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Providence has been fairly solid this season down the stretch while Georgetown just turned in what could be considered one of the best clutch efforts in college basketball this season. The 10th-ranked Friars are one of four teams in the country that are unbeaten on the road as they face the Hoyas on Saturday night in a matchup featuring the Big East's top three scorers. Providence (17-4, 5-3) cut a 17-point second-half deficit to three Tuesday before falling 75-68 at home to No. 7 Xavier, dropping to 2-3 in Big East home games. Continue to Article

January 29, 2016 2:28:pm EST

At the end of John Thompson III's news conference after his team's comeback victory over Creighton on Tuesday night, a reporter delicately asked the Georgetown coach about the "adversity" the Hoyas had overcome during the game. Before Thompson could answer the thinly veiled question about the officiating, his father intervened with his own candid, expletive-riddled take. "Let your father comment on that,” Big John said so his son would not risk a fine. “They’re not blind, they saw what happened. … The last two games have been terrible, and you can tell the [bleeping] commissioner and everybody else in the Big East that I said that.” Thompson was just a bit more diplomatic with his response to the question. "During the course of a game, we have to adjust to the officiating," the Georgetown coach said. "We have to make adjustments to how they are calling the game. Some times are more difficult than others to adjust to how they are calling the game. Tonight was one of those nights where for one reason or the other, we couldn't adjust." Thompson might have gone on longer, but his dad eventually cut him off with some friendly advice. "Shut up," Big John chimed in once more, drawing a chuckle from his son and everyone else in the room. Was the officiating truly as poor as Big John said? Creighton shot only two more foul shots than Georgetown did, but the Hoyas were the victim of one particularly controversial whistle, an over-the-back call on Jessie Govan for the freshman center’s fifth foul with eight minutes remaining. During the game, Thompson clearly didn't feel Govan's slight push in the back merited a foul. Thankfully for him, he didn't have to risk being fined after the game because his dad was able to speak candidly for him. - - - - - - - Jeff Eisenberg is the editor of The Dagger on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at daggerblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @JeffEisenberg Continue to Article

January 27, 2016 12:58:pm EST

Chris Mack is probably the nation's happiest man that coaches can no longer call live-ball timeouts. Had that rule change not been implemented before this season, the Xavier coach would have wiped out the 3-pointer that clinched his team's 75-68 road win at No. 10 Providence. After the Friars sliced a 16-point second-half deficit to three with just over one minute to play Tuesday night, Mack signaled for one of his players to call timeout. Point guard Edmond Sumner ignored Mack's request and dished to reserve guard J.P. Macura, whose deep left-wing 3-pointer extended the seventh-ranked Musketeers' lead to six with 63 seconds to go. J.P. Macura #ONIONS for #7 @XavierMBB ! #BIGEAST #XAVvsPC https://t.co/Li6MZMF6w5 — FS1 (@FS1) January 27, 2016 The long-range shot from Macura was a gutsy play considering there was 19 seconds left on the shot clock and he's hardly a knock-down 3-point shooter. The 6-foot-5 sophomore is shooting 30.2 percent from behind the arc this season and had missed his only previous attempt Tuesday night. Xavier's road victory further solidifies the Musketeers as a contender for a top-two NCAA tournament seed and Villanova's top challenger in the Big East. The Musketeers (18-2, 6-2) are tied for second place in the Big East with Georgetown and just a game behind the first-place Wildcats. They own seven top 50 wins against the likes of Providence, Butler, Seton Hall, Dayton, USC, Cincinnati and Michigan. Their lone remaining game against Villanova comes at home in the Cintas Center. The key to Xavier's latest win was its depth and balance. Providence's Kris Dunn and Ben Bentil were the two best players on the floor, but their combined 41 points was not enough to overcome the Musketeers' multi-faceted attack. Forwards Trevion Bluiett, Jalen Reynolds and James Farr combined for 41 points and consistently hurt the Friars on the offensive glass. Sumner struggled uncharacteristically against Dunn, but Myles Davis picked up the slack, scoring 13 points and dishing out seven assists. Providence might have overcome that balanced attack had it been more successful attacking Xavier's 1-3-1 zone defense. The Friars shot 7-for-34 from behind the 3-point arc and did not find enough scoring from anyone besides Bentil and Dunn. - - - - - - - Jeff Eisenberg is the editor of The Dagger on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at daggerblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @JeffEisenberg Continue to Article

January 27, 2016 12:03:am EST

When the Big East underwent its metamorphosis in 2013 and returned to its basketball-centric roots, the question was whether the conference could recapture the magic of its heyday. ''I was one of those saying, 'This is being called the Big East, but it's not the same league,'' ESPN analyst Jay Bilas said. Year Two saw six teams make the tournament, but a top-seeded Villanova lost in the round of 32 for the second straight season and only Xavier advanced to a regional semifinal. Continue to Article

January 25, 2016 4:06:am EST

Ben Bentil scored 10 of his 31 points in overtime, including two clutch free throws with 14.7 seconds left that led No. 16 Providence past No. 4 Villanova 82-76 on Sunday. Bentil also had 13 rebounds, helping the Friars stop Villanova's 22-game Big East winning streak. Kris Dunn added 13 points and 14 assists for Providence (17-3, 5-2). Continue to Article

January 24, 2016 3:51:pm EST

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