If Doug McDermott was the face of the Big East this season, Bryce Cotton was its heart.
While Creighton’s superstar senior earned enough accolades to stretch from New York to Omaha, Providence’s senior point guard entered the season with little fanfare, playing for a lightly regarded team that hadn’t made the NCAA Tournament since 2004.
On Saturday night, the ironman guard vaulted to legendary status, leading the fourth-seeded Friars to their first Big East Tournament title in 20 years after scoring 23 points in a 65-58 upset win over second-seeded Creighton at Madison Square Garden.
Cotton, who was named the Most Outstanding Player, shook off his shooting struggles of the past two games, hitting 8-of-18 from the field, including three 3-pointers, while adding five rebounds.
“He’s not the biggest guy, I don’t think he’s the most athletic guard in the league, but he’s a winner,” Creighton coach Greg McDermott said. “I was scared to death of the fact that he didn’t shoot it good the first two games because, in my mind, I’m saying, ‘There’s no way Bryce Cotton’s having three bad games shooting the basketball in a row,’ and that proved to be the case.
“To play the minutes that he’s played this season and have the responsibility on his shoulders that he has … it’s fitting that he’s going to end his career in the NCAA Tournament.”
Cotton didn’t score for the first 9:30 of the game, but broke out with seven straight points midway through the first half, giving Providence a six-point lead it would never relinquish.
The senior scored 16 second-half points, which included a stretch of 10 straight points in which he followed a three-point play with a 3-pointer and four-point play, putting Providence up 40-29 with 14:16 remaining.
“I was going to fight him if he didn’t keep shooting,” Providence coach Ed Cooley said. “His urgency was at an all-time high. … Bryce Cotton was Superman in the second half.”
Even Superman took breaks to be Clark Kent.
As usual, Cotton, who averages 39.9 minutes, never came out. Leading the six-man rotation, Cotton ignited the team with his energy and toughness, as much as with his play-making.
When the game was over and he finally could rest, Cotton carried the game ball around with him, the net hanging around his neck.
The senior saved his best for last, the season as incredible as he envisioned it would be.
“It feels great,” Cotton said. “This is something we had in mind all along. … We couldn’t put our finger exactly what was special at the beginning of the year, but here it is.”