Kim English calls out 'clickbait fodder' coverage of St. John's, Providence fight ahead of rematch

In what could potentially be the final game of the Kim English era at Providence, the Friars will clash against No. 13 St. John’s in the Quarterfinals of the Big East Tournament on Thursday.

No. 9 seed Providence knocked off No. 8 seed Butler 91-81 on Wednesday to earn the rematch against Rick Pitino‘s Big East Championship squad. The last time these two teams met, the Red Storm came away with a 79-69 win on Feb. 14. In that game, six players were ejected.

The bulk of the ejections came after an extremely hard foul on St. John’s forward Bryce Hopkins, courtesy of Providence forward Duncan Powell. A skirmish ensued after the foul, which led to a handful of players being ejected. By the end of regulation, two Providence players (Powell and Jaylin Sellers) and four St. John’s players (Dillon Mitchell, Ruben Prey, Sadiku Ibine Ayo, and Kelvin Odih) had been given their walking papers.

Kim English downplays hard foul, which led to skirmish, in last meeting

Ahead of Thursday’s game, Providence head coach Kim English called out the media for overblowing the skirmish.

“It was a hard foul. Guys got in each others’ faces. There were some pushes,” English said. “Think it got completely blown out of proportion, but that’s college basketball clickbait fodder, BS right now. I don’t think it was that bad.”

The initiator of the skirmish in that game, Duncan Powell, was suspended three games for his actions. It was deemed as a ‘combative action’, and he missed games against DePaul, Creighton, and Xavier. The Friars won all three of those games before losing their final two regular season games.

“Providence College holds its student-athletes and coaches to the highest standards,” athletic director Steve Napolillo said in a statement following the suspension. “We fully support the suspension that the Big East has issued to Duncan Powell. His actions were unacceptable and do not reflect the values, discipline, or sportsmanship expected of anyone representing Providence College.”

Thursday’s meeting will mark the third of the season between the two programs. In the first meeting, the Friars knocked off St. John’s 77-71 inside Madison Square Garden. Since that loss, however, the Red Storm have won 16 of their last 17 games. This earned them their second Big East Regular Season Championship, marking the first time St. John’s has won back-to-back conference titles since 1985 and 1986.

Tip-off for Thursday’s game is scheduled for 12:00 PM ET. The game can be seen on Peacock.