Every year the Big East conference seems to get better across the board. This year is no exception. With players from across the grittiest college conference set on a title, we measure who is coming out on top.
MIP Projected Preseason Standings:
| 1. Creighton | 7. St. John’s |
| 2. Villanova | 8. Butler |
| 3. Providence | 9. Marquette |
| 4. UConn | 10. Georgetown |
| 5. Seton Hall | 11. DePaul |
| 6. Xavier | Post Season Champion: Creighton |
11. DePaul
Since joining the Big East before the 2005-06 season, the Blue Demons have been a perennial afterthought overall and in conference play. Only posting a winning record twice in 17 years, Tony Stubblefield has his work cut out for him in year two of his tenure. After losing both of his leading scorers from the prior year and only winning six conference games, it just feels like DePaul is going to fall flat regardless of the additions they have made. Even with their high major transfers in tow between Caleb Murphy and Umoja Gibson along with rising talent in Jalen Terry, it just feels like everything would have to go right for them to win seven or more games in conference play this year. A feat, they have only accomplished twice in almost two decades of Big East play. With the surprise commitment of Zion Cruz before the season the Demons should generate some bigger buzz on campus than previous years but one player just doesn’t feel like enough to help today.
Taking this into consideration, the expectation this season should be using current talents Jalen Terry and Zion Cruz to attract future talent. The Demons should be fun to watch and frustrating for top teams to compete against but overall it just feels like they are a few more pieces away from being a piece away.
MIP Player to Watch: Zion Cruz
10. Georgetown
The Georgetown Hoyas have been in trouble for years and it extends past the Patrick Ewing era. A team without an identity for as long as most fans can remember seemed to reach their true rock bottom last year, going defeated in conference play. Yet, this may finally be the year Ewing and company are able to turn upward and escape the Big East basement. Adding six high level transfers to replace their depleted roster, the team carries them almost a completely new rotation. In the front court Akok Akok and Qudus Wahab will provide size and an interior presence at the four and five spot while Brandon Murray (LSU), Jay Heath (Arizona State), Amir “Primo” Spears (Duquesne) and Bryson Mozone (USC Upstate) bolster the backcourt.
With a bundle of strong scorers coming into the fold to replace some of the key players they lost last year, the question will be if they will be able to become a cohesive unit before conference play. As the talent level continues to rise in the Big East, this Hoyas team feels the closest it has been in a long time to truly competing but the immensity of figuring it out quick finds them back in the conference basement once again.
MIP Player to Watch: Aminu Mohammed
9. Marquette
You can ask a fortune teller, the magic eight ball or your most knowledgeable basketball analyst and all three would give you a different answer on how they think this Golden Eagles team will perform. The departure of Justin Lewis and a complete retooling of their roster has left Shaka Smart with only two upper classman on the team entering the season. A true boom or bust program this year Marquette should be looking to what these players can do in 1-2 years and not necessarily now. It would take a massive leap and a true shattering of expectations for a handful of freshman to break into the top half of the Big East standings. It is hard to say much more for the Golden Eagles outside of a wait and see. Shaka Smart has proven he can lift up his players and coach them up but it feels like the overwhelming lack of experience will be a major hindrance against the other teams in the conference.
A swing factor in Marquette’s standing will be the performance of junior Tyler Kolek. Kolek shot 36% from three on seven attempts during his freshman year at George Mason. After his transfer to Marquette he only shot 28%. If Kolek can become the scorer and he once was, along with his newfound playmaking (5.9 APG) he could be the engine that drives Marquette this season.
MIP Player to Watch: Tyler Kolek
8. Butler
Thad Matta has the experience, acumen and name power to turn the Bulldogs Big East potential into reality. A team that has been treading water in the middle of the pack has a chance to press forward for a tournament bid even though they won’t crack the top half of the conference standings. Matta is inheriting a young core that has the potential to make meaningful contributions game one of this season.
Adding Manny Bates (NC State), Eric Hunter Jr. (Purdue) and Ali Ali (Akron) give the Bulldogs steady hands an added shooting to couple with the budding star of Chuck Harris. Even though Harris took a small step back last year but with a stronger supporting cast he could take a massive leap in his junior season. Taking all of this into consideration, Butler has a chance to be a top 68 team in the NCAA but with the power that sits atop their own conference it is hard to see them making a push this year.
MIP Player to Watch: Chuck Harris
7. St. Johns
The Johnnies have puzzle pieces but the big question is will they all fit? After falling flat last year and losing Julian Champagnie to the NBA, Mike Anderson was tasked with a soft reset in the form of the transfer portal. Adding Andre Curbelo (Illinois) and David Jones (DePaul) were two major building blocks to pair with Posh Alexander and company. A solid team on paper with household NCAA names in Curbelo and Posh the question remains, how high is their ceiling?
