The results of the Friar fan survey are in: See how Friar fans feel about the upcoming season for Providence, the Big East, and much more

There will be no shortage of emotion in the Big East in 2023-24 with Ed Cooley having made the jump from Providence to Georgetown, Marquette looking to prove itself in March after winning the league regular season and tournament titles, but falling in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, Creighton coming up just shy of a Final Four appearance, Rick Pitino’s St. John’s debut, Connecticut riding high off its fifth national title, and a group of programs (headlined by Villanova) searching to bounce back from down seasons.

With that comes a wide range of emotions from fans across the league, and that’s why we were so looking forward to this season’s fan survey.

About 500 Friar fans responded to the survey in the first day and a half before fans from a few programs outside of Providence decided to have have some fun with it. The survey remained open for another day, but responses from PC fans started to slow, so we’ll move forward with the 500+ Friar fans that responded to the questions below.

Thanks to all who participated.

This season Providence will:

• 40.6%: Reach the 2nd Round of the NCAA Tournament

• 28%: Reach the Sweet 16

• 21.4%: Reach the 1st Round

The departure of Cooley hasn’t limited the expectations of a fanbase that firmly believes a group led by All Big East 1st team returnee Bryce Hopkins, and Honorable Mention All Big East guard Devin Carter will have enough to return PC to the NCAA Tournament in 2024 under Kim English.

Another 4.5% of fans had Providence in the Elite Eight, while the options for the Final Four or not reaching the NCAAs both came in at 2.8% of the vote.

What grade do you give Providence AD Steve Napolillo on the hiring of Kim English?

• A: 72.7%

• B: 25.6%

• C: 1.3%

The results of this one came out pretty much as expected. English has a lot of charisma, brings an impressive hoops background, and the Friars haven’t lost a game under him yet. As we saw in past surveys, the responses regarding the head coach can really vary from one year to the next.

How would you rate Kim English’s roster building since being hired?

• A: 51.9%

• B: 46.8%

• C: 1.1%

The responses were a bit more tepid on English’s roster building, with 51.9% of fans handing out an “A.” Regardless, over 98% landed on “A” or “B.” The biggest negative to date for the new coaching staff came in regard to adding depth to the frontcourt for this season. Mississippi State transfer Will McNair Jr. departed in September, while the pursuit of a few higher level big men didn’t come to fruition in the spring.

Which underclassman are you most looking forward to watching this season?

• Garwey Dual: 54.2%

• Corey Floyd Jr.: 20%

• Jayden Pierre: 19.8%

It’s a testament to how high Providence fans are on the likes of Corey Floyd Jr. and Jayden Pierre that they were each able to nab roughly 20% of the vote, with all of the national press Garwey Dual has received over the past six months. It’s so rare that Providence has a freshman landing in the lottery of legit mock drafts, like the one Sam Vecenie created for The Athletic in August.

The play of this trio will likely set the ceiling for the Friars in 2023-24.

What is your biggest concern for Providence heading into this season?

• Lack of interior depth: 63.5%

• A first-year coach in a tough Big East: 25%

• Youth at point guard: 9.4%

Despite returning two of the best players in the league from a season ago, Providence typically finds itself in the 5-7 range in most preseason Big East prognostications.

From the outside looking in, the questions are fair: PC does not have a proven big man behind Oduro, or a point guard that has played consistently big minutes at this level. Plus, the league is filled with landmines for all coaches, never mind one navigating the league for the first time. The Friars may have one of the wildest ceiling/floor disparities heading into the season of any team in the Big East.

Where do you expect Providence to finish in the Big East standings?

• 2nd-4th: 62.1%

• 5th-7th: 35.5%

• 1st: 2.1%

Cracking the top four in this year’s Big East will almost certainly mean Providence had an outstanding year in English’s debut season. The league has three teams considered among the top 10-15 in the country in the preseason, while a restocked Villanova group and Pitino’s Red Storm are getting more preseason top 25 love than the Friars.

Who do you think will win the Big East regular season title?

• Marquette: 35.9%

• UConn: 28.8%

• Creighton: 24.8%

• Villanova: 4.5%

• Providence: 3.8%

• St. John’s 1.7%

Marquette returns a vast majority of its roster, and will likely be named the preseason favorites by the league’s coaches later this month. Shaka Smart has them thinking Final Four this season. It wouldn’t surprise anyone if UConn or Creighton reached the Final Four next spring as well.

How long will it take until you are no longer angry with Ed Cooley?

• I’m already moving on: 43.1%

• Never: 39.9%

• 3-5 years: 10%

• After next season: 7%

In hindsight, I should have made the “3-5 years” option “until he is done at Georgetown”, but regardless, opinions were about what I expected here. Over 43% of fans surveyed are already moving on, while almost 40% plan to hold on this grudge permanently.

Who would you rather see Providence beat next season?

• Georgetown: 52.6%

• UConn: 47.4%

For all of the hype behind the PC/Georgetown game at the AMP next year, this vote was pretty much split.

Who is your favorite Big East team, outside of Providence?

• Creighton: 31.4%

• Villanova: 17.1%

• St. John’s: 12%

• Marquette: 10.9%

• UConn: 7.3%

What is your least favorite Big East team?

• UConn: 60.9%

• Georgetown: 27.1%

• Villanova: 4.9%

When Rick Pitino is introduced in Providence with St. John’s next year, I will:

• Cheer: 47.8%

• Not really care: 45.6%

• Jeer: 6.6%

Who will be the best player in the Big East next season?

• Bryce Hopkins, PC: 44.9%

• Tyler Kolek, Marquette: 15.5%

• Donovan Clingan, UConn: 11.3%

• Ryan Kalkbrenner, Creighton: 10.4%

• Justin Moore, Villanova: 9.4%

Outside of Friar Basketball, who are your favorite local/PC-related sources of content?

• Lots of love for the long-time reporters and TV personalities, highlighted by Kevin McNamara, Brendan McGair, John Rooke, and Bill Koch. The Providence Crier blog and podcast got a lot of love, as did Scout Friars, Mike Hopkins’ Slack channel, and Friartown Hoops message board.

Who are your favorite national college basketball reporters/personalities?

• Our readers love the college hoops writers at The Athletic and CBS Sports, but no one got more love than Fox Sports’ John Fanta. The Field of 68 has a lot of supporters as well, as does Bill Raftery. Among my favorite responses: “anyone but Jeff Goodman” and some variation of “John Fanta, as long as he’s not carrying Ed Cooley’s water.”

Who do you like more: Dan Hurley or Jeff Goodman?

No one receives more online hate from Friar fans than the former URI-turned-UConn head coach and Jeff Goodman. It was a battle until the end, but Hurley is more popular in Friartown.

• Dan Hurley: 51.6%

• Jeff Goodman: 48.4%