March 2, 1998

#8 PROVIDENCE COLLEGE (12-15/7-11)
vs. #9 NOTRE DAME (13-13/7-11)

1998 AT&T BIG EAST CHAMPIONSHIP - March 4-7, 1998
Madison Square Garden (19,581) - New York, New York

FRIARS VERSUS FIGHTING IRISH...The two teams met for the only time in the regular season last Saturday, February 28th in Providence. The Friars won that meeting, 77-62. This is the tenth meeting all-time between the two teams with Providence holding a 6-3 edge in the all-time series and a 3-1 edge in BIG EAST play. Providence and Notre Dame have never met in the BIG EAST Tournament or in post season play. The two teams have split the last two meetings, but the Friars have won four of the last five games in the series.

FRIAR UPDATE...Jamel Thomas had a career high 32 points and added ten rebounds for his fifth double-double of the season in the 77-62 win over Notre Dame last Saturday. John Linehan and Justin Farley added ten each as the Friars snapped a two-game road losing streak. The Friars had lost at Connecticut (77-69) and at Pittsburgh (73-72) to snap a three-game winning streak that went from February 11th through the 18th.

PROBABLE STARTERS
Pos.No. Name            Pts/Reb. Ht. Wt.    Class   Hometown
F   25  Ben PERKINS     6.8/3.3 6-7 200     Fr.     Vinton, La.
F   40  Justin FARLEY   9.1/2.8 6-6 205     Jr.     Indianapolis, Ind.
C   24  Erron MAXEY     7.0/4.4 6-6 195     Fr.     Lake Elsinore, Cal.     
G    3  Kendrick MOORE  9.4/3.4 6-3 180     Jr.     Hartford, Conn.
G   33  Jamel THOMAS    18.6/6.8 6-6 215    Jr.     Brooklyn, N.Y.

OFF THE BENCH
C    5  T.J. McKENZIE   1.8/1.5 6-11 235    Fr.     Friendswood, Tex.
G   10  Corey WRIGHT    2.4/1.9 5-8 160     Jr.     New York, N.Y.  
G   12  John LINEHAN    5.5/1.8 5-9 165     Fr.     Chester, Pa.    
G   13  Mark ADAMS      0.5/0.2 6-3 200     Sr.     Clifton, N.J.
F   15  Peter FARRELL-  0.0/0.0 6-5 195     Fr.     Hanover, Mass.
          MARCELLINO
G   20  Dennis CLEARY   0.4/0.0 6-0 160     So.     West Orange, N.J.
F   42  Llewellyn COLE  6.9/4.4 6-7 215     So.     New York, N.Y.
F   50  Rick  CORDELLA  1.0/0.5 6-4 210     Jr.     Foxboro, Mass.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK...Jamel Thomas goes into the BIG EAST Tournament on a hot streak. He has been named the BIG EAST Co-Player of the Week for the week ending March 1st along with Seton Hall's Donnell Williams. Thomas averaged 27 points and eight rebounds as the Friars went 1-1 on the week. Williams averaged 23 points and four rebounds as Seton Hall was 2-0 on the week.

THOMAS TIME...The Friars' junior All-BIG EAST candidate Jamel Thomas has scored in double figures in all 27 of PC's games this season and has a streak of 31 going back to last year. Thomas is just one of two BIG EAST players to score in double figures in every game this year along with Notre Dame's Pat Garrity. Garrity has been in double figures in 44 consecutive games over the last two seasons. For the year Thomas is averaging 18.6 points and 6.8 rebounds to lead PC in both categories. He now has 1,276 points in his career to move into 14th on PC's all-time scoring list.

BIG EAST FACTS...The Friars' eight seed in this year's tournament is the lowest PC has been seeded since a ninth spot in 1992...The Friars have one at least one BIG EAST Tournament game in each of Pete Gillen's three years and have at least one tournament win in every season going back to 1993...Gillen's teams have advanced to the semi-finals twice in three years and since 1993, PC is 8-4 at the BIG EAST Tournament.