Mike Anderson is going to be tasked with creating an offense that can get below-average shooters high quality looks. Their ceiling will be determined by if these shots fall. In a tough Big East it is much easier said than done when game planning around the league. Expect the Red Storm to be firmly on the tournament bubble and a middle of the pack team in their conference.
MIP Player to Watch: Andre Curbelo
6. Xavier
We hesitate every year to put Xavier in the top half of the Big East. Generally the Musketeers have played a weak out of conference schedule, built momentum toward the tournament, and proceeded to fall apart in conference play. This season I believe that trend begins to slow with Sean Miller at the helm.
Returning their frontcourt duo of Freemantle and Nunge is an important piece to their success for the entire season. Being able to rely on experience upperclassman to hold the ship steady under a “new” coach is going to be an important part of their team identity. Adam Kunkel spaces the floor and even though they lost Paul Scruggs, like every other team, they picked up some much needed help in the transfer portal by adding Souley Boum. The former UTEP guard average 19.8 points per game while also shooting the ball at 36.8% from deep last season. Even if he can produce 2/3’s of that at Xavier he will be a massive player in their success throughout the season. While six may be low it we just aren’t ready to believe the team can meet their preseason expectations.
MIP Player to Watch: Colby Jones
5. Seton Hall
The Pirates, in our opinion, are the most interesting team to watch this year. It feels like the team had the biggest coaching change in the Big East even with the departure of Jay Wright and addition of Thad Matta and Sean Miller. By losing Kevin Willard to Maryland, a coach that piloted the program out of the abyss, the hired former Pirate guard Shaheen Holloway. Holloway, fresh off of a magical tournament run with St. Peters has promised “not to mess this up”. So far, he has been a man of his word. Coming into the program he lost recruit Brandon Weston but retained every other eligible impact player from the previous season.
Many of the Pirates expected to take on bigger roles under Holloway the team itself will have to find their identity as they go. Leaning on defense seems to be the assumed route for this team and follows the grit and grind identity of Holloway. Adding Al-Amir Dawes and Femi Odukale for an extra scoring punch this team is going to be in your face for the entire game, and in a conference like the Big East, can get them extremely far.
MIP Player to Watch: Kadary Richmond
4. UConn
It feels like any other team in the league, not named Villanova, staring down two massive losses like RJ Cole and Tyrese Martin would falter into the bottom half of the conference. Instead, the Huskies are going to rely on their Player of the Year candidate and three strong transfers to soften the blow.
Hurley will have his team ready to play and the expectation should be that big man Adama Sanogo is going to be getting touches early and often. Working from the inside out is going to be the formula winning the team most of their games but if transfers Nahiem Alleyne (VT), Hassan Diarra (Texas A&M) and Tristen Newton (East Carolina) are able to be steady contributors they will have no problem pining for the regular season title.
MIP Player to Watch: Andre Jackson
3. Providence
Providence had a season defined by putting together the pieces perfectly from their influx of transfers in 2021. Based on their 2022 offseason they are looking to duplicate that same success this year. Ed Cooley has become not only a players coach but a master of defining roles and maximizing returns from his players. Adding Noah Locke (Louisville), Bryce Hopkins (Kentucky) , Devin Carter (South Carolina) and Clifton Moore (La Salle) were four big time swings that have the potential to pay off in the same way it did last year.
If Jared Bynum can build even further on his breakout sophomore season the Friars should have no problem being a top three team in the conference and a top half seed in the NCAA tournament. Banking on transfers to fit together is high risk – high reward but Cooley seems to be ready to take the chance for years to come.
MIP Player to Watch: Bryce Hopkins
2. Villanova
Villanova has had their world turned upside down, flipped around and gutted yet they are still going to be a top two team in the Big East and will be in a position for a deep tournament run if all goes well. The departure of Jay Wright, Collin Gillespie and Jermaine Samuels is going to be felt this year in a big way and the Wildcats will have to answer the doubters immediately. The benefit for this team is that their new coach was handpicked by Wright, graduate students Caleb Daniels and Brandon Slater have returned to pilot the shit and they pulled in two star freshman in Cam Whitmore and Mark Armstrong.
Another year of mixing natural talent with experience and development should keep the Cats in the mix to remain on the throne on the Big East.
MIP Player to Watch:
1. Creighton
To put it simply, it is Creighton’s league to lose. The team has NBA level talent, a massive interior presence and the best transfer player in the conference – possibly the country. Baylor Scheierman not only propels the Blue Jays to the top of this list but he is also going to help the team secure a top spot in the AP 25.
With a true chance to win the regular season, Big East tournament and NCAA tournament championship, this team is complete on both ends of the floor. As long as everyone can stay healthy it shouldn’t be a surprise to see them claiming the regular season crown.
MIP Player to Watch: Arthur Kaluma