Providence Basketball: 2021-22 season preview and outlook for Friars
By Joey Loose
Schedule Outlook
Last year, Providence played just six nonconference games, with half of them coming in the Maui Invitational. That trip to North Carolina involved losses to Indiana and Alabama, but the Friars did pick up a couple of nice wins too, beating Davidson while knocking off TCU on the road.
While they certainly won’t be in a tournament like the Maui, the Friars get a few more chances to make a statement early this year. The first few weeks are littered with winnable home games, with Fairfield, Sacred Heart, and New Hampshire coming to town, but it also features a road date at Wisconsin, part of the Gavitt Tipoff Games. The Friars later head to New Jersey for the Legends Classic, featuring a game with Northwestern and then a faceoff with either Georgia or Virginia the following night.
The Friars return to Providence for five last non-conference games, all at home, but there are some tough matchups along the way. They’ll get a few winnable mid-majors, but also tough dates with Rhode Island and Vermont, two very potent mid-major programs. They’ll also host Texas Tech on December 1st, part of the Big East-Big 12 battle, and an intriguing game for both teams.
They’ll play a 20-game schedule among Big East foes, a complete round-robin with their ten conference mates, which begins December 18th and lasts the rest of the regular season. Among the intriguing points on this schedule are that both games with Villanova come very late in conference play, while they’ll be done with Connecticut by January 15th. The Big East is full of competitive teams, meaning every day and night will be a grind for the Friars.