 TODAY IN THE BIG EAST                      PC ON THE AIR
  Miami vs. Georgetown  1:00 pm             WPRO Radio - 630 AM with   
  West Virginia vs. Rutgers 3:30 pm         John Rooke and Joe Hassett.
  Villanova vs. Pittsburgh  7:30 pm         ESPN2 with Dan Shulman and
  Seton Hall vs. Boston College 9:30 pm     Bill Raftery calling the action 

MONTH BY MONTH (1997-98)...2-1 in November...3-3 in December...3-7 in January...4-4 in February

PROVIDENCE...All-time record: 1094-679 (.617) - Best in New England...Home record: 649-206 (.758)...Civic Center record: 325-125 (.721).

PROVIDENCE IN BIG EAST...119-185 in regular season and 132-202 overall in 19 seasons ... Eighth all-time in wins and percentage.

HOME COOKING...The Friars finished the season 8-6 at home this season after going 12-3 at home last year. On the plus side, the Friars are 65-21 (.756) record over the last 86 games at the Providence Civic Center (dating back to January 25, 1993). Over the last six full seasons PC is 72-24 (.750) at the Civic Center. PC is 36-5 (.878) in its last 41 non-conference games in Providence dating back to the start of the 1992-93 season. Two of the losses have come in the NIT (Virginia Tech -1995, St. Joseph's - 1996) and two losses have been to Rhode Island (1992, 1996). The loss to Iona (1/5/98) broke a streak of seven straight wins against non-conference teams.

NAIL BITERS...PC's one-point loss to Pittsburgh on February 21 makes the Friars 5-3 in "close" games this season. Providence is now 19-14 in games decided by five points or less in Pete Gillen's four seasons at Providence.

CIVIC CENTER RECORD...PC owns a 325-125 (.722) record at the Providence Civic Center since the building opened in 1972. The Friars recorded their 300th win on January 8, 1996 against Canisius (91-63).

INJURED LIST...Junior forward Waleed Driscoll (torn ACL - right knee). Expected to miss the entire 1997-98 season.

CAPTAINS...Three juniors will serve as the Friars tri-captains this season. Kendrick Moore, Jamel Thomas and Corey Wright were selected as captains prior to the start of the 1997-98 season.

PLAYER SIGNING...Sean Connolly, a 6-4, 190-pound guard from Peabody, Massachusetts and Bishop Fenwick High School has signed a national letter of intent to attend Providence College for the 1998-99 school year. Connolly has scored over 2,000 points in his high school career.

FAMOUS RELATIVES...Junior guard/forward Jamel Thomas is the cousin of the Minnesota Timberwolves' Stephon Marbury.

WHAT A DIFFERENCE A YEAR MAKES...The Friars return just one starter (Jamel Thomas) from last year's Elite Eight and 24-12 team. Gone to graduation are Austin Croshere (Indiana Pacers -12th pick overall), Derrick Brown (Europe),

RubenGarces (recovering from leg surgery) and Jason Murdock (out of basketball). Sophomore guard God Shammgod (Washington Wizards) opted for the NBA Draft where he was selected in the second round by Washington. Those five players accounted for 75.9% of PC's scoring and 68.1% of the Friars rebounding last season.

ATTENDANCE MARK...The 1996-97 Friars averaged more fans per game that ever at the Providence Civic Center. PC played 15 home games in front of 165,447 fans for an average of 11,030 per game. The previous best year was 1993-94 when the Friars averaged 10,882 per game.

CLASS BY CLASS..This season's Providence College roster features one senior, seven juniors, one sophomore and five freshman.

FRIAR FIRSTS...PC's 12-15 record is its first losing mark since going 14-17 in 1991-92...The 12 wins are the fewest since 1987-88 when the Friars were 11-17...The Friars have won at least seven league games in every season except one going back to 1987-88 and that was 91-92 when PC was 6-12 in the BIG EAST...The Friars' 12-15 record marks the first losing season for Coach Pete Gillen in his 13 years as a head coach.