PROVIDENCE BUILDS RESUME FOR NCAA'S

March 2, 2009



Providence showed little sign of a letdown from their monumental upset of No. 1 Pittsburgh earlier in the week as they led host Rutgers 62-43 with 8:35 remaining in their Big East conference match-up on Sunday afternoon.

However, the Scarlet Knights did not go away without a fight as they embarked on a 16-0 run in the next five and a half minutes to cut the lead to 62-59 with three-minutes left. After a PC timeout, Jeff Xavier's Three-Pointer Thwarts Rutgers' Rally (Providence Journal) as PC wins 73-66. Xavier's 25-footer was the lone field goal made by the Friars in the last 8:35 of the game.

Weyinmi Efejuku led PC with 28 points and Xaiver added 13. PC's Reward is a Bye in the Big East Tournament (Providence Journal) as their two-game sweep over UC guarantees them a finish no-worse than 8th in the Big East.

Will a bigger reward such as an invite to the NCAA Tournament be forthcoming as well? The Friars close out their regular season Thursday night with a game at Villanova. With a 10-7 record in the Big East, which includes a win over No. 1 Pitt, a road win against a ranked 'Nova could punch their ticket. Otherwise, they might have some work to do next week at the 2009 Big East Tournament at Madison Square Garden, which could be a virtual play-in game against Cincinnati or Notre Dame, the two most-likely candidates to be the #9 seed.