Even though some of the names are familiar, this is no longer the Big East that most of us remember. It is not the collection of relatively nearby schools such as Connecticut, Syracuse, Georgetown, Villanova and Boston College that started the conference in the 80’s. And it is not the huge powerhouse that expanded eventually out to sixteen teams including the likes of Marquette, Cincinnati and Louisville in the 00’s. Instead, this is a group of ten solid programs that do not worship the college football gods. In theory, that is the ideal that all of us college hoops fanatics wish would be the mentality at times. In practice, at least in its first season, the Big East seemed to have been more of an afterthought on the national stage.
Last year the Big East placed four teams into the NCAA tournament. That group included Providence, which won the automatic bid and got an 11 seed, thus signifying a decent chance the Friars would have been in the NIT had they not won the conference tournament championship game. It also included a Xavier team that was sent to Dayton to play in the First Four, where they promptly lost. Villanova and Creighton both got very high seeds (2 and 3 respectively), but none of the four teams made it past the first weekend of the tournament. Georgetown and St. John’s received the conference’s only other postseason bids, both to the NIT, but failed to advance deep in that tournament as well.
This year, the Big East is clearly led by the Villanova Wildcats. ‘Nova will be looking to establish themselves on the national scene and is definitely on the list of preseason potential Final Four teams. Jay Wright’s squad returns four starters from a team that won 29 games last season and went 16-2 in Big East play. The only other team in the Big East that looks, on paper, like an NCAA tournament team is Georgetown. The Hoyas bring back D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera, one of the conference’s top guards, and should hopefully finally find a way to get solid, consistent production out of Josh Smith down low. Xavier, Providence and St. John’s all have enough talent to also be in the at-large discussion this season, while Creighton looks to fall back in the pack now that Doug McDermott has graduated.
Predicted Order of Finish:
1. Villanova: Darrun Hilliard, Ryan Arcidiacono, JayVaughn Pinkston, Daniel Ochefu and more give the Wildcats the strength and depth to compete with almost any team in the nation.
2. Georgetown: With Smith-Rivera and Jabril Trawick in the backcourt, Josh Smith down low, and top recruit Isaac Copeland, John Thompson III looks like he has the tools to get the Hoyas back into the NCAA tournament.
3. Xavier: Dee Davis is solid at the point and Indiana transfer Remy Abell will look to fill in at the shooting guard position. If Matt Stainbrook continues to get better and a talented recruiting class is ready to play, the Musketeers could end up dancing in March.
4. Providence: Bryce Cotton is gone, meaning that it will be up to LaDontae Henton and Tyler Harris to lead the way. Kris Dunn and Rodney Bullock both missed last season and should be back to help fill in the holes for the Friars.
5. St. John’s: D’Angelo Harrison may prove to be the best player in the league, but the Red Storm do not appear to have enough other pieces to contend.
6. Seton Hall: Sterling Gibbs is among the top point guards in the Big East, but beyond him the Pirates will need their recruits to step up. Freshmen Isaiah Whitehead and Chier Ajou could be among the top newcomers in the conference.
7. Creighton: Austin Chatman is the only returning player that averaged more than 8 points per game last season, making this a clear rebuilding year as the post-Doug McDermott era begins.
8. Butler: Chris Holtmann is the interim head coach and may end up in that position a lot longer than expected with Brandon Miller still on a leave of absence. The Bulldogs will need Kellen Dunham to lead offensively. Roosevelt Jones’ return from injury and the addition of Indiana transfer Austin Etherington should help as well.
9. Marquette: Wojo takes over head coaching duties, but does so with a team that consists of Matt Carlino and a ton of question marks. This looks like it could be a long season in Milwaukee.
10. DePaul: Billy Garrett, Jr. should be the Blue Demons’ top player and Illinois transfer Mike Henry should contribute, but another last place finish appears likely.