Big East Suspends Duncan Powell for Role in Providence-St. John's Fight

Powell's hard foul of Red Storm forward Bryce Hopkins sparked an on-court brawl between Providence and St. John's.

Powell (right) was assessed a flagrant 2 for this foul on Hopkins (left) under the basket. | M. Anthony Nesmith/Icon Sportswire/Getty Images

The Big East announced that Providence senior forward Duncan Powell has been suspended for his role in an on-court fight that broke out between the Friars and St. John's during the Red Storm's 79-69 win on Saturday.

Powell will be suspended two games in addition to the automatic one-game suspension mandated by NCAA rules for fighting. He'll miss the Friars' Feb. 21 game at DePaul, Feb. 24 game vs. Xavier and Feb. 28 game vs. Creighton.

Powell took St. John's forward Bryce Hopkins out of the air with a hard foul, sparking a brawl between the two teams that saw the Providence senior throw a punch before he was one of six players—four from the Red Storm and two from the Friars—ejected from the contest. The skirmish resulted in a near-20 minute delay as officials sorted through the chaos.

“After the on-court video review, game officials determined that Powell engaged in additional combative actions that constituted a fighting act subsequent to the flagrant foul,” the Big East said in a statement.

Speaking to reporters after the game, Providence coach Kim English indicated that he disagreed wth Powell's hard foul of Hopkins.

“There's absolutely a time to have hard fouls,” English said. “There's a time to have hard fouls through a guy's arm. You never want to hit anyone in the head intentionally. I didn't think that was the time for a hard foul as I watched it live...”

Adding to the emotions of the game—and the ensuing fight—was the fact that Hopkins had spent the previous three years with Providence, the last two of which were marred by injury. He then spurned the Friars for the Big East-rival Red Storm via the transfer portal. As such, Friars fans who still harbored resentment towards Hopkins began chanting Powell's name during the delay.

“The crowd lost objectivity of what they're here for," St. John's coach Rick Pitino said after the game. "If they're just here to poke fun at Bryce Hopkins and not get a win for the Friars, that's not the Friars I remember in '87.”

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