Providence lost Ed Cooley, its homegrown, longtime coach, who turned a long-dormant program into a Big East force.
It lost star forward Bryce Hopkins — the leading-scorer from last year’s NCAA Tournament team — to a torn ACL in January.
It lost four straight games early in conference play, then lost three of four games entering the conference tournament.
It could have lost all hope. It could have lost all confidence on Thursday after blowing a 13-point second-half lead.
Instead, the thousands of Friars fans who filled Madison Square Garden lost their minds.
Led by the infectious energy of star Devin Carter, No. 7 Providence significantly increased its odds of earning an NCAA Tournament berth by pulling a 78-73 upset of No. 2 Creighton in the Big East Tournament quarterfinals.
The Friars (21-12) — who picked up their second top-10 win of the season, as well as their second win over the Bluejays — are the first No. 7 seed in seven years to reach the semifinals, where they will face the winner of Marquette/Villanova.
“This time of the season … some teams are playing for their lives,” Providence coach Kim English said. “[We had] ups and downs all season, adversity, less than ideal mindset and moments, bad shots, bad plays, bad turnovers, bad responses, [but] we got 40 minutes to be our most locked-in selves. That was one of our best efforts of the season.”
Carter, the Big East Player of the Year, played all 40 minutes of the must-win game, finishing with 22 points, 11 rebounds, four assists, two steals and one block.
The future first-round pick — and son of Anthony Carter, the former NBA guard, who had a brief stint with the Knicks in 2011 — set the tone on both ends of the floor, attacking the rim, picking off passes like Ed Reed and elevating to make a jaw-dropping, weak-side block of 7-foot-1 Ryan Kalkbrenner, who stands 10 inches taller than Carter.
“It was Michael Jordan-esque,” English said of the block. “He’s a warrior. He texted me when Bryce went down that he was going to take his stuff to another level. And he did. A few moments throughout the season, I’m just in awe. He’s once in a lifetime.”
Kalkbrenner, the Big East Defensive Player of the Year, was equally impactful on both ends, producing 19 points, 12 rebounds, five blocks and two steals to bring Creighton (23-9) back from a 53-40 deficit.
In a back-and-forth battle, Providence — which committed only five turnovers and hit all 14 of its free throws — quickly erased three separate deficits, with timely shooting from Jayden Pierre (15 points, seven assists) and toughness from Josh Oduro (17 points, nine rebounds).
While trailing, 70-68, in the final minutes, Creighton missed three straight free throws after making its first 20 of the game. The Bluejays never had another chance to even the score again.
The Friars would survive to see another day. Maybe even another week.
“I think [the NCAA Tournament’s] in all of our minds,” said Oduro, “but, honestly, the No. 1 thing is about the next 40 minutes we have.”
