The Big East fills a little bit more whole with UConn back in their old home. It also helps that this will be one of the best Huskies team since they won their last national title. Villanova will be battling for a 1 seed and a handful of others will be in the at large picture.
Big East
- Villanova (1 seed #4 overall)
- Creighton (2 seed #7 overall)
- UConn (11 seed Last 4 byes)
- Seton Hall (12 seed Last 4 in)
- Providence (11 seed Last 4 in)
- Marquette
- Xavier
- Butler
- St. John’s
- Georgetown
- DePaul
- Villanova- The new version of the Big East came into form in 2014. Since then Nova has won an outright or share of a regular season conference title 6 of 7 of the seasons. Jay Wright’s squad was also a 1 or 2 seed 5 of those years as well. They lost soon to be lottery pick Saddiq Bey but bring back everyone else. Collin Gillespie looks like he is about to step up as the next great Villanova point guard. No one is that close to challenging Nova in the conference, unless Creighton can really play above their expected talent.
- Creighton- Ty-Shon Alexander deciding to go pro is the only reason that the Blue Jays is not on the same level as Villanova. Coach McDermott will need to find some offense from their role players this season but except this team to be one of the best defensive team in the nation. The ceiling for this program is a 2 seed I believe. There is a gap between the Blue Jays and Nova but there is also the same sized gap between them and the teams below them in the conference.
- UConn- Welcome back to the Big East UConn! Dan Hurley brings in a solid squad to the Huskies old home. A good mix of experience players and young talent lead by 2nd year guard James Bouknight. UConn will be around the bubble all season and the whole state of Connecticut should get excited about the Huskies getting back to a solid program in the conference they should have never left.
- Seton Hall- The Pirates were in line for a high seed in NCAA tournament in 2020. Losing Myles Powell their best player to go through South Orange in a long time. Seton Hall will fall from the top of the Big East and top 25 but they will still have a chance to get an at large bid and will be in bubble talks all season. Their X factor is Harvard grad transfer point guard Bryce Aiken. If he can average 16 points in the Big East like he did in his last season in the Ivy then watch out for Seton Hall to pull some upsets.
- Providence- The Friars had one of the most roller coaster seasons in recent memory. Losses to Northwestern, Penn, Long Beach State and Charleston led to a bad 7-6 non-conference record. Then they started Big East play 6-6 which is not terrible in a good Big East in 2020 but doesn’t get them close to the bubble with those losses. Then they go on a 6-game winning streak to end the regular season with wins against Seton Hall, Marquette and Villanova who were all ranked at the time. Providence was one conference tournament win away from going to the big dance. They have the same talent coming back this season so except them to be back in the bubble conversation.
- Marquette- The Golden Eagles fans have started to get frustrated over Marquette not playing to the level that is excepted during the Tom Crean and Buzz Williams days. They would have made March Madness in 2020 but I think this will be a down year for the Golden Eagles. A lot of lost talent and unknowns coming in. Will be a very interesting season for Marquette.
- Xavier- Coach Travis Steele fared better in his 2nd year in Cincinnati but still didn’t live up to exceptions. The Musketeers were predicted to finish 3rd in the Big East and finished T-6th. They lost most of their production this offseason but do get a grad transfer in Nate Johnson from Garner Webb which will help fill those holes. Coach Steele will have to do his best job yet to get this team just to the bubble. I see a lot of struggles trying to find this team’s production this season, definition of a rebuild.
- Butler- The Bulldogs are hoping that Bo Hodges gets a waiver to play this season because the ETSU transfer will make the team good enough to be on the bubble but with Hodges it will be a tough season for coaches LaVall Jordan squad, offense will be hard to come by for the Bulldogs.
- St. John’s- The Red Storm were all the talk in the Big East after the non- conference slate. Finishing with a 11-2 record with wins over West Virginia and Arizona. The Johnnies did not carry that positive vibes in Big East play with a 5-13 conference record. Coach Mike Anderson is building something in Queens but I think that is 1 or 2 seasons away. With a solid freshmen class coming in getting those players experience will help this rebuild be successful. Watch out for the St. John’s to pull some upsets in the Big East but will end up short of the bubble.
- Georgetown- Hoya fans will want to take out the film of the 90’s and early 2000’s because this season will be ugly. A bad season last season was saved a little bit by the efforts of Mac McClung. McClung is in Lubbock Texas now so he won’t be able to save this season from being terrible for Patrick Ewing. Ewing is a Georgetown and basketball legend, but I don’t see how this program gets out of this hole with him at the helm. Wouldn’t be surprised there is a change next offseason.
- DePaul- Just like St. Johns, the Blue Demons were all the hype after a 12-1 non-conference record with wins against Iowa, Minnesota and Texas Tech. The city of Chicago was a buzz with hype that DePaul might be relevant in the Big East. A 3-15 Big East record made all of that hype go away really fast. I think DePaul could be a good basketball team and maybe will breakthrough this season but until they play a full season, I will put them at the bottom of my predictions.
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