I was texting with a friend earlier this week about how much I like the “new” Big East and the talent in it. It got me to thinking, in a world of college basketball that revolves around the ACC, Big 10, Big 12 and the SEC, the Big East is — almost quietly — one of the best conferences in the country.
First off, looking at the true metrics of the conference, the Big East is rated by KenPom as the second-best conference in the country coming into this season, its highest rating since the 2014-15 season, two years after the re-alignment of the conference. In addition, the conference has four teams; Villanova (8), Marquette (17), Xavier (18) and Seton Hall (20) in the top-20 in the country for KenPom and three more in the 21-40 range. That’s not too shabby for a conference that only boasts 10 programs, much less than a conference like the ACC (15), Big 10 (14) and the SEC (14). For the record, the Big 12 also has 10.
Coming into this season, the conference has a pretty clear top, middle and bottom tier. Villanova and Seton Hall both checked in in the top 15 in the country when the preseason AP Poll came out on Monday. Villanova has a strong recruiting class headlined by Jeremiah Robinson-Earl and Bryan Antoine as well as a strong returning group of Colin Gillespie, Dhamir Cosby-Roundtree and Saddiq Bey.
Villanova may have the best team overall, but two more teams both have top-five players in the country, that being Myles Powell of Seton Hall and Markus Howard of Marquette.
I’ll admit, I’m a tad concerned about Seton Hall struggling a bit because I can see a scenario where they become a one-man show around Powell, especially against conference opponents. Quincy McKnight, Myles Cale, Jared Rhoden, Sandro Mamukelashvill and Taurean Thompson all have skill but I don’t really see any of them becoming the guy that can really compliment Powell and give them another guy to give the ball to if/when he has an off-night.
However, Howard is an absolute joy to watch. For Marquette, losing the Hauser brothers hurts but they still have the talent to compete, not necessarily for a conference title, but they are for sure a tournament team. They have the pieces in Sacar Anim, Theo John (who’s style of play I love), Jamal Cain, Ed Morrow as well as incoming transfers Koby McEwen and Jayce Johnson give them a lot of depth. If everything goes right, they can see a run to the second weekend.
Xavier made it to the NIT last year in a disappointing year but have the pieces to do well in Travis Steele’s second year at the helm. They have a lethal backcourt in Quentin Goodwin and Paul Scruggs. Freshman KyKy Tandy should be a huge help as well. In the frontcourt, Naji Marshall should have a big year, as well should Tyrique Jones. They have a future too, as a lot of young freshmen are coming in to help. They might not make the second weekend, but the future is laid out in Cincinnati and they should have a lot of success in the next couple years.
Another group that will see some significant growth this year is Creighton. Admittedly, I don’t watch many games for the Bluejays, maybe only one or two last year, but I’ll definitely be paying more attention to them. Ty-Shon Alexander was awesome last season and should be even better this season and with the help of senior Davion Mintz that should make for a great backcourt. Marcus Zegerowski provides depth. One thing that they need to worry about is the forward position as Martin Krampelj kept his name in the NBA Draft, but Southeast Missouri transfer Denzel Mahoney will be able to fill some of that void. They have a fast style of play that encourages running in transition and shooting a lot of threes, which is something that fans love and a decent number of college teams will struggle to keep up with.
That’s just the top teams. Georgetown is finally set to take a step up under Patrick Ewing Providence has a star in Alpha Diallo and a solid complementary piece in A.J. Reeves. The Friars got coach Ed Cooley locked up with a contract extension after he was seen as a leading candidate for the job at Michigan last May. Both of those teams have a good shot at ending up as tournament teams depending on how they do, which could potentially put the Big East at seven NCAA Tournament teams.
As for those non-tournament teams, strides are being made. Butler has a lot of work to do and probably will not be a tournament team. Mike Anderson, after a laughable coaching search by St. John’s led to him, will try to get some real excitement back into the program after the stagnation of the past couple years under Chris Mullin, but are not ready to be true contenders yet.
Even DePaul, the laughingstock of the league, albeit not a tournament team, is finally making some progress under Dave Leitao. They’ve had an up-and-down year, having their first winning season since 2006-07 and reaching the finals of the CBI, having their top three scorers graduate but bringing in a quartet of four-star recruits and finally having Leitao get slapped with a three-game suspension for self-reported NCAA violations by former staff members. They have a future and if they can keep it together, they could very soon see their 15-year NCAA Tournament drought get snapped. Not this year, but maybe soon.
The Big East doesn’t get a lot of attention outside of the east coast, but probably should. It’s one of the best group of programs in the nation and it seemingly flies under the radar. Pay attention to them, because they have the teams and power make some serious noise this season.
AJ Hoops 