Get back to NYC
PC hosts Arkansas in NIT opener tonight
That’s what the Friars are aiming for as the National Invitational Tournament kicks off tonight
PROVIDENCE — There’s a proverbial carrot dangling before the Providence Friars. Given the logistics, you might want to swap out “carrot” with “apple” … as in Big Apple.
The Final Four of the National Invitational Tournament is scheduled for Madison Square Garden, a famed venue that requires zero introductions on PC’s part. There’s danger whenever looking too far down the line, yet sometimes you can’t help but get antsy like a kid on Christmas morning.
One probably cannot help but notice what’s in store should PC take care of business in its NIT opening-round contest on Tuesday night (9 p.m.) when Arkansas comes to the Dunkin’ Donuts Center.
In this 32-team field, the Friars must win three NIT games in order to reach the semifinals, on the docket for April 2 at Madison Square Garden. If the marketing folks at PC are wise, they’ll jump on the bandwagon and dub this upcoming NIT appearance “Operation: Return to MSG.” The incentive is there to play games on the same hardwood that hosts the Big East’s annual postseason conference tournament.
“The mindset, the approach, the fact we’re still alive, that we have an opportunity to compete for a championship and an opportunity to get back to MSG … that has to be the big picture here,” PC head coach Ed Cooley said.
It’s not every day that a team from the SEC, the league that Arkansas hails from, ventures to The Dunk. Since the formation of the Big East in 1979-80, the Friars have played seven games at home against SEC clubs. The Razorbacks will be making their second-ever trip to Providence, the inaugural one coming during the 1999-00 season.
The scouting report for Cooley and his coaching staff was simplified on Monday when Arkansas head coach Mike Anderson told reporters that promising sophomore big man Daniel Gafford won’t play in the NIT; he plans to sign with an agent and enter this year’s NBA draft. Standing at 6-foot-11, Gafford averaged 16.9 ppg and 8.7 rebounds this past season.
It would have been fun to see Gafford lock horns with Providence sophomore center Nate Watson, but Gafford’s absence doesn’t mean the Razorbacks will be running on empty. The second- and third-leading scorers for Arkansas, guards Isaiah Joe and Mason Jones, respectively shot 42 and 36 percent from three this season.