Big East beating

Cooley who? Providence fans already love the Kim English era.

Let's get to why.

1. Providence proves there’s no place like home

Winning on the road is always difficult. Marquette can attest to that.

Providence dismantled the No. 6 Golden Eagles on Tuesday night, flying around the court and seemingly contesting every shot in a 72-57 win. The Friars disrupted Marquette’s pick-and-rolls and held them to just 32% from the field. Coach Shaka Smart has yet to win at Providence since taking over at Marquette three years ago.

“There’s a humility that you have to have coming into a place like this, and an environment like this,” Smart said. “I don’t care what number’s next to your name, or what you’ve done in the past, or what anyone says you are individually as a player. If you don’t have that, then you’re not going to be as connected as you need to be. And we didn’t have that tonight.”

Marquette (9-3, 0-1 in Big East) looked like it might have a little of that connectivity early, leading 12-7 just five minutes into the game. But a little pressure, some fan noise … and that was that. Once the Friars (10-2, 1-0) took a 16-14 lead, it never trailed again.

“I’ve played at Kansas, played at Kentucky, UCLA. Purdue’s great, too. This is as good of a college basketball environment as there is in America,” English said. "And when our students are gone for break, it just turns into an NBA playoff venue. Honestly. Adult fans — with beer — loud, and love this team. So it’s a treat.”

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