February 11, 2026; Newark, New Jersey, USA; Providence Friars coach Kim English shouts instructions during the first half against the Seton Hall Pirates at Prudential Center. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images In a battle of third-year coaches in the Big East Conference, Providence and Kim English will face Georgetown and Ed Cooley on Saturday in Washington.
With the Friars (14-16, 7-12 Big East) struggling for a second straight year, Providence plans to scrap English at the end of the season, according to a report this week, which the school has yet to confirm or deny.
Meanwhile, discontent is swirling around Cooley and the Hoyas (13-17, 5-14). The Hoyas (13-17, 5-14) have not made much progress since arriving after a successful 12-year run in Providence.
Georgetown lost seven straight games and fell to last place in the Big East. The skid was a disappointing season for the Hoyas in microcosm, with six of their seven losses coming by seven points or fewer.
“To say this has been a disappointing season is an understatement,” Cooley said.
Georgetown has lost twice this season to powerhouse UConn by a combined six points. On Tuesday, the Hoyas defeated No. 18 St. Louis before falling 72-69. John’s was brought on board.
Kayvaun Mulready (20 points) and Jeremiah Williams (17 points) nearly led the upset of the Red Storm.
“I think we can go to the Big East Tournament and win,” Cooley said. “Depending on what team Georgetown plays, there’s no team we can’t beat, and there’s no team that can’t beat us.”
Providence has won three of its last four games, but Wednesday’s 78-56 loss at home to lowly Marquette was its most decisive loss of the year as the Friars posted their lowest score of the season.
Providence leads the conference in scoring (85.8 ppg) and boasts Jaylin Sellers, who is tied for the Big East lead with 18.0 points per game. But against the Golden Eagles, the Friars committed 19 turnovers and shot 30.9% from the field.
“We were selfish, we had bad shots, bad drives, bad plays,” English said. “There was some poor, selfish basketball play, especially in the second half.”
Providence’s most crushing loss came on Jan. 24 at home against Georgetown, when they gave up a 20-point lead in the final 13 minutes and fell 81-78.
KJ Lewis led the comeback, scoring 21 of his 26 points in the second half. Lewis has missed the last two Georgetown games with an ankle injury and has been declared out for the season.
–Field level media
