News about Kim English

JAKE FENNER AT MADISON SQUARE GARDEN: The six seeded Villanova Wildcats and the seven-seeded Providence Friars were both battling on Wednesday to advance to the Big East Tournament's Thursday evening games. They carried with them not only the excitement of conference glory, but also the challenge of surviving and reaching March Madness. Both teams have been firmly placed on the bubble, with this tournament at Madison Square Garden being the last chance for them to win and show to the selection committee that they belong in the field of 68. Providence was able to get the job done early in the night, beating the third-seed Creighton Bluejays and possibly bursting the rest of the NCAA Tournament bubble with a 78-73 victory to advance to the Big East Tournament semifinals.

Following his detention on Saturday, Providence suspended guard Alyn Breed indefinitely. According to the Providence Journal, the 22-year-old Breeder has been charged with numerous firearms offences, illegally entry of a house, robbery, vandalism, and taking someone's vehicle without authorization. The 6-foot-3 junior, who had averaged 4.8 points and 2.4 rebounds this season, has been removed from the Friars' online roster.

Providence has recruited Kim English as its next basketball coach, swiftly replacing Ed Cooley after he left to work at Big East rival Georgetown. English is the 16th coach in school history. Cooley resigned from Providence on Monday after 12 seasons. He set a 242-153 record with the Friars, but only three March Madness victories. In two seasons at George Mason, the 34-year-old English was 34-29, leading the Patriots to a 20-13 record this season. It was the first time the school had reached the 20-win milestone since 2016-17.