Providence Coach Cooley Benches Top Scorer against SU

Now that Syracuse has beaten them three times, I can come right out and say that my 2nd and 3rd favorite teams in the Big East this year are Marquette and Providence. As I've said before, I love Providence's head coach Ed Cooley for his patchy hair and the way he has his kids playing (though not in that order).

More credit to Cooley today for benching starting PG Vincent Council, who leads the team with 16.4 ppg and 7.1 apg. It's not clear why Council got the DNP (and it may never be), but the move takes some guts on the heels of Providence's first Big East win, an upset over Louisville. Council is a junior, but most of the core of the team are Freshmen and Sophomores. First year coach Cooley has to exert his will on the squad now. Council will learn his lesson in missing his chance to play in the dome, and the rest of the team will know Cooley isn't afraid to play the top team in the nation short-handed.

Providence got blown out of the water. But they still kept the margin 14 points closer than North Carolina did against Florida St. today. Unlike the Tar Heels, the Friars didn't give up, going on a late run when SU pushed the lead to 30 points to avoid being completely embarrassed.

Meanwhile, Dion Waiters is spectacular. More on that later.