Ed Cooley, Georgetown return to likely loud Providence

Field Level Media|published: Fri 24th January, 08:47 2025

NCAA Basketball: Connecticut at Georgetown

Jan 11, 2025; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Georgetown Hoyas head coach Ed Cooley reacts to a call during the second half against the Connecticut Huskies at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Kucin Jr.-Imagn Images

Coming away with a win would hold some extra value for Providence when it faces visiting Georgetown on Saturday afternoon.

There are some hard feelings between the Friars (9-10, 3-5 Big East) and Hoyas coach Ed Cooley, who was at the helm in Providence from 2011-23 before making the move to Georgetown ahead of last season.

When Cooley was back in town last year, boos came from every direction at Amica Mutual Pavilion, where Friars fans got to see an 84-76 victory after lining up outside the arena hours before tipoff.

Making sure Cooley feels uncomfortable on Saturday will be the last of Providence coach Kim English's worries, though. He'll be more concerned with getting the Friars back on track after two straight road losses, with the most recent one coming on Jan. 17 -- a 75-73 decision versus Villanova.

Bensley Joseph led Providence with 20 points and seven rebounds while Corey Floyd Jr. chipped in 18 points, but Jabri Abdur-Rahim missed a potential game-tying jumper at the buzzer for the Friars.

"We can get better if we continue to watch and learn, starting with me," English said. "How can I coach these guys better and put them in better situations to play to their strengths more, to execute more, to get to share a purpose?"

Georgetown (13-6, 4-4) fared better against the Wildcats, beating them 64-63 on Monday. The Hoyas closed the game on a 9-0 run, with Micah Peavy polishing off a 24-point performance with a go-ahead layup with one second left.

The victory snapped a four-game losing streak for Georgetown, and Cooley is looking forward to seeing how the Hoyas respond to the morale boost.

"We've gone through some ups and downs and it's the rigors of the Big East, right?" Cooley said. "I'm really proud of our men's resilience. (Monday) was a resilient win, (Monday) was a culture win, (Monday) was a program win."

Peavy (13.9 points per game) is Georgetown's second-leading scorer behind Thomas Sorber (14.2).

Jayden Pierre averages 12.6 points to lead Providence, which was getting 17.0 a game from Bryce Hopkins before the big man went down with a knee injury after playing three games this season.

--Field Level Media