Providence basketball makes it two wins in a row on strong shooting

PROVIDENCE – For the first time in more than a year, the Providence College men’s basketball team has won two consecutive Big East games.

On the heels of a dramatic, double-overtime win over Butler on Wednesday, the Friars needed no heroics in a dominant 90-72 victory over DePaul on Saturday, Feb. 7 at the Amica Mutual Pavilion. 

“Good win for us, good home cooking back-to-back games,” head coach Kim English said. “We’ve had a good week – a good week of prep, a good week of work.”

It’s Providence’s first Big East win streak since last January, when it beat Georgetown and Seton Hall in two straight. 

The visiting Blue Demons entered the day one game ahead of the Friars in the Big East standings but never led. The Friars excelled at the offensive end, shooting 59 percent from the field. Even when DePaul came out hot in the second half, the Friars pushed back and bumped the lead even more, going up by as many as 27 points later in the half.

The 18-point margin was Providence’s largest winning spread in a Big East game since Jan. 8, 2025, when it beat Butler by 19 points.

Returning from a foot injury that had sidelined him since early January, Jason Edwards starred in his return with a game-high 25 points. Jaylin Sellers added 21 and Ryan Mela scored 16. Oswin Erhunmwunse logged his second straight double-double with 10 points and 13 rebounds, doing it with his father in the stands on a visit from their native Nigeria. 

Here’s what stood out from the victory. 

Friars may have found a spark 

Providence has been on the wrong end of overtime thrillers several times this season. Coming out on the right side Wednesday provided a nice boost, and the Friars ran with it on Saturday, making sure the breakthrough win was not just a one-off. 

“We’ve had some really good practices. Very thankful to have won the Butler game,” English said. “That game was very similar to so many games we’ve had. And we’ve come out on the wrong side of them. It’s just the challenge of keeping the guys with it, not letting go of the rope, not listening to all the stuff I know they see on the outside that is irrelevant.” 

Providence had lost four in a row and seven of eight before the Butler game, the season in danger of going far off the rails. For now, the Friars have regained their footing. They'll visit Seton Hall on Wednesday. 

“That was a really big key to the game that we talked about internally - we need to be able to stack games,” Edwards said. “We knew we had a very tough fight last game. We made sure to take care of our bodies and come here with the right mindset. It’s big getting two wins in a row and we’re looking to get a third one Wednesday.” 

Good health was a welcome sight

Edwards had missed the last seven games. Corey Floyd Jr. was out for the last two. Sellers and Stefan Vaaks were both listed as questionable for Saturday’s game after getting banged up on Wednesday. 

On Saturday, all of them were on the court and making an impact. 

“Didn’t know the availability of a lot of guys the last couple of days,” English said. “Just told every guy to give all they had to get ready and we’ll see how they feel come game time. We had a lot of availability. I thought our guys competed.” 

Edwards provided the most significant boost. The Vanderbilt transfer was averaging 17.2 points per game before going down in early January. And even before he sat out, he said he had been dealing with the injury since the Dec. 19 game against Seton Hall. 

His return couldn’t have gone better. Edwards made five 3-pointers, shot 62 percent from the field and handed out a pair of assists. He also cleared the 1,500-point mark in his collegiate career. 

Edwards' presence in the backcourt made it so Sellers didn’t have to be a one-man show. It also took some pressure off Vaaks and Jamier Jones, who have been shouldering a heavy load. 

“He’s a very important piece of our team - his scoring ability, his leadership,” Erhunmwunse said. “It was good to have him back, for sure.” 

For his part, Edwards was thrilled to be on the court again, especially given the team’s struggles that he could do nothing about from the bench. 

“It was eating me alive watching them play and I wasn’t there,” Edwards said. “I wanted to be out there, I wanted to help the guys, I wanted to help coach Kim. It was a tough time, but I put in a lot of work to get back healthy in terms of my recovery, being in the training room with [athletic trainer Chris Hagemann]. I’m just blessed to feel a lot better and to go out there and help the guys win today.” 

First-half defense is a template

Providence’s defensive struggles this season have been well-documented. Saturday’s performance wasn’t perfect, but it was better, particularly in the first half. DePaul shot just 36 percent from the field in the opening 20 minutes and made only two of 10 3-point attempts. 

“I thought our individual defense was great,” English said. “We got a little softer at the end of the half. They adjusted and went small. I thought our one-on-one defense for a stretch was really, really good. And we had a really good stretch in the second half.” 

The steady effort at the defensive end allowed Providence to build its lead. The Friars used a 7-0 run to take control and put together a 12-2 surge soon after. They did it despite a scoreless first half for Vaaks, the team’s leading scorer. 

English was disappointed to see the defense lag a bit in the second half. The Friars outscored the Blue Demons by just one point after halftime. 

Thankfully for the home team, the offense was still humming. Providence made 17 of 26 field goals after the break, with assists on nine of those baskets. The 90 points were the most that DePaul has allowed in conference play. 

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Providence Friars top DePaul Blue Demons 90-72 on Feb. 7, 2026