# 2003–04 Providence Friars men's basketball team

The 2003–04 Providence Friars men's basketball team represented Providence College in the Big East Conference. The team finished with an 11–5 conference record and a 20–9 record overall.
Coming off an 18–14 record and a second-round NIT loss in 2002–03, the team returned all five starters for coach Tim Welsh's sixth season with the Friars. However, forward Romuald Augustin transferred to Bryant College for his fifth year of eligibility, while walk-on guard Chris Burns also transferred to Bryant for his sophomore season. The team also lost two departing seniors, guard Kareem Hayletts and forward Stephen Traugott. On February 24, after playing in 12 games for the Friars, senior forward Māris Ļaksa left the team to play professional basketball in Slovenia.
The Friars began the season receiving votes in both polls, but not ranked in either. Following an 8–1 start that included a win over #14 Illinois, the Friars earned a #25 ranking in the AP Poll in time for their January 5 matchup with #18 Texas. The Friars took the Longhorns to overtime, but as time expired in the overtime period, Texas forward P. J. Tucker released a layup to give the Longhorns a two-point win. The controversial shot was reviewed for more than five minutes by the officials, who determined that the clock read "00.0" but the red backboard light had not yet gone on when the ball was released, which at the time overruled the clock.
Despite the close loss, the Friars re-emerged in the top 25 three weeks later, following a road win over #4 Connecticut. A six-game winning streak that began with a win over #18 Syracuse propelled the Friars to a #12 ranking in the AP Poll on March 1. This was followed by two home losses to close out the regular season, and a #3 seed in the 2004 Big East men's basketball tournament. Following a first-round bye, the Friars dropped a three-point game to Villanova in the quarterfinals, leading to a #5 seed in the NCAA tournament. In the first round, the Friars were defeated 66–58 by the #12 seed, Pacific. The Friars ended the season with a #21 ranking in the AP Poll.
The Friars were led in scoring (18.9 ppg) and rebounding (9.4 rpg) by junior forward Ryan Gomes. He became the fourth Friar to be named a First Team All-American by the Associated Press.

## Roster
### Depth chart

| Pos. | Starting 5 | Bench 1 | Bench 2 |
| C | Marcus Douthit | (Māris Ļaksa) | Herbert Hill |
| PF | Ryan Gomes | Tuukka Kotti | Jeff Parmer |
| SF | Rob Sanders | Chris Anrin | Sean Van De Walle (W) |
| SG | Sheiku Kabba | Gerald Brown | Abdul Mills |
| PG | Donnie McGrath | Dwight Brewington | Timothy Englert (W) |

### Incoming recruits

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Dwight Brewington PG | Lynn, Massachusetts | Worcester Academy | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 187 lb (85 kg) | Jul 8, 2003 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ||||||
| Gerald Brown SG | Baltimore | Hargrave Military Academy | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 180 lb (82 kg) | Jul 8, 2003 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ||||||
| Jeff Parmer PF | Niagara Falls, New York | Niagara Falls HS | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | 215 lb (98 kg) | Jul 8, 2003 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: ||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2003 Providence Signees". Rivals.com. Retrieved February 7, 2010. "2003 Providence Signees". Scout.com. Retrieved February 7, 2010. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved February 7, 2010. "2003 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved February 7, 2010. ||||||

