Providence led this game for 36:05 of the 45:00 it would take to get an outcome in this Big East battle that required a timeout at one point to clean blood off the court at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center in front of 8,250 fans. Providence led by double digits for a fair amount of that 36 minutes of lead time yet the game never felt in control. With Providence leading, 45-35, I asked on Twitter: “anyone else feel like this 10 point lead is really 1?”

That was around the 9:43 mark of the second half. The lead fluctuated between 10 and 6 for awhile after that until a 10 point lead at the 3:12 mark following 2 made free throws by Kris Dunn would evaporate down to 0 when the clock ran out of regulation time. 3 consecutive turnovers, each one more lackadaisical than the last, gave Xavier the ability to come all the way back to force the overtime session.

Continue reading Providence Survives Late Turnovers to Beat Xavier in OT, 69-66 →