March 12, 2001

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- The Providence College men's basketball team earned an invitation to their 14th NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament on Sunday when it was announced that the Friars are the number 10 seed in the South Region in New Orleans, La. and will face seventh-seeded Penn State Nittany Lions on Friday, March 18 at 7:50 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on CBS.

The Friars have amassed a 14-14 record in the NCAA Tournament with their last showing in the tournament coming in 1997, when the Friars advanced to the Elite Eight as the 10 seed in the South Region. Providence defeated Marquette (81-59), Duke (98-87) and Tennessee-Chattanooga (71-65) before losing in the Elite Eight to eventual national champion Arizona, 96-92, in overtime.

The Friars enter the 2001 NCAAs with a 21-9 overall record. PC finished second in the BIG EAST East Division with an 11-5 record. The Friars were defeated by #17 Syracuse in the quarterfinals of the BIG EAST Tournament.

PC and Penn St. have met just once in the two school's histories. The Friars won the meeting, 81-65, on December 27, 1971 at Madison Square Garden for the 1971 Holiday Festival.