PROVIDENCE, R.I. — The Providence Friars played their 750th game at Dunkin’ Donuts Center on Tuesday night, a run dating to 1972, but it was the very first to feature two top-10 teams, the 10th-ranked Friars and No. 7 Xavier.
But history could do little for Providence, a charter member of the Big East. The Friars (17-4, 5-3 Big East) fell to Xavier, which joined the conference three seasons ago, 75-68, before a raucous sellout crowd of 12,804.
The first half was a sloppy affair as the teams combined for 22 turnovers. Xavier (18-2, 6-2) had a 14-point lead in the second half when the Providence sophomore forward Ben Bentil, the Big East’s leading scorer, found his range.