PROVIDENCE — The college basketball coaching carousel continues to spin but it remains unclear just when Providence College intends on joining the fun.

The PC coaching search took a bit of a break yesterday as athletic director Bob Driscoll traveled home from the Final Four and New England turned its eyes to Fenway Park and the Red Sox’ Opening Day. Driscoll said Monday night that he was engaged “in some serious discussions,” with a candidate for the Friars’ coaching job but those talks may have cooled.

Providence contacted Hall of Fame coach Larry Brown at the Final Four but it remains unclear how serious the two sides were about consummating a deal. Travis Ford, 38, the current coach at Massachusetts, also appears to be emerging as a serious candidate. Ford just completed his third season at UMass and he’s won 25 and 24 games the previous two seasons. This year’s squad finished second to Ohio State in the NIT.

Ford, who played for ex-PC coach Rick Pitino at Kentucky, has long been rumored as a possible fit at Louisiana State. Last night Ford issued a statement through UMass: “I would like to make clear that I do not want to be considered for the head job at LSU.” ESPN reported last night that LSU has contacted current Stanford coach Trent Johnson for the opening.

No coaching candidate met with PC’s president, the Rev. Brian Shanley, yesterday. That clearly must happen before anyone gets hired and, in theory, that could occur in the next two or three days if Driscoll can get one of his favorites to focus on the Providence job. Driscoll said Monday that he no longer plans on attending the Frozen Four in Denver this weekend. He’s on the NCAA’s hockey committee but has backed out because of the pending basketball situation.

Providence, LSU and Oklahoma State are the only major conference schools still searching for a coach. Big East member Marquette completed its search for a replacement for Tom Crean in one week yesterday when it hired Buzz Williams. He was a Crean assistant coach who has just one season of head coaching experience.

How the Oklahoma State job plays out could actually affect the opening at Providence. Armed with a donation of $165 million from oil man Boone Pickens, the Cowboys are said to be targeting alumnus Bill Self, the coach of the newly minted national champions from Kansas. Self was asked about the OSU job yesterday and said he’s expecting to meet with Kansas officials soon.

If Self stays at Kansas, Kentucky coach Billy Gillispie may be number two on the list. If the dominoes fall that way, UMass’ Ford would certainly be interested in returning to his alma mater.

Former PC head coach Tim Welsh is also involved in the musical chairs. Welsh is a candidate to fill a vacancy at the University of Toledo. Also, Craig Robinson, the ex-Brown coach now at Oregon State, is set to sign a six-year contract starting with a base salary of $750,000 and worth more than $5 million, according to the Portland Oregonian.

kmcnamar@projo.com