New York — Ed Cooley pinches himself every day when he wakes up.

He feels like he's living out a dream, coaching Providence College, this season in particular, after leading the Friars to their first Big East regular-season title.

He was rewarded for his efforts during a Big East awards ceremony Wednesday at Madison Square Garden, becoming the first Providence coach to earn Big East coach of the year honors in the league's 43-year history.

Winning the award is even more special to Cooley, who accomplished the feat while coaching in his hometown.

"I never thought in a million years I'd coach, I never thought in a million years that I'd be a head coach and I never in a million years I'd be standing in front of you at the greatest place in the world to play and we'd have an opportunity to compete for a championship." he said. "I'm just so grateful, so appreciative and thankful. This is a dream."

The Friars far exceeded expectations.

After being picked seventh in the league coaches' preseason poll, they finished first with a 14-3 Big East record and went 24-4 overall. They're the top seed in this week's Big East tournament.

"I appreciate my team," Cooley said. "You can't get to this point without a team that's bought in. To me, this is more about what we've done together. You can never get an award where you think of yourself. You have to make sure everyone is a part of it — our city, our fans, our students, the administration. It's a surreal moment."

Providence will play ninth-seeded Butler, an 89-82 overtime winner over Xavier in the first round, in the quarterfinals at noon on Thursday.

Villanova's Collin Gillespie became just the third Big East player to win both league player of the year and scholar athlete of the year honors in the same season.

"I have great respect for all the coaches and players in this league," Gillespie said. "It's a true honor."

Creighton's Ryan Nemhbard was named the Big East freshman of the year. His entire team showed up for Wednesday's press conference to support him.

"Without them, this is definitely not possible," Nembhard said. "They were always pushing me and helping me get better."

Tournament homecoming

Former UConn coach Jim Calhoun attended the awards ceremony. He's working for the Big East digital network during the conference tournament.

His presence didn't go unnoticed.

While making his coach of the year acceptance speech, Cooley acknowledged that Calhoun was in the crowd.

"Coach Calhoun, welcome back," Cooley said. "It's great to see you."

Villanova coach Jay Wright greeted Calhoun later with a hug. The two Hall of Famers chatted for a while.

Calhoun believes UConn has as good a chance as any team to win it all this week.

"In this day and age with the pandemic particularly and all the different scares everybody has had, it's a little deceiving who the best teams are to some degree," Calhoun said. "This tournament will show who the best team is. I have no question that looking at them physically, I think UConn could win it and Villanova has a really winning culture. Providence is tough and they've shown that."

Calhoun also puts Creighton in that contender category.

Waiting game

UConn had to wait until late Wednesday night to learn its quarterfinal round opponent for Thursday.

The Huskies will play the winner of the first-round game between sixth-seeded Seton Hall and No. 11 Georgetown.

The Huskies watched Wednesday night's game from their team hotel. So did coach Dan Hurley and assistant Tom Moore. Assistant Luke Murray and associate head coach Kimani Young were expected to scout the game at Madison Square Garden.

The plan was for Hurley to meet with the team after the Seton Hall-Georgetown game ended.

During the regular season, UConn posted two comfortable wins over Georgetown, 96-73 on Jan. 25 in Storrs and 86-77 in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 27.

UConn and Seton Hall split the regular season series, each winning at home. The Pirates won 90-87 in overtime on Jan. 8 and the Huskies recorded a 70-65 victory on Feb. 16 in Storrs.

Playing a team already with a tournament game under its belt will be a disadvantage, according to Hurley.

"The chance to get on the court and play a game in the environment, shooting and just get the feel on the court, that will be an advantage for whoever plays us in the quarters," Hurley said.

News and notes

As of Wednesday afternoon, the quarterfinal and semifinal sessions were sold out and a limited amount of tickets remained for Saturday's final. ... Madison Square Garden is hosting the Big East tournament for the 40th consecutive year. "I don't think anybody can argue that the Big East tournament goes together like hand and glove," commissioner Val Ackerman said. ... UConn has won seven Big East tournament titles, one behind leader Georgetown which captured its eighth last season.

g.keefe@theday.com