PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) Providence coach Ed Cooley heard all the chatter following his team entering the NCAA Tournament.
It helped create a narrative about the Friars: that despite earning 25 victories and winning a Big East regular-season championship, they had simply been more lucky than good because of an 11-2 record in games decided by five points or less.
”The narrative on doubt and luck and this and that, yeah, it plays on you,” Cooley said. ”The players will come in the locker room and talk about it, and I tongue-in-cheek it a little bit, but, you know, you got some older guys out there just willing to try to compete for respect. I don’t have to be liked, but I’ll be damned if you’re not going to respect me.”
The Friars (27-5) used that as fuel as they held off South Dakota State and then blew past Richmond to advance to their first Sweet 16 since 1997.
Yet, after limiting its first two opponents to just 54 points per game – the second-fewest allowed of the remaining teams -…
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