1974 Providence Basketball: Gavitt, Barnes & A Sweet 16 Run
Providence basketball was riding high coming into the 1974 season. The years since Dave Gavitt became head coach were marked by steady improvement. The Friars had a winning season in 1970, made the NIT in 1971, reached the NCAA Tournament in 1972, and then arrived in the national elite when they advanced to the Final Four in 1973. While the string of each year being better than the previous one came to end in ’74, Providence still played a high caliber of basketball and were a legitimate national contender.
LIFE AFTER ERNIE
The Final Four run of 1973 had been led by two big stars. One of them, guard Ernie DiGregorio, had to be replaced. But forward Marvin Barnes was back in the fold and better than ever. Barnes was an All-American, averaging 22 points/18 rebounds per game. And Kevin Stacom, while not on DiGregorio’s level, still stepped up his game from supporting piece to lead actor. Stacom knocked down 19ppg and averaged five assists per night in the backcourt.
Freshman playing “varsity” basketball in college was still a very new thing, in its second year. Gavitt took advantage of the new rules by getting important contributions from rookie Bob Cooper, who averaged 12 points/8 rebounds. Joe Hassett was another freshman who got notable playing time. Sophomore Mark McAndrew added six rebounds per game.
Even with DiGregorio gone, the Friars were expected to be good and were ranked #6 in the preseason polls.
RESUME BUILDING IN A DIFFERENT ERA
The season started poorly, an 89-84 loss at mediocre Western Kentucky. But Providence quickly bounced back when they hosted #17 San Francisco. Facing an opponent that eventually made the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament, the Friars got an easy 76-57 win.
A home date with Austin Peay, a team that would win the Ohio Valley Conference that Western Kentucky also resided in, wasn’t easy, but Providence got a high-octane 94-92 victory. The Friars went on to drop 105 points on William & Mary and also beat Niagara and DePaul—teams that were mediocre but coached by legendary names Frank Layden and Ray Meyer, respectively.
On the week between Christmas and New Year’s, Gavitt took his team to Honolulu to get some sun and play some basketball. The three-game tournament started with a 93-85 loss to a good Purdue team. But the Providence turned it around and beat Tennessee, a team that eventually won 17 games. The Friars concluded the trip by easily defeating a bad Washington State squad.
The calendar pivoted to the New Year with Providence at 7-2 and ranked #14 in the country. They were in good position, but it bears noting that the position was not nearly as comfortable as it would be today. In the world of 1974, only 25 teams qualified for the NCAA Tournament and just 16 were chosen for the NIT.
In other words, 27 fewer teams were chosen for both the NCAA and NIT combined, than are selected for the modern March Madness bracket. The Friars, like everyone else in the country, had work to do.
SURGE THROUGH THE EAST
Providence knocked off Villanova, a rebuilding program in their first year with Rollie Massimino on the sidelines. The Friars traveled to UMass. Facing a team that would win 21 games, Providence pulled out a 77-76 win. The Friars traveled to Philadelphia to play St. Joe’s, a rematch with a team they had beaten in the 1973 NCAA run. Providence came home with a 67-62 W.
Boston College was another solid team, headed for 21 wins and the NIT. The Friars nipped the Eagles 79-77. They rolled past a pedestrian Rhode Island squad and then went on the road and beat NIT-bound Jacksonville 106-90.
A terrific run through January ended with an 88-87 loss at mediocre Duquesne. But Providence quickly righted themselves and concluded the road trip by beating winning teams from St. Bonaventure and Bill Raftery-coached Seton Hall.
The Friars were at #11 in the polls and their record was 15-3. Now it was time to build momentum going into March.
ROLLING INTO MARCH
The schedule got softer and Providence kept piling up wins, blowing out Holy Cross, St. Francis (PA) and Canisius. The rematch with Rhode Island was a little tougher but the Friars escaped the road game with a 76-73 win.
A home game with St. John’s was the biggest challenge of the closing stretch. The Redmen were a 20-win team and got an NIT bid. Perhaps this game was the reason they didn’t make the NCAA field—Providence hung an 85-67 blowout on Lou Carnesecca’s squad.
The Friars finished the year 22-3 and were ranked #8. They had basically met preseason expectations and were headed back to the NCAA Tournament.
A FAMILIAR NCAA FOE
Seeding did not formally exist in NCAA play until 1979 and teams were generally kept close to home. Providence was in the seven-team East Regional, a bracket where N.C. State was the favorite and got the bye into the Sweet 16. The Friars would play on opening weekend.
Alumni Hall at St. John’s was the host site for this round, the third straight time Providence opened the tournament at the gym that has since been renamed for Carnesecca. And for the third straight year, the Friars were playing an NCAA Tournament game against Penn.
The Quakers were coached by Chuck Daly, who gained renown later in his career as the boss of the “Bad Boy” Detroit Pistons that won two straight NBA titles. Daly also coached the 1992 U.S. Olympic Dream Team. Penn had productive forwards in John Engles and Ron Haigler, who combined for 31 points/19 rebounds per night.
What the Quakers did not have was balance and Barnes was more than a match for any forward combo. He went off for 26 points/17 rebounds. Cooper had a solid afternoon, with a 14/8 line. And McAndrew crashed the boards for 14 rebounds of his own. Providence enjoyed a decisive 49-33 edge on the glass. The Friars took a game that was close at the half and turned it into a comfortable 84-69 win.
THROWN INTO THE FIRE
The East Regionals would be in Charlotte and the lack of seeding worked against Providence. In our day, they would have probably been the 2-seed and certainly not lower than 3. In the world of 1974, the bracket paired them up with powerful N.C. State in the Sweet 16.
Led by David Thompson and Tom Burleson, the Wolfpack would go on to win the national championship. Providence hung in there for a half and only trailed 44-39 at intermission. Cooper played well, with 17 points/10 rebounds. But Barnes had a tough night, and Stacom’s 18 points came at the price of 5-for-14 from the floor. The Friars were outrebounded 52-37, Thompson and Burleson had huge games and the season ended with a 92-78 loss.
STRONG SEASON; CLOSED DOOR
1974 was still an excellent season by any reasonable measurement, but an era was over. It took two seasons for Gavitt to rebuild after the loss of Barnes, and the Friars didn’t return to the NCAA Tournament until 1977. And this ’74 season marked their last victory in tournament play until Rick Pitino’s magical Final Four run of 1987.