GAME NOTES: The Providence Friars close out 2014, as they entertain the Creighton Bluejays in the Big East Conference opener for both squads at the Dunkin' Donuts Center on New Year's Eve.

Providence is off to a very strong start to the 2014-15 campaign, winning 10 of the first 13 outings, with one of those defeats coming against top-ranked Kentucky at the end of last month. After kicking off December with consecutive setbacks versus Boston College and Brown in a span of three days, the Friars bounced back with four straight wins, all but one of them coming at home.

The last time Providence hit the hardwood was nine days ago versus Miami as part of the Brooklyn Hoops Holiday Invitational, a meeting that favored the Friars in the end, 76-62.

As for the Bluejays, this is their second season as a member of the Big East, after moving over from the Missouri Valley Conference where they seemed to constantly be the team to chase.

Creighton came out on top of all but one of the first seven games of the season played during the month of November. But then December rolled around and the Jays became just another opponent for most foes, not the feared program that head coach Greg McDermott presided over while his son, Doug, was in the lineup.

With that, Creighton has split the six games played through the first three weeks of the month, the most recent outing resulting in a 62-58 loss at North Texas back on Dec. 21.

Providence owns an 8-5 advantage in the all-time series with the Jays, winning five of the six matchups played in Rhode Island over the years. Last season the Friars won two of three meetings, splitting a pair of regular-season bouts before posting a win in the championship game of the Big East Tournament at Madison Square Garden.

The Jays dug themselves a massive hole against the Mean Green, trailing by a score of 51-24 before mounting a considerable comeback bid that just fell short in the Super Pit. For a group that shot only 34.4 percent from the field and 10-of-39 (.256) behind the 3-point line, Toby Hegner led the way for Creighton with 13 points, followed by Isaiah Zierden with 12 points on 4-of-12 shooting beyond the arc, while Geoffrey Groselle pitched in with 10 points in 19 minutes off the bench.

In the second of two regular-season meetings in 2013-14, the Jays saw Doug McDermott go for 45 points against Providence, but Creighton might need as many as three people to inflict that sort of damage this time around. Austin Chatman leads the team in scoring this time around with 13.9 ppg and is also first on the unit with 60 assists, while Zierden checks in with another 12.2 ppg thanks to 44.0 percent shooting on the perimeter and 32-of-35 (.914) at the free-throw line.

At the Barclays Center, Providence held the Hurricanes to 1-of-13 shooting beyond the arc in the first half of their meeting and yet the teams were tied at the break, 33-33. In the second half the Friars made good on 57.7 percent from the floor and 10-of-12 at the free-throw line in order to pull away for the double-digit win. LaDontae Henton scored a game-high 25 points, followed by Kris Dunn with 15 points and 13 assists, one shy of the 14 dishes produced by Miami. Tyler Harris and Carson Desrosiers added 13 and 12 points, respectively.

As a 48.8 percent shooter from the floor, Henton may lead the Friars in both scoring (20.0 ppg) and rebounding (5.3 rpg), but the more important contributor to the Providence offensive attack could be Dunn who has supplemented his 13.3 ppg with 84 assists in 12 appearances. Kyron Cartwright, who is chipping in with just 3.9 ppg, is in the same boat as Dunn given that he has issued 52 assists on a team that, on paper, works quite well together and wants to share the ball as much as possible.

Without McDermott to lean on the Jays are just another team in the Big East. Providence may not draw much attention on a national scale, but Creighton should find out rather quickly that these Friars are no pushovers.