March 9, 2008

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- The Providence College men's basketball team will face the West Virginia Mountaineers in the First Round of the BIG EAST Tournament on Wednesday, March 12 at Madison Square Garden. The game will be televised on ESPN at 2:00 p.m. The Friars enter the BIG EAST Tournament as a No. 12 seed. PC finished the season in 12th place in the BIG EAST with a 6-12 record. The West Virginia Mountaineers enter Wednesday's game with a 22-9 mark. The Mountaineers finished tied for fifth in the BIG EAST with an 11-7 record in BIG EAST action.

The Friars hold an all-time record of 15-26 at the BIG EAST Tournament. PC won its only BIG EAST Tournament title in 1994 when the team defeated Georgetown, 74-64, in the title game.

The Friars have posted a 2-2 mark all-time versus the Mountaineers in BIG EAST Tourney action. The Friars' most recent win in the BIG EAST Tournament was a 73-50 victory over West Virginia in a First Round game in 2003. PC's other win over West Virginia at the BIG EAST Tournament was a 76-69 victory in 1997. Last season, the Friars were defeated in the First Round of the Tournament by West Virginia, 92-79, on March 7, 2007. PC's other loss to the Mountaineers in the BIG EAST Tournament was an 82-59 defeat in the First Round in 2005.

This will mark the third consecutive time the Friars have played the Mountaineers in the First Round of the BIG EAST Tournament. The Friars played WVU in the First Round 2005 and 2007. Providence did not qualify for the BIG EAST Tournament in 2006.