Providence College Friars return to action Thursday against Georgetown Hoyas
Providence will return to the court on Thursday.
Ed Cooley confirmed the 21st-ranked Friars will end their COVID-19 pause for a 5 p.m. tip with Georgetown.
Multiple positive test results for the virus have kept Providence idle since its Jan. 8 victory over St. John’s. Cooley was among several members of the Friars program in isolation over the last two weeks. He is fully vaccinated and has since tested negative for COVID-19, clearing a return to his campus office and to practice on Tuesday.
“We’ll go with the guys who are able to go,” Cooley said. “We’re fired up to play. We’ll kind of go from there.”
Providence surged in the second half to dispatch the Red Storm, 83-73, and had already traveled for a date with Creighton the following Tuesday. Multiple players reported symptoms when the Friars charter landed in Omaha, triggering an initial round of tests. Games with the Bluejays, Connecticut and Seton Hall were ultimately postponed and have yet to be rescheduled by the Big East.
“It spreads fast,” Cooley said. “It was rampant for sure. We got back on campus, tested a bunch of times and, sure enough, a lot of positives came through.
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“Everybody isolated. Now we’re back trying to get back on track. We’ve had a bump in the road here with the games, but for the most part I think we’ve been consistent with what we’ve tried to do.”
Conference rules mandate a minimum of seven scholarship players and one coach available to contest a given game. Cooley expects to meet those qualifications while welcoming the Hoyas to the Dunkin’ Donuts Center. He declined comment on the availability of specific personnel in uniform or on staff.
“Our kids are itching to play,” Cooley said. “The good thing about our team is we have some older guys who have been in a lot of games.
“There may be some slippage. It may get ugly here or there. But the fact that we’re playing at home — hopefully we have a great, great crowd — can drive us a little bit.”
Round up of Providence College's postponed games:
PC-Creighton game is postponed due to COVID concerns in the Friars program
COVID halts second PC Friars basketball game, postponing Saturday's tipoff with UConn
Providence Friars' Tuesday matchup at Seton Hall postponed because of COVID
Providence’s healthy players and staff members have been conducting individual workouts at the program’s practice facility. Cooley said conditioning, shooting and skill development have all been areas of focus in lieu of being able to hold full team drills. The Friars could feature some unfamiliar lineups for their first game in 12 days.
“We’ve had a lot of Zooms,” Cooley said. “We’ve had a lot of conversations — telephone calls, group text messaging. As the leader you’ve got to stay positive. Control what you can. We can’t control what this virus has done.”
Providence is off to a 14-2 start overall and rebounded from its lone league loss at Marquette to sit at 4-1. Its current NCAA Tournament resumé is a strong one — games against the Huskies and Pirates wouldn’t be necessary in terms of banking quality wins or raising strength of schedule. Cooley is uncertain whether or not the conference can squeeze makeups into the schedule prior to the March 9 start of the conference tournament.
“I’m going to play the games they tell us to play, and I know the next one we’re playing is definitely Georgetown,” Cooley said. “That’s the one game I can definitely tell you we’re playing.”
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: PC men's basketball team to play Georgetown after COVID pause
