NEW YORK — Thursday will only be about attempting to advance in the men’s basketball version of the Big East Tournament.
That’s what Providence head coach Kim English and his players had to say after a victory over Butler in their opener Wednesday at Madison Square Garden.
The Friars will need to quickly turn the page after this 91-81 triumph, one that saw Providence erase a 16-point deficit early in the first half and pull away in the second. Stefan Vaaks keyed a sizzling perimeter shooting display that eliminated the Bulldogs in the first game of a tripleheader.
Top seed St. John’s awaits in a tip at noon Thursday and there are certainly some recent underlying story lines between the two programs entering that matchup. Red Storm forward Bryce Hopkins will be attempting to end his old team’s 2025-26 campaign and game officials are likely to be on high alert after a fight marred the last meeting between the two teams at Amica Mutual Pavilion.
“We have a game in the greatest arena in the world against one of the best coaches in the history of college basketball, against the Big East Player of the Year,” English said. “It’s a team and a program we have a lot of respect for.”
The Friars pinned one of just two defeats on St. John’s during this conference regular season, a 77-71 stunner here on Jan. 3. Providence (15-17) held a one-point lead early in the second half of the rematch at home when a hard foul by Duncan Powell on Hopkins swung the momentum for good. The Red Storm grinded their way to a 79-69 triumph in a game that saw Powell, Jaylin Sellers and five other players eventually ejected.
“There’s no extra motivation,” Sellers said. “They’re on the list, so we’ve got to take care of business to keep our season alive.
“Me personally, I learned from the situation. Now it’s just time to be a leader and make sure our guys are ready to play.”
Powell was whistled for a Flagrant 2 foul when he decked Hopkins in transition in a 40-39 game, and the ensuing melee saw Sellers and St. John’s forward Dillon Mitchell join Powell in the locker room for the remainder. Red Storm guard Dylan Darling took command with 15 of his 23 points in the second half and the Friars were too short-handed to mount a late run.
“There is no beef,” English said. “We played a game, a jump ball led to some guys in each other’s faces — there was a hard foul. There’s no beef between us and St. John’s.”
St. John’s was in the midst of a 13-game winning streak and fell just one more time in the regular season, a 72-40 pasting at Connecticut on Feb. 25. The Red Storm (25-6) rebounded to win its last three games and captured a second consecutive outright league title when the Huskies suffered a shocking upset loss to Marquette. Big man Zuby Ejiofor swept Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year awards in a Wednesday afternoon announcement, and coach Rick Pitino has been offered a new contract that could take him across the 1,000-win threshold in his career while remaining with the program.
“I think it was all truthfully blown out of proportion, to tell you the truth,” English said. “It was a hard foul. A couple of guys got in each other’s faces. There were some pushes.
“I think it got completely blown out of proportion, but that’s college basketball clickbait fodder BS right now. I don’t think it was that bad.”
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This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Providence faces St. John’s in Big East tourney after Feb. 14 ejections