1971 Providence Basketball: A Foundation Season Under Dave Gavitt
To a modern audience, Dave Gavitt is a college basketball legend, the man who spearheaded formation of the Big East and transformed the sport in the 1980s. But before that, Gavitt was a simply a solid basketball coach. After spending two seasons at Dartmouth, he took the job at Providence in 1970, and his 1971 team began an impressive eight-year run of success that put him on the map.
A COMPETITIVE PROGRAM IN A DIFFERENT WORLD
Providence had been a respectable program prior to Gavitt’s arrival. They made three straight NCAA Tournaments from 1964-66. This was a time when reaching the NCAA field was considerably more difficult than it is today—only 25 teams qualified, and the path was even more difficult for independents like Providence who had no automatic qualifying conference tournament.
The flip side is that a smaller NCAA field meant the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) was considerably more prestigious. Providence had reached the NIT finals in 1960 and won the tournament in both 1961 and 1963.
By the time Gavitt came to town, the Friars weren’t quite at that level, but they were a competitive team that won more than they lost. His debut season in 1970 fit that mold. And on the surface, there was no reason to expect more in 1971.
A YOUTHFUL CORE
The ’71 Friars were a young team with several young players contributing. To put this in perspective, freshmen weren’t even eligible to get on the floor in this era, much less be high-profile stars.
Providence’s best player in 1971—Ernie DiGregorio, a 6’0” guard—was a sophomore, who averaged 19ppg and seven assists per game. Other key sophomore players included small forward Nehru King, who averaged 13 points/6 rebounds, and 6’8” Francis Costeollo, who did some of the dirty work on the boards. Junior guard Donald Lewis knocked down 11ppg, and being only 6’0” didn’t stop him getting six rebounds a night.
Experienced leadership came from Jim Larranagga, who would later become a successful head coach, most notable for leading George Mason’s improbable 2006 Final Four run. As a 6’4” senior Larranaga contributed 14ppg, along with five rebounds and four assists per game.
EARLY MOMENTUM & A DECEMBER TEST AT MSG
The Friars opened the season by coasting through five relatively easy opponents. A decisive loss at 14th-ranked Tennessee was their first blemish. At the end of December, Providence went to Madison Square Garden for some holiday basketball. While they dropped a 102-86 decision to NCAA Tournament-bound South Carolina, the Friars also knocked off a good St. John’s team, 94-80. Providence was 7-2 as the calendar flipped to the New Year.
JANUARY SUCCESS THAT LOOKS DIFFERENT IN HINDSIGHT
From a modern perspective, the January schedule looks like a Who’s Who of well-known coaches. The Friars beat Seton Hall, coached by current CBS-TV analyst Bill Raftery. Providence knocked off Niagara, led by future Utah Jazz coach Frank Layden. A win over Creighton came at the expense of Eddie Sutton, who eventually took two different schools to the Final Four.
The Friars lost to Chuck Daly’s Boston College team. Daly later coached the “Bad Boy” Detroit Pistons NBA championship teams and was the leader of the 1992 U.S. Olympic Dream Team that was organized by Gavitt.
A game with UMass didn’t provide any of the retrospective name-dropping capabilities. But in the moment, the Minuteman were a 23-win squad that the Friars beat 73-72. While they lost to another good team in Duquesne, Providence was 12-5 going into February.
FINISHING STRONG
The Friars closed strong, with a February schedule keynoted by wins over competitive programs from St. Joseph’s (PA), Holy Cross, and St. Bonaventure. A road trip to Villanova was arguably even more impressive. The Wildcats ultimately made the NCAA final, losing only to John Wooden’s UCLA dynasty. Providence hung in with Villanova before dropping a 76-75 decision.
A rematch with St. John’s at Madison Square Garden ended with a 14-point loss, but Providence had concluded the year 19-7 and were rewarded with an NIT bid. There were only 16 teams in the NIT. When you combine that with only 25 NCAA Tournament bids, it was considerably more difficult to make either tournament than it is to get a bid to the modern 68-team NCAA bracket.
MSG IN MARCH
Prior to 1977, the entire NIT tournament was played at Madison Square Garden over one week in the latter half of March. Providence opened up with Louisville on Saturday and handed the Cardinals a 64-58 loss.
The quarterfinals brought a matchup with Dean Smith’s North Carolina. Dean was well on his way to becoming a legend, with three Final Four trips already under his belt. Moreover, his 1971 team had won the ACC regular season title, before losing in the conference tournament cost them an NCAA bid. An 86-79 loss ended Providence’s season.
AN EIGHT-YEAR RUN BEGINS
This had still been a breakthrough year for the Friars and their second-year head coach. They had won 20 games, which was seen as a threshold figure in this era. It was the first of eight straight years they would do so under Gavitt. That stretch included five NCAA Tournament invites and a Final Four trip. The seeds of that success were planted with the young team of 1971.