Saturday night in Raleigh will be the fifth meeting of Providence and #3 North Carolina (29-6) and their second tournament battle in three years. North Carolina comes in as the top seed in the East Region having won the ACC tournament, while Providence comes off its first tournament win since 1997.
North Carolina is a 9.5 point favorite and has won three of the four prior contests. The Friars only win, however, remains one of the biggest wins in team history.
| Providence
|
North Carolina
|
|
| Record | 24-10 | 29-6 |
| Opening Round | Beat USC 70-69 |
Beat Florida Gulf Coast 83-67 |
| RPI | 40 | 5 |
| vs Ranked Teams | 4-5 | 4-3 |
| Points Per Game | 74.0 | 82.3 |
| Points Allowed | 69.7 | 69.5 |
| NCAA Appearances |
17 |
46 |
| Record |
15-18 |
113-44 |
| Sweet Sixteen | 1965, 1973, 1974, 1987, 1997 |
1957, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1972, 1975, 1977, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1995, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2015 |
| Elite 8 | 1965, 1973, 1987, 1997 | 1941, 1946, 1957, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1972, 1977, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1985, 1987, 1988, 1991, 1993, 1995, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012 |
| Final Four | 1973, 1987 | 1946, 1957, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1972, 1977, 1981, 1982, 1991, 1993, 1995, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2005, 2008, 2009 |
1971
North Carolina 86, Providence 79
National Invitation Tournament Quarterfinals
Madison Square Garden
| North Carolina | Providence | |
|---|---|---|
| Coach | Dean Smith | Dave Gavitt |
| Record | 23-6 (#12) | 20-7 |
| Top Scorers | Dennis Wuycik (G) -18.4 Bill Chamberlain (F) -14.4 |
Ernie Diegregorio (G)-18.6 Jimmy Larrañaga (F) – 13.7 |
Back when the NCAA tournament only included 25 teams and only conference champions were eligible, the NIT was a prestige tournament for those not invited to the dance. The first matchup between Providence and North Carolina was in the quarterfinals of the 1971 NIT.
North Carolina, whose starters included George Karl, had lost in the ACC Championship Game to #6 South Carolina 52-51. They faced Providence after having crushed Julius Erving’s UMass 90-49. Providence was led by sophomore sensation Ernie Diegregorio and future coach Jimmy Larrañaga. The Friars had beaten Louisville 64-58, before falling to North Carolina. North Carolina would go on to beat Duke and Georgia Tech to win the NIT Title.
1978
Providence 61, North Carolina 59
Providence Civic Center
| North Carolina | Providence | |
|---|---|---|
| Coach | Dean Smith | Dave Gavitt |
| Record | 20-4 (#7) | 16-4 (#20) |
| Top Scorers | Phil Ford (G) -20.8 Mike O’Koren (F) – 17.3 |
Bruce Campbell (F) – 17.4 Dwight Williams (G) – 16.4 |
On Monday February 5th, Mother Nature delivered a two-day thunder-snow storm to Rhode Island, burying the state with its worst blizzard in history. By Sunday, most of the state was still shut down to auto traffic, yet I was among approximately 7,000 die-hard fans who found their way downtown to the Civic Center. The game was broadcast nationally by NBC with Al McGuire, whose Marquette team had beat Dean Smith’s Tar Heels in the National Championship the year prior, serving as color man.
North Carolina went into the dreaded four-corners offense leading 58-52 with 3:30 to go. The snow angels quickly appeared as Providence magically went on a 7-1 run and then poetry tooks it course. For nothing could warm your bones more on such a cold day than to see that the ball was in the hands of the Friar’s leading scorer – Bruce “Soup” Campbell – at the top of the key. As the Tar Heels swarmed upon him, Campbell fed the ball to an open Bill Eason at the baseline, Eason not only sunk the game winning shot but PC became the first team to beat the Tar Heels after they had gone into the four-corners.
The win was a huge psychic boost to a beleagured state and is still one of the most talked about non-tournament Friar wins.
North Carolina would finish the season 23-8, losing in the NCAA First Round to Bill Cartwright’s San Francisco Dons. Providence finished 24-8 and also lost in the NCAA First Round to a Michigan State team featuring a freshman guard named Magic Johnson.
1979
North Carolina 89, Providence 55
Charlotte Coliseum
| North Carolina | Providence | |
|---|---|---|
| Coach | Dean Smith | Dave Gavitt |
| Record | 17-4 (#6) | 7-13 |
| Top Scores | Al Wood (F) -17.8 Mike O’Koren (F) – 14.8 |
Rudy Williams (F) – 17.8 Bill Fields (F) – 12.1 |
North Carolina easily avenged their loss in the Blizzard Thriller the next year against a much weaker Providence team in Coach Gavitt’s final season. It was his only losing season and ended his streak of 8 consecutive 20-win seasons (one shy of his predecessor Joe Mullaney’s record of 9 consecutive 20-win seasons).
North Carolina would finish the season 23-8 and ranked third. They entered the NCAA as the top seed in the East Regional, only to be upset by Penn in their amazing run to the Final Four.
2014
North Carolina 79, Providence 77
AT&T Center San Antonio
NCAA East Regional First Round
| North Carolina | Providence | |
|---|---|---|
| Coach | Roy Williams | Ed Cooley |
| Record | 23-9 (#19) | 23-11 |
| Top Scores | Marcus Paige (G) -17.5 James McAdoo (F) – 14.2 |
Bryce Cotton (G)- 21.8 LaDonte Henton – 14.o |
The first matchup between Providence and North Carolina without their legendary coaches, was also their first in the NCAA tournament. North Carolina came into the tournament having lost in the first round of the ACC Tournament to Providence’s former Big East Rival Pittsburgh. Providence came into the tournament having won the Big East tournament for only the second time. It was the first 20-win season in ten years and only their 7th in the 35 years since Coach Gavitt retired.
Bryce Cotton (36 points) led Providence to a 77-74 lead with 1:18 to go, but the Tar Heels got the defensive stops they needed to win 79-74. North Carolina would lose to Iowa State in the second round.
Trophy Lives 
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