Tip-Off To 2019-2020
Five BIG EAST teams will take advantage of Tuesday’s early start date as Marquette, St. John’s, Georgetown, Providence and Creighton all play their 2019-2020 lid lifters tomorrow. Reigning BIG EAST regular-season champion Marquette will look to capture the first victory of the year when the Golden Eagles host Morgan State at 12:30 p.m. ET. The Red Storm (at St. Bonaventure), Hoyas (at Davidson), Friars (at Yale) and Bluejays (at Omaha) will all look to score road victories in Tuesday evening’s openers. All 10 BIG EAST teams will play at least one game by the end of the week, including preseason favorite No. 18/20 DePaul, which hosts Miami (Ohio) in the Preseason WNIT First Round on Friday at 5:30 p.m. Another notable matchup in Week 1 is Villanova’s second game – when the Wildcats host 2019 WNIT Semifinalist James Madison on Saturday at 7 p.m.
In The Polls
BIG EAST preseason favorite and reigning Tournament champion DePaul led the league in both national preseason polls. The Blue Demons were slotted No. 18 by the Associated Press and No. 20 in the
USA Today Coaches’ Poll. DePaul peaked as high as No. 15 in the AP Poll last year and No. 14 in the coaches’ poll, while Marquette scored the highest ranking by a BIG EAST team since realignment with its two-week stay at No. 8/7 in early February. Butler and Villanova also received votes throughout the 2018-19 campaign.
Preseason Recap
Coming off its fourth BIG EAST Tournament title in the last six seasons, DePaul was unanimously selected as the BIG EAST women’s basketball preseason favorite based on a vote by the league’s head coaches. The BIG EAST Preseason Coaches’ Poll saw the Blue Demons earn all nine first-place votes and 81 points. St. John’s was picked second in the poll with 70 points and garnered the remaining first-place vote, followed by rival Seton Hall in third with 58 points. Creighton rounded out the top four with 50 points. Seton Hall senior forward Shadeen Samuels was selected 2019-2020 BIG EAST Preseason Player of the Year. The reigning BIG EAST scoring champion is the first preseason player of the year from Seton Hall since 1988. Marquette newcomer Jordan King was voted BIG EAST Preseason Freshman of the Year, the first Golden Eagle player to earn the recognition.
Offseason Quick Hits
- This past summer, it was announced that 11-time NCAA Champion Connecticut would rejoin the BIG EAST beginning in the 2020-2021 season. The Huskies have won or shared 19 BIG EAST regular-season titles and captured 18 BIG EAST Tournament crowns, including 16 titles over a 19-year span (1994-2012).
- Villanova head coach Harry Perretta announced the 2019-2020 season would be his final on the sidelines. Perretta will enter his 42nd year as the Wildcat head coach in 2019-20 with a career record of 765-476. The 42nd season will tie him with Yvonne Kaufmann of Elizabethtown College (1971-2012) for the most seasons at one school at all divisions in the history of NCAA women's college basketball. He currently ranks seventh on the winningest active Division I collegiate coaching list and 13th all-time with the 765 wins. His is a three-time BIG EAST regular-season and tournament champion, a four-time BIG EAST Coach of the Year and ranks second in BIG EAST women’s basketball history with 334 conference wins.
- Two new faces are on the sidelines in the BIG EAST this winter with Marquette’s Megan Duffy and Xavier’s Melanie Moore. Duffy arrives at Marquette after leading Miami (Ohio) to a pair of WNIT appearances during her two-year tenure with the program. Miami finished the season with a 23-9 overall record and a 13-5 Mid-American Conference mark in 2018-19 and reached 20 wins in back-to-back seasons for the first time since the 1980's. Moore joins the Musketeers after a spending seven seasons at Michigan, most recently serving as associate head coach. During her time on the bench at Michigan, Moore helped the Wolverines post a 156-85 overall record with a 66-52 mark in Big Ten play. Michigan advanced to postseason play in all seven seasons, including three NCAA Tournament appearances. The Wolverines also recorded 20 or more wins in each season.
Tuesday
Morgan State at Marquette, 12:30 p.m.
St. John’s at St. Bonaventure, 5 p.m.
Georgetown at Davidson, 7 p.m.
Providence at Yale, 7 p.m.
Creighton at Nebraska-Omaha, 8 p.m.
Wednesday
Sacred Heart at Seton Hall, 7 p.m.
George Washington at Villanova, 7 p.m.
Thursday
St. Francis (N.Y.) at Marquette, 8 p.m.
Utah at Xavier, 7 p.m.
Friday
Miami (Ohio) at No. 18/20 DePaul, 5:30 p.m.^
Saturday
Fairfield at Seton Hall, 11 a.m.
Wagner at Butler, Noon
Providence at UMass, 2 p.m.
-/RV James Madison at Villanova, 7 p.m.
Sunday
Illinois State at Marquette, 3 p.m.
All Times Eastern
^Preseason WNIT at Wintrust Arena