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Starting 5: Big East Tournament Edition

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Another day, another “biggest game in years” for the Friars as they take on St. John’s in the Big East Tournament quarterfinals on Thursday. The two teams split the season series, with PC winning in double overtime in Queens and the Johnnies returning the favor at the Dunk. Thursday’s winner will at least have something to watch on Selection Sunday, while the loser is NIT bound. Big, big day in Providence. Here are five links to get you ready.

1. GoLocalProv’s John Rooke has been busy this week, previewing the Big East Tournament, writing about the potential of the ACC coming to Madison Square Garden for their conference tournament (although not on an annual basis), and sharing his thoughts on ESPN’s upcoming documentary on the Big East.

2. Yesterday, Friarbasketball.com released our latest video — this one a deep look at Bryce Cotton’s senior season. I’d been collecting highlights weekly since the season started, but going back and looking through the best of Cotton served as such a great reminder of how many huge plays he made this season. My hope with these videos is that they’ll be fun to watch now, but also a great look back in a few years when these memories aren’t as fresh.

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3. Kevin McNamara of the Providence Journal is solid as always with his look at PC and the upcoming Big East Tournament.

4. Paschal Chukwu and Fairfield Prep won rather easily in their first state tournament game. The 7’2 future Friar was stuck to the bench for much of the first half with foul trouble and finished with eight points, seven rebounds and six blocks. Fairfield Prep is the tournament’s top seed.

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5. The Big East announced their individual award winners and there weren’t many surprises. Doug McDermott was the obvious choice for Player of the Year, Billy Garrett Jr. of DePaul was the league’s best rookie, and Jay Wright was deserving of Coach of the Year after leading a group most picked as middle of the pack to the top of the league. This is the third season in which Wright has earned the honor.

Off the Bench:

Trouble at the Heights? Boston College’s season ended with a thud yesterday, and there are rumors that there could be a mass exodus, with Olivier Hanlan potentially declaring for the NBA and California natives Ryan Anderson and Joe Rahon transferring out. Not familiar with the Eagles? These are their top three players. Remember, when BC hired Steve Donahue Ed Cooley was one of the finalists for the job.

Hoyas’ bursting bubble. Didn’t see that one coming. Leads to posts like this from Casual Hoya:

Do we fire JTIII now or midseason next year?

Many of us saw this disastrous season coming back with those Northeastern and Seton Hall losses and were told to just wait till March, well here we are. Can we at least consider the possibility of a new coach?

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