BY ALEJANDRO LOPEZ
NEW YORK— “English Class is still in session,” NBC’s John Fanta said after Providence survived a first-round matchup against Butler in the BIG EAST Tournament.
Friars head coach Kim English is coaching his final season at Providence, as first reported by Adam Zagoria, but that would not stop a spirited comeback in the face of elimination at the World’s Most Famous Arena.
Now, Providence has set itself up for a chance to take down the No. 1 seed St. John’s in a rubber match between the conference rivals.
“I told him I’m upset that we lost but I’m happy as heck for him,” Butler head coach Thad Matta said after the 91-81 loss to Providence. “He’s been through a lot this season and it comes with this profession there’s no question about it. I don’t know him very well but any encounters that I’ve had I have the utmost respect for him. He’s seems like a solid, good person and in this profession, as crazy as it sounds, you’re happy for guys when something good happens for them.”
Providence’s quarterfinal matchup against St. John’s will be the third meeting between the two team’s with each team having won a game on the opposing team’s home floor so far this season. Their last matchup made headlines for a heated scuffle that saw Duncan Powell clothesline former Providence forward Bryce Hopkins and multiple players from each team be ejected from the game.
However, all of the noise heading into Thursday’s noon matchup is just that to English; noise.
“There’s no beef, there’s no beef,” English said about St. John’s postgame. “We play the game, a jump ball had some guys in each other’s face, hard foul, there’s no beef between us and St. John’s. We got 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. It’s a team/program we got a lot of respect for so there’s no beef between us and St. John’s.”
Regardless of whether or not the teams will buy into the noise, the atmosphere and the fans inside the arena at Madison Square Garden is poised to be a hostile one.
It is sure to be another daunting test for English and his team, one that could very well be his last at Providence.
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