The end of the holiday season corresponds will the full-time start of conference play in college basketball.
Providence Colllege’s men and women have a couple of Big East games checked off the list already. Now it will be just about nothing but league foes for the Friars and everyone else until March.
The first two months have offered some answers and created a few more questions. As things currently stand, none of the state’s eight Division I programs is in a comfortable NCAA Tournament position. That could change with the right results over the next few weeks.
Let’s start a little conversation, shall we?
Will we see a healthy Bryce Hopkins in 2024-25?
There’s still no answer to this one with Hopkins approaching a full year since his major left knee injury. He’s had surgery to repair a torn ACL. He’s rehabbed and returned for three games. He’s also been held out of losses to St. Bonaventure and St. John’s, a reminder the road to full strength isn’t always a straight one.
More: Bryce Hopkins on bench as PC basketball loses to St. Bonaventure. Here’s what happened.
The growing fear — still bordering on conspiracy theory at this point among Providence fans — is that Hopkins could remain sidelined, enter the transfer portal and pursue an extra medical redshirt year for the 2025-26 season. That would allow Hopkins to welcome fresh name, image and likeness bidders for his services on the open market.
Hopkins and the Friars have given no indication that that will be the case. Providence coach Kim English said it was still “the plan” to have Hopkins back in uniform at some point after a 72-70 loss to the Red Storm. His health is paramount, of course, but the Friars — at 7-6 overall and with no real current postseason hopes — need him desperately.
Is the door open for the Bryant men?
Vermont looks rattled in the early going. The Catamounts — the traditional power in the America East — have lost by double digits to Merrimack, Yale and Dartmouth. That last defeat was a 30-point drubbing against the Big Green, a team nowhere near the predicted contenders in the Ivy League.
More: Why is Earl Timberlake still playing basketball at Bryant? What you need to know
Continued struggles in Burlington could create a scenario where the Bulldogs and UMass Lowell engage in a two-team race for the top. Bryant was eliminated by the River Hawks in the league semifinals last year and has a clear road to hosting at least two conference postseason games in March.
The Bulldogs reached the NCAA Tournament for the first time by winning the Northeast Conference in 2021-22. A second bid feels attainable if everything breaks right.
Will either Brown team play an Ivy Madness game at home?
Finishing in the top four of the Ivy League standings during the regular season is the lone requirement. The Bears men squeezed into the final spot in 2023-24 and found themselves a heartbeat from the NCAA Tournament. Brown’s women missed out to Penn, which was left to take on the conference’s three established giants — Harvard, Columbia and Princeton.
The Bears men are the unofficial state champions after winning at Bryant and outlasting Rhode Island at home in double overtime. They won six straight after a 1-3 start and have found a solid rotation without Nana Owusu-Anane (shoulder). Thin frontcourt options will force Brown to be elite on the perimeter every night.
Gia Powell has been an instant star with the Bears women and teams with Grace Arnolie to create a potent backcourt pair. Will Brown have enough help elsewhere? Alyssa Moreland (right knee) back in uniform is a good start, but the Bears will need more production from their other options to match the true league elite.
Can the Rhode Island men sustain this?
The Rams are off to a blistering start behind Sebastian Thomas and a revamped lineup. The nonconference schedule wasn’t the toughest, but the fact remains — URI, at 11-1 heading into Tuesday’s Atlantic 10 opener, has already eclipsed its victory total from 2022-23 and is one win away from matching its mark in 2023-24.
That type of success tends to breed confidence. The Rams showed it in a roller-coaster ride against Temple, an 85-79 triumph that included a late four-point play from Thomas. It’s likely not a result URI coach Archie Miller would have secured through his first two seasons in Kingston.
The road through the Atlantic 10 will tell us more.
Are there any surprises in store?
Can’t imagine too many folks saw the Rams women reaching their first conference title game after an uneven regular season in 2023-24. Brown’s men smashing the Tigers and falling at the horn to the Bulldogs wasn’t in the early drafts of the script at Columbia University last spring.
That’s the magic of sports — you just never know. Some outcomes feel more certain than others, but they’re not guaranteed. That’s why we watch.
Best guesses: Providence’s men stage at least a couple of home upsets and give us some belief into Madison Square Garden. At least one group of Bears is at Pizzitola Center just two wins from March Madness. Bryant’s men visit UMass Lowell in the league title game.
Let’s see how those play out.
bkoch@providencejournal.com
On X: @BillKoch25
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: What becomes of Providence, Rhode Island, Brown, Bryant hoops in 2025?
