90-78, with 41 seconds left and basically seal the win.
In the second half, Providence scored 51 points, as they shot 60.0 percent, or 18-30, from the field, and the same 60% from behind the arc, 9-15.
Providence had three players combine for 74 of their 91 points. The Friars were led by Stefan Vaaks, who had 28 points, including 14 in the second half, on 9-16 from the field, including an impressive 8-13 from behind the arc, with three assists, a rebound, and a steal. Ryan Mela and Jaylin Sellers had 23 points apiece. Mela notched nine rebounds, just missing out on a double-double, and five assists. Sellers had seven rebounds, four assists, and three steals.
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