Providence basketball will play an 11-game nonconference schedule. Who will the Friars face?

• The Friars will play power conference opponents including Virginia Tech, Penn State, and potentially the defending national champions in a tournament with Florida, TCU, and Wisconsin.
• Providence will play one true road game at Colorado before beginning Big East play.
• The Friars have a revamped roster with five transfers and four freshmen, along with two new assistant coaches.

Visits from a pair of in-state rivals, two games at Mohegan Sun and a trip to San Diego highlight the Providence men’s basketball nonconference schedule released by the program on Tuesday morning.

The Friars will host the University of Rhode Island and Brown at Amica Mutual Pavilion in early December to close the 11-game slate. That follows four matchups with power conference opponents, including a potential meeting with the defending national champions.

Virginia Tech and Penn State will both come to Connecticut in what should feel like home games for Providence in November. Florida, TCU and Wisconsin are in the four-team field at the Rady Children’s Invitational over Thanksgiving, with the Gators fresh off a third NCAA Tournament crown in program history. Specific opponents for the Friars at that event have yet to be announced.

The Rams and Bears head downtown for consecutive showdowns on Dec. 6 and Dec. 9, respectively. Providence faded down the stretch and lost at the Ryan Center in the 2024-25 meeting, a 69-63 surprise. The Friars will resume their series with Brown after cruising to a 74-54 victory during the 2023-24 season.

The Hokies should represent a significant step up in class after the season opener against Holy Cross on Nov. 3. Providence will lock up with an ACC foe as part of the Hall of Fame Tip-Off. The Friars dropped a 74-70 decision to St. Bonaventure during their last appearance at that venue in December.

Providence returns exactly two weeks later to take on the Nittany Lions as part of the Hall of Fame Showcase on Nov. 22. The Friars came up short in their last matchup with a Big Ten foe, an 89-73 defeat against Indiana during last season’s Battle 4 Atlantis. Providence finished 0-3 during their holiday trip to The Bahamas.

The Friars will play one true road game prior to Big East action, and that comes on Nov. 14 at Colorado. Providence coach Kim English has previous ties to the Buffaloes as an assistant and used that connection to book a home-and-home series with a Big 12 opponent. Colorado will return the game at the Friars at a date to be determined.

It will be worth monitoring what sort of crispness Providence shows in other home games against the Crusaders, Penn, New Hampshire and Fairleigh Dickinson. The Friars struggled to beat Central Connecticut State and Hampton in early outings last season, one that unraveled into a 12-20 finish that matched the program record for losses. Providence won just one of its last 11 after the calendar flipped to February.

The Friars have revamped their roster and staff under English, who enters an important third season in charge. Jason Edwards (Vanderbilt), Jaylin Sellers (Central Florida), Duncan Powell (Georgia Tech), Cole Hargrove (Drexel) and Daquan Davis (Florida State) make up a five-man transfer class and join freshmen Jamier Jones, Jaylen Harrell, Stefan Vaaks and Peteris Pinnis. Providence hired a pair of new assistant coaches in program legend Ryan Gomes and Bryan Tibaldi, who replace Tim Fuller and Nate Tomlinson.

Game times and conference matchups will be updated at a later date.

Providence Friars nonconference schedule

Nov. 3 – Holy Cross

Nov. 8 – Virginia Tech (Mohegan Sun)

Nov. 11 – Penn

Nov. 14 – at Colorado

Nov. 18 – New Hampshire

Nov. 22 – Penn State (Mohegan Sun)

Nov. 27 – Florida/TCU/Wisconsin (Rady’s Children Invitational, San Diego)

Nov. 28 – Florida/TCU/Wisconsin (Rady’s Children Invitational, San Diego)

Dec. 2 – Fairleigh Dickinson

Dec. 6 – Rhode Island

Dec. 9 – Brown

bkoch@providencejournal.com

On X: @BillKoch25

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