## Schedule

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition games ||||||
| November 2* 3:00 pm | | Global Sports All-Stars | W 77–63 | | Dunkin' Donuts Center (5,260) Providence, Rhode Island |
| November 15* 7:30 pm | | USDBL/320 All-Stars | L 109–112 $^{OT}$ | | Dunkin' Donuts Center (5,173) Providence, Rhode Island |
| Non-conference games ||||||
| November 22* 7:30 pm | | Hofstra | W 69–56 | 1–0 | Dunkin' Donuts Center (8,163) Providence, Rhode Island |
| November 29* 7:30 pm, Cox Sports | | Alabama | W 76–71 | 2–0 | Dunkin' Donuts Center (9,256) Providence, Rhode Island |
| December 2* 7:30 pm, Cox Sports | | South Florida | W 84–60 | 3–0 | Dunkin' Donuts Center (7,554) Providence, Rhode Island |
| December 6* 4:00 pm, Cox Sports | | at Rhode Island | L 79–89 | 3–1 | Ryan Center (7,657) Kingston, Rhode Island |
| December 9* 7:00 pm, ESPN | | vs. No. 14 Illinois Jimmy V Classic | W 70–51 | 4–1 | Madison Square Garden (7,665) New York City |
| December 21* 3:00 pm, Cox Sports | | Central Connecticut | W 72–67 | 5–1 | Dunkin' Donuts Center (7,543) Providence, Rhode Island |
| December 23* 7:30 pm | | at Richmond | W 57–56 | 6–1 | Robins Center (6,043) Richmond, Virginia |
| December 28* 12:00 pm, Cox Sports | | Siena | W 73–66 | 7–1 | Dunkin' Donuts Center (7,434) Providence, Rhode Island |
| January 3* 3:00 pm, CSN | | at Virginia | W 84–69 | 8–1 | University Hall (7,470) Charlottesville, Virginia |
| January 5* 7:00 pm, ESPN | No. 25 | No. 18 Texas | L 77–79 $^{OT}$ | 8–2 | Dunkin' Donuts Center (12,993) Providence, Rhode Island |
| Big East regular season ||||||
| January 10 7:00 pm, NESN | No. 25 | at Rutgers | L 64–65 | 8–3 (0–1) | Louis Brown Athletic Center (6,942) Piscataway, New Jersey |
| January 12 8:00 pm, Cox Sports | | at Seton Hall | W 63–60 | 9–3 (1–1) | Continental Airlines Arena (7,737) East Rutherford, New Jersey |
| January 17 7:30 pm, Cox Sports | | West Virginia | W 87–66 | 10–3 (2–1) | Dunkin' Donuts Center (10,033) Providence, Rhode Island |
| January 19* 8:00 pm | | Loyola Chicago | W 89–59 | 11–3 (2–1) | Dunkin' Donuts Center (6,943) Providence, Rhode Island |
| January 21 7:30 pm | | Villanova | W 62–56 | 12–3 (3–1) | Dunkin' Donuts Center (8,972) Providence, Rhode Island |
| January 24 12:00 pm, Cox Sports | | at No. 4 Connecticut | W 66–56 | 13–3 (4–1) | Hartford Civic Center (16,294) Hartford, Connecticut |
| January 26 7:30 pm, Cox Sports | No. 23 | Georgetown | W 66–50 | 14–3 (5–1) | Dunkin' Donuts Center (10,397) Providence, Rhode Island |
| February 1 12:00 pm, Cox Sports | No. 23 | Seton Hall | L 46–55 | 14–4 (5–2) | Dunkin' Donuts Center (10,191) Providence, Rhode Island |
| February 4 7:00 pm | No. 23 | at Virginia Tech | L 57–69 | 14–5 (5–3) | Cassell Coliseum (6,323) Blacksburg, Virginia |
| February 7 12:00 pm, Cox Sports | No. 23 | No. 18 Syracuse | W 74–61 | 15–5 (6–3) | Dunkin' Donuts Center (12,993) Providence, Rhode Island |
| February 11 7:00 pm | No. 24 | at Villanova | W 100–74 | 16–5 (7–3) | The Pavilion (6,500) Villanova, Pennsylvania |
| February 14 2:00 pm, Cox Sports | No. 24 | at Boston College | W 61–52 | 17–5 (8–3) | Conte Forum (7,682) Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts |
| February 21 2:00 pm, NESN | No. 19 | Miami | W 70–57 | 18–5 (9–3) | Dunkin' Donuts Center (12,993) Providence, Rhode Island |
| February 24 7:30 pm, Cox Sports | No. 13 | at Notre Dame | W 73–59 | 19–5 (10–3) | Edmund P. Joyce Center (11,418) Notre Dame, Indiana |
| February 29 12:00 pm, NESN | No. 13 | at St. John's | W 103–78 | 20–5 (11–3) | Madison Square Garden (N/A) New York |
| March 2 7:30 pm, Cox Sports | No. 12 | No. 6 Pittsburgh | L 61–88 | 20–6 (11–4) | Dunkin' Donuts Center (12,993) Providence, Rhode Island |
| March 6 12:00 pm, Cox Sports | No. 12 | Boston College | L 54–63 | 20–7 (11–5) | Dunkin' Donuts Center (12,993) Providence, Rhode Island |
| Big East tournament ||||||
| March 11 9:30 pm, ESPN | No. 20 | vs. Villanova Quarterfinals | L 66–69 | 20–8 (11–5) | Madison Square Garden (19,528) New York |
| NCAA tournament ||||||
| March 19* 6:25 pm, CBS | No. 5-M | vs. No. 12-M Pacific First Round | L 58–66 | 20–9 (11–5) | Kemper Arena (17,500) Kansas City, Missouri |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. †NCAA Tournament ranks are seeds in the region (E=East, M=Midwest, S=South, W=West). (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time. ||||||

## Rankings

Ranking Movement Legend: ██ Improvement in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking. :
| Poll | Pre | Wk 1 | Wk 2 | Wk 3 | Wk 4 | Wk 5 | Wk 6 | Wk 7 | Wk 8 | Wk 9 | Wk 10 | Wk 11 | Wk 12 | Wk 13 | Wk 14 | Wk 15 | Wk 16 | WK 17 | Final |
| AP | RV | RV | RV | | RV | RV | RV | 25 | RV | RV | 23 | 23 | 24 | 19 | 13 | 12 | 20 | 21 | n/a |
| Coaches | RV | RV | RV | | RV | RV | RV | RV | | | 24 | 23 | 21 | 17 | 13 | 13 | 17 | 19 | RV |

## Awards and honors

| Recipient | Award(s) |
| Chris Anrin | 2004 John Zannini Coaches' Award 2004 Thomas Ramos Academic Award |
| Dwight Brewington | 2004 Promising Prospect Award |
| Marcus Douthit | 2004 Marvin Barnes Defensive Player of the Year Award |
| Ryan Gomes | 2004 Associated Press First Team All-American 2004 USBWA First Team All-American 2004 NABC Second Team All-American 2004 All-Big East First Team 2004 USBWA All-District 1 First Team 2004 NABC Division I All-District 1 First Team 2004 Naismith College Player of the Year Finalist 2004 Jimmy Walker Most Valuable Player Award March 1: Big East Co-Player of the Week January 26: Big East Player of the Week January 5: Big East Co-Player of the Week December 15: Big East Co-Player of the Week 2004 John R. Wooden Award Midseason Top 30 Candidate 2004 Preseason All-Big East First Team 2004 John R. Wooden Award Preseason Top 50 Candidate |
| Sheiku Kabba | 2004 Co-Unsung Hero Award |
| Tuukka Kotti | 2004 Co-Unsung Hero Award |
| Donnie McGrath | 2004 Coca-Cola Most Improved Player Award |