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Adam Zagoria covers basketball at all levels. He is the author of two books and an award-winning journalist whose articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sheridan Hoops, Sports Illustrated, Basketball Times and in newspapers nationwide.
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Saturday / November 23.

NEW YORK — When the Big East Preseason Poll came out back in October, Providence was projected to finish ninth in the 10-team league, just behind St. John’s and just ahead of DePaul.

Now, with the Big East Tournament set to begin this week at Madison Square Garden, the Friars will be  the No. 3 seed thanks to a six-game winning streak that culminated Saturday with a 86-75 win over the Red Storm at the Garden.

When Marquette beat Creighton at home later Saturday, the Friars were locked into the No. 3 seed.

Villanova and Butler are locked in as the top two seeds, respectively.

Washington freshman Markelle Fultz is “unlikely” to play in the Pac-12 Tournament, meaning his college career could well be over.

Still, when NBA Commissioner Adam Silver steps to the podium at the NBA Draft on June 22, the 6-foot-4 Fultz is widely projected to be the No. 1 pick.

Fultz, who is averaging 23.2 points, 5,9 assists, and 5.7 rebounds per game, would then become the second straight No. 1 overall pick to have not played in the NCAA Tournament, following LSU’s Ben Simmons a year ago.

Yet with March Madness upon us, several other candidates will have a national platform to surpass Fultz for the No. 1 pick, most notably UCLA freshman point guard Lonzo Ball and Kansas freshman wing Josh Jackson.

JERSEY CITY, N.J. — Survive and advance has taken on a whole new meaning for Bob Hurley and the St. Anthony’s Friars this March.

With the tiny Catholic school literally fighting to survive, every game in the New Jersey state tournament could be the legendary program’s last.

Ever.

“Yeah, we mentioned it to each other, said this might be our last time together, period,” Howard-bound senior guard R.J. Cole told ZAGSBLOG after pouring in a team-high 26 points as St. Anthony’s knocked off Montclair Immaculate, 66-52, in the North Non-Public B quarterfinals before a packed house on Friday night. The Friars won despite 31 points from junior guard Jalen Carey, who is being courted by Seton Hall, UConn, Notre Dame and Kansas, among others.

“Next year the school might not be here,” Cole added of St. Anthony’s. “So we all had to go out with a chip on our shoulder and keep competing and win.”

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