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Last Season: The Providence Friars finished the 2013-2014 season with a 23-12 (10-8) record. They lost to the North Carolina Tar Heels in the 2nd Round of the NCAA Tournament.
Last Meeting/All-Time Series: The Villanova Wildcats lead all-time series 52-38. The Wildcats won the first meeting against the Friars last season on the road 91-61. The second game required double OT with Villanova escaping with an 82-79 win.
Head Coach: Ed Cooley enters his 4th season as head coach. In his tenure with the Friars and Fairfield Stags he posts a 172-125 record. Cooley's biggest postseason success came in the 2012-2013 season when he advanced to the Quarterfinals of the NIT. Last season the Friars made the NCAA Tournament for the first time under Cooley, as an 11-seed.
Top Returners: LaDontae Henton will enter his final season with the Friars. He was second in scoring (14.0 PPG) behind Bryce Cotton. Entering his Junior year is Tyler Harris, 4th in scoring and 2nd in FT%. Kris Dunn will return after only playing four games last year due to injury.
Key Losses: The loss of Bryce Cotton will be one nearly impossible to fill. He lead his team in scoring with 21.8 PPG and 5.9 APG. With Kadeem Batts also leaving for the NBA, and Josh Fortune transfering to the Colorado Buffaloes, the Friars are sure to take a big step back this season.
Key Additions: Providence welcomes seven freshmen: Ben Bentil, Rodney Bullock, Kyron Cartwright, Tyree Chambers, Paschal Chukwu, Jalen Lindsey and Tom Planek.