With #1 Duke falling to Wake Forrest on Wednesday night, the stage is set for #2 UConn to finally take over the top spot when the new rankings come out on Monday.
As far as Providence is concerned however, the stage is set for the Friars second consecutive Big East upset, as the two teams will meet at 4pm in Conneticut on Saturday.
Along with Pitt, UConn has been the darling of the Big East this season. Yet, unlike Pitt, the Huskies have not been able to claim the #1 ranking.
For the first seven weeks of the season, UConn was seated firmly at #2 behind UNC. As fait would have it, both UConn and UNC lost their first games during the same week, paving the way for Pitt to take the top spot in week 8.
UConn fell to #5 after their sole loss to Georgetown, but have since moved back to #2 after 8 consecutive wins have left Jim Calhoun and company with a 19-1 record.
Barring some pollstering B.S., the Huskies now only need to get past Providence to be the team to beat in the country.
At 6-2, Providence has the best conference record of any team in the Big East that is not ranked in the top 25.
A season opening loss to Northeastern got the Friars off to a rough start, but on Wednesday Providence earned their first victory over a ranked oppponent as they defeated Syracuse 100-94.
Here’s how the teams match-up:
Providence
| Leaders | |||||
| Points: | W. Efejuku | 13.4 | |||
| Rebounds: | G. McDermott | 8.8 | |||
| Assists: | S. Curry | 4.5 | |||
| FG%: | R. Hanke | 71.0% | |||
| FT%: | W. Efejuku | 79.5% | |||
| 3P%: | S. Curry | 37.8% | |||
| Steals: | W. Efejuku | 1.5 | |||
| Blocks: | G. McDermott | 1.2 | |||
| Offense (Rank) | |||||
| Points: | 80.7 (14) | ||||
| Rebounds: | 13.9 (43) | ||||
| Assists: | 15.7 (44) | ||||
| FG%: | 46.4% (59) | ||||
| FT%: | 67.6% (208) | ||||
| 3P%: | 32.5% (231) | ||||
| Defense (Rank) | |||||
| Points: | 73.5 (300) | ||||
| Rebounds: | 24.3 (118) | ||||
| Assists: | 15.3 (313) | ||||
| FG%: | 44.6% (248) | ||||
| FT%: | 67.7% (127) | ||||
| 3P%: | 33.0% (134) | ||||
UConn
| Leaders | |||||
| Points: | J. Adrien | 14.2 | |||
| Rebounds: | J. Adrien | 10.3 | |||
| Assists: | A. Price | 4.5 | |||
| FG%: | H. Thabeet | 64.9% | |||
| FT%: | K. Walker | 78.2% | |||
| 3P%: | A. Price | 43.2% | |||
| Steals: | J. Dyson | 1.9 | |||
| Blocks: | H. Thabeet | 3.7 | |||
| Offense (Rank) | |||||
| Points: | 78.4 (33) | ||||
| Rebounds: | 12.9 (89) | ||||
| Assists: | 15.8 (37) | ||||
| FG%: | 49.0% (10) | ||||
| FT%: | 68.5% (172) | ||||
| 3P%: | 37.5% (48) | ||||
| Defense (Rank) | |||||
| Points: | 61.9 (50) | ||||
| Rebounds: | 27.9 (11) | ||||
| Assists: | 11.0 (45) | ||||
| FG%: | 38.3% (18) | ||||
| FT%: | 71.9% (306) | ||||
| 3P%: | 31.8% (70) | ||||
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