Noah Locke sets official visits
By SEAN BOCK Noah Locke, the 6-foot-2 point guard
NEW YORK — When the Big East Preseason Poll came out back in October, Providence was projected to finish ninth in the 10-team league, just behind St. John’s and just ahead of DePaul.
Now, with the Big East Tournament set to begin this week at Madison Square Garden, the Friars will be the No. 3 seed thanks to a six-game winning streak that culminated Saturday with a 86-75 win over the Red Storm at the Garden.
When Marquette beat Creighton at home later Saturday, the Friars were locked into the No. 3 seed.
Villanova and Butler are locked in as the top two seeds, respectively.
The Big East Coach of the Year race is shaping up to be a dandy. There are at least five legitimate candidates among the league’s 10 head coaches.
Here’s a quick breakdown of those in consideration.
**Ed Cooley, Providence
The Friars were picked ninth in the 10-team league after losing Kris Dunn and Ben Bentil off of last year’s team. But they are now one of the hottest teams in the league heading into Saturday’s season-finale against St. John’s at Madison Square Garden. The Friars (19-11, 9-8) have won five straight, including beating No. 22 Butler at home and No. 23 Creighton on the road. They also downed Xavier and Marquette. ESPN’s Joe Lunardi currently has them among his “Last Four In,” along with Seton Hall and Marquette.
Daniel Mading, a 6-foot-10 Class of 2017 small forward originally from the Sudan who was raised in Australia, has committed to Texas Tech over Providence.
Mading, who now attends The Rock School in Gainesville, Fla., visited Providence Feb. 1-3 and Texas Tech Feb. 11-14.
TTU!!! ????.. pic.twitter.com/BG92ur4fl9
— daniel mading (@Dmading33) February 14, 2017
A onetime ASU commit, Mading parted ways with the Sun Devils last June. At the time of his commitment, he was playing for legendary St. Anthony’s coach Bob Hurley, the father of Arizona State coach Bobby Hurley. Mading then left St. Anthony’s and resurfaced at The Rock School this season.
