Friars to face BYU for third time in history
PROVIDENCE – The final installment of the Big East-big 12 Battle will see the Providence Friars host a program that was also in the recruiting mix for 7-footer Anton Bonke.
PC will host Brigham Young University, the leagues announced Thursday. The date (Tuesday, December 3) and venue (Amica Mutual Pavilion) has been cemented with TV information and the starting tip time to be announced at a later date.
Providence has a brief history with BYU – the Cougars are 2-0 all-time with the last matchup taking place in 1982 in Provo, Utah. The first encounter took place in 1962 in Philadelphia. Most recently, the two schools were linked in the pursuit of Bonke, who also held a scholarship offer from BYU but committed to the Friars in early January after spending half a season at an Arizona-based junior college.
Similar to the Gavitt Games that pitted Big East teams against Big Ten schools, the
Big East-big 12 Battle will bid adieu after the 2024 installment, a decision largely due to the Big 12 expanding to 16 teams. Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah are officially joining the Big 12 this summer. None of the four schools are involved in this year’s 11game slate involving the two conferences.
BYU is a program in transition after recently losing head coach Mark Pope to Kentucky. The Cougars advanced to the 2024 NCAA Tournament but were upset by Duquesne in the first round.
The Big East-big 12 Battle was formed in 2019. All-time, the Friars are 3-2 in the series with wins over Texas (2019), TCU (2020) and Texas Tech (2021). The two losses are against TCU (2022) and Oklahoma (2023).
The confirmation of the matchup against BYU serves as the second non-conference game on the books for the Friars, who will also travel to URI. As part of the 10-year agreement announced by the
two schools last August, it’s expected that the annual PC-URI matchup will
be played on the first Saturday of December each season.
PC has also been linked to a multiteam event at Mohegan Sun Arena that also includes Boston College, Umass and Temple but no official announcement
has been made. Unlike last year when Providence went from Dec. 23 until Jan. 3 without a game, the expectation is that a non-conference game could be scheduled sometime between Christmas and New
Year’s Day. The dates for the 2025 Final Four (April 5 in San Antonio) and national championship game (April 7) have created a domino effect where schools like the Friars are left looking to fill a void in the schedule to remain
sharp.
Follow Brendan Mcgair on X, formerly Twitter, @Bwmcgair03