Outside Providence: Pitt to host Friars

Pitt returns to action tomorrow night for a nationally televised meeting with the Providence… Pitt returns to action tomorrow night for a nationally televised meeting with the Providence Friars at the Petersen Events Center in the first of three consecutive home contests for the Panthers. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m.

The postseason implications are there – Pitt seeks its second Big East regular season title and can make significant headway over the next week while Providence desperately needs to keep winning to improve its NCAA tournament resume.

The Panthers (21-3, 9-1 Big East) host Providence, Louisville and Washington – all three are considered contenders for the NCAA tournament field – before entering the final stages of their Big East conference schedule.

Pitt (No. 7 AP/No. 6 ESPN/USA Today) will travel to Seton Hall and Georgetown and return home for a rematch with West Virginia before challenging Marquette on the road in the season finale.

While Georgetown, Marquette and West Virginia have seemingly done enough to almost guarantee NCAA tournament bids, Providence, Louisville and Washington are all widely considered to be on the outside looking in. For Providence, the Friars’ problem is the lack of marquee victory on the road.

Tomorrow is Providence’s best chance during the remaining weeks of the season to acquire that win.

The Friars (15-7, 5-4) escaped catastrophe Tuesday, needing a late surge to overcome Big East-basement dweller Cincinnati, 71-70.

Providence sophomore guard Sharaud Curry engineered the Friars’ comeback, sinking a free throw with 14 seconds left to edge the Bearcats. Curry tallied 24 points in all, making 8 of his 13 attempts from the field, including four 3-pointers.

The 5-10 guard has played well since returning from a wrist injury that sidelined him for four games, averaging 16.6 points and 4.2 assists in his last seven games.

Last season, Pitt swept home-and-home games against Providence, beating the Friars 85-77 at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center Feb. 15 and 81-68 at the Petersen Events Center Feb 25.

But Curry smoked the Panthers for 24 points in the second meeting and currently ranks fourth among scorers in the Big East. The agile and springy guard matches up with Pitt’s 5-10 point guard Levance Fields.

Fields ranks fifth in the Big East in assists, averaging 4.74 per game. But the sophomore’s scoring has garnered the most attention as of late, after he torched Villanova for 20 points and Cincinnati for 18.

In both contests, Fields sank nine 3-pointers combined. And, like Curry, Fields’ ability to see the floor and run the fast break makes him a tough player to defend.

Fields’ backcourt mates Mike Cook and Antonio Graves each average 10-plus points, representing Pitt’s second- and third-leading scorers, respectively.

“We’re not a team of just Aaron Gray,” Pitt leading scorer Aaron Gray said after Pitt’s 65-59 win over Villanova. “They should get a lot of attention. I would never underestimate them.”

Providence counters the Panthers’ backcourt with Curry, 6-4 guard Weyinmi Efejuku and 6-7 wing Geoff McDermott.

Efejuku provides length and shooting touch from the wing. The sophomore averages 13.9 points per contest, hitting 39 percent of his 3-point attempts.

McDermott combines strength and quickness with solid court vision from the small forward position. The sophomore totals 11.2 points, 9.7 rebounds and a team-leading 5.7 assists a game.

But Cook has matched up well with other Big East small forwards in the 2006-2007 season, and his 6-4 frame wreaks havoc against longer, slower opponents. Cook’s ability to score in transition and defend in the post against taller opponents makes his matchup with McDermott one worth watching.

Leading the way for the Panthers will be senior center Gray, who scores 13.2 per game.

The Big East Preseason Player of the Year held 7-footers Roy Hibbert and Hasheem Thabeet to 12 points combined when Georgetown and Connecticut visited the Petersen Events Center in January. But Providence’s 6-10 center Herbert Hill presents a new kind of challenge – the numbers indicate that Hill, not Gray, is the Big East’s preeminent rebounder.

Hill averages 9.9 rebounds in Big East competition, and the redshirt senior scores 16.9 points per game as the Friars’ resident big man.

The game will be televised by ESPN.