Is Providence basketball about to go dancing? Friars upset Creighton in Big East tourney

NEW YORK — We’re one step closer to a Selection Sunday sweat courtesy of Providence College.

And, depending on how the Big East Tournament semifinals play out, the Friars could find themselves completing the work necessary to earn their latest NCAA Tournament berth.

Providence took a giant leap forward on that path with a 78-73 victory over Creighton, a Thursday night thriller at Madison Square Garden that featured the best of Kim English’s squad.

Devin Carter and Josh Oduro made the big shots down the stretch. Jayden Pierre delivered them there by snapping the Friars out of an extended field-goal drought in the second half. Supporting cast members such as Corey Floyd Jr., Rich Barron and Garwey Dual made meaningful contributions in each half.

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It all added up to a takedown of the Bluejays. PC becomes the first No. 7 seed since Xavier in 2017 to move to within two wins of a championship here. Providence has reached this round six times since the league realigned ahead of the 2013-14 season, the last coming just two years ago when they entered as regular-season winners for the first time.

“We get 40 minutes to be our most locked-in selves,” English said. “One of our group's best efforts of the season.”

The Friars opened a 13-point cushion midway through the second half but lost any sort of comfort they might have felt thanks to a 5:32 shutout from the Bluejays. Creighton took its last lead at 68-67 when Trey Alexander scored at the rim, and Providence needed an answer. Pierre ducked behind a screen and buried a 3-pointer from the right wing with 3:37 to play, the last of his 11 second-half points and 15 for the game.

“Really just are trusting the process,” Pierre said. “I wasn't thinking. I had to score the points in that situation.”

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The Bluejays offered a bit of an assist after the final media timeout. Ryan Kalkbrenner missed the front end of a 1-and-1 at the foul line and Alexander rimmed out a pair. Creighton was a perfect 20-for-20 at the stripe before stumbling at the absolute wrong time.

The Friars didn’t need a second invitation to capitalize. Carter’s hard drive down the right and Oduro’s soft floater from the left made it a 74-68 game with 57.2 seconds left. Carter buried both ends of two 1-and-1 chances inside the final 44.9 seconds to complete a perfect 14-for-14 team showing, and Providence was safe the rest of the way.

“They want us to shoot the last shots of the game,” Carter said. “If nobody doubles us, we’ll most likely score. If they double us, kick it out — we have the confidence in our teammates to make the shots.”

Barron’s eight straight points to open the second half gave the Friars an instant spark, and a 33-30 lead at the break suddenly swelled. His transition 3-pointer from the right wing had Providence fans among the sellout crowd up and roaring, and Carter’s lob to Oduro for a conventional three-point play made it a 51-38 advantage with 14:15 to play.

“We knew we were getting Providence’s best shot,” Creighton coach Greg McDermott said.

The Bluejays are safely in the field of 68, but they still showed some urgency here to erase that deficit. Steven Ashworth’s corner 3-pointer and Alexander’s jumper from the left elbow keyed a 13-2 run, and Creighton had its first lead of the half with 5:37 to play. Pierre and Alexander traded the next 11 points in a 64-63 game, and Carter’s layup came on his first shot attempt in nearly nine minutes.

“If you're not tough in this league, don't even field a team,” English said. “So we're tough. We've been tough.”

The Bluejays (23-9) took an early 13-6 lead on the strength of five straight free throws. Those came after Carter had what the Friars thought was a clean block on an Alexander 3-pointer, and English was red-hot on the sidelines. He was hit with a technical foul that preceded a dominant period, as Floyd nailed a pair of 3-pointers and Carter scored eight straight points as part of a 12-0 run that built a 29-20 edge.

“Whenever he shows that much passion and enthusiasm, we want to make sure we have his back,” Carter said. “We’re not just going to go out there and melt. That’s our mindset.”

Providence (21-12) entered the day on the outside looking in, according to Bracket Matrix, but a sixth Quadrant 1 victory of the season could be hard for the tournament committee to ignore. The Friars could add a seventh against Marquette in an 8 p.m. tip on Friday, and a fourth berth in the conference title game would be the reward. The Friars are 1-1 against the Golden Eagles this season, beating them in Providence on Dec. 19, and losing in Milwaukee on Feb. 28.

Carter will be fresh off his 13th double-double of the season and Oduro will enter with six straight games in double figures after 17 points in this one. Marquette, a No. 3 seed in the tourney, reached the semifinal round after surviving a scare from No. 6 Villanova, 71-65, in overtime on Thursday night.

“I think (the NCAA Tournament is) in all of our minds,” Oduro said. “But honestly, the No. 1 thing is about the next 40 minutes we have.”

bkoch@providencejournal.com

On X: @BillKoch25

PROVIDENCE (78): Oduro 7-20 3-3 17, Barron 3-6 0-0 8, Carter 6-16 9-9 22, Gaines 1-4 0-0 2, Pierre 6-16 2-2 15, Floyd 3-4 0-0 8, Dual 3-3 0-0 6, Castro 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 29-70 14-14 78.

CREIGHTON (73): Miller 0-1 0-0 0, Kalkbrenner 7-11 5-6 19, Alexander 7-14 3-5 19, Ashworth 3-13 9-9 16, Scheierman 4-16 6-6 16, Farabello 1-2 0-0 3, Green 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 22-58 23-26 73.

Halftime_Providence 33-30. 3-Point Goals_Providence 6-23 (Floyd 2-2, Barron 2-4, Carter 1-6, Pierre 1-6, Oduro 0-2, Gaines 0-3), Creighton 6-26 (Alexander 2-3, Scheierman 2-10, Farabello 1-2, Ashworth 1-8, Miller 0-1, Kalkbrenner 0-2). Rebounds_Providence 36 (Carter 11), Creighton 33 (Scheierman 13). Assists_Providence 17 (Pierre 7), Creighton 11 (Ashworth 6). Total Fouls_Providence 20, Creighton 13.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Providence defeats Creighton, 78-73, to advance in Big East Tournament