For the past two months during the non-conference portion of their schedules, BIG EAST teams flexed some serious muscle as the conference posted a combined 101-25 (.802) mark heading into conference play which tips off on Dec. 30.
So just how dominant has the BIG EAST been since the season opened in early November? Well, two teams - Villanova and Butler - are ranked 10th and 12th, respectively, in the this past week’s AP Top 25 poll while seven other schools - Xavier, DePaul, Marquette, Creighton, Georgetown, St. John’s and Seton Hall - are all among teams receiving votes. Only Providence, which is coming off a rout of Texas in its latest game, is not represented as yet.
This could be the deepest the conference has been since the formation of the new BIG EAST for the 2013-14 season. With such a torrid start to the year, and with so many programs dominating thus far, might the BIG EAST match the six teams it sent to the NCAA Tournament in 2018? Or could it challenge the seven it sent to the Big Dance in 2017? Maybe even surpass it?
Time will tell, but conference coaches believe it will be one heck of a ride this season with as many as eight teams qualifying for the NCAA tourney. But with one caveat, according to Creighton head coach Greg McDermott.
“If we don’t totally beat the hell out of each other,” said McDermott, whose Bluejays enter BIG EAST play with an 11-2 record and wins over then-No. 12 Texas Tech, Oklahoma and Arizona State on their resume. “That’s kind of my fear. I’ve seen bits and pieces of nearly every team and while I’m not sure that’s there’s necessarily an elite team in our league, I think there are 10 really good basketball teams. Obviously when you have a league that gets off to a start like (the conference has) and there are so many quality wins, I think it bodes well for your conference when March rolls around.”
The Bluejays, who also have wins over Nebraska for state bragging rights as well as Oklahoma and Arizona State, will open their BIG EAST season on Jan. 1 when they host Marquette at 9 p.m. ET.
Ed Cooley’s Providence Friars struggled a bit in the non-conference season, posting a 7-6 record. But better days are coming to FriarTown, the coach says.
“Right now we’re not the team we want to be,” Cooley said. “We’ve had some bumps in the road but when you play in a league like the BIG EAST you’re always excited because there is opportunity in every single game. I give our coaches a lot of credit for what we’ve done in the non-conference to prepare us for conference play with such great records.”
Cooley said playing against a top team every night in league play will only help bolster a team’s resume for March.
“The great thing about our league is that every game moving forward is a Top 70 game,” Cooley said. “I think our league has positioned itself in the non-conference that all of our wins against one another will be quality wins and they won’t be bad losses. I think that goes to the depth of the league.”
The Friars open BIG EAST play when they host Georgetown on New Year’s Eve at 5:30 p.m.
Perhaps there is no bigger surprise coming out of the non-conference season than DePaul. The Blue Demons are 12-1 entering league play, went 3-0 versus Big Ten teams, including road wins at Iowa and Minnesota, and are off to their best start since the 1886-87 season. As you might have guessed, Demons’ head coach Dave Leitao is encouraged by his team’s blistering-hot start.
“We’re happy compared to years gone by with what’s transpired with our season,” Leitao said. “Based on where we’ve been, you have to embrace that and understand why you got to this place. But we’re going to push the envelope on getting better and try and maximize ourselves to get ready for the 18 games that will define everybody in the league season. But we’re happy with where we’re at and with what has happened in both November and December.”
The Blue Demons will open BIG EAST play when they host Seton Hall on Dec. 30 at 8:30 p.m. The Pirates are off to an 8-4 start, with a win over then-No. 7 Maryland despite playing without both Preseason Player of the Year Myles Powell and Sandro Mamukelashvili. Powell, who suffered a concussion in the Pirates game against Rutgers on Dec. 14, has a chance to play at DePaul but the Hall’s home game versus Georgetown on Jan. 3 might be a more likely scenario.
After DePaul, has there been a bigger surprise than Butler’s fast start? The Bulldogs, picked eighth in the conference’s preseason coaches’ poll, have already logged wins over name-brand schools such as Florida, Missouri, Stanford, Minnesota and Purdue with a narrow one-point on the road to No. 11 Baylor the only blot on their ledger. And the Bulldogs have been doing it with defense as they are ranked fourth in the nation, allowing just 55.1 points a game.
So after a rugged non-conference season, head coach LaVall Jordan is ready to rumble with BIG EAST conference play approaching.
“It’s a great conference with high-level players,” Jordan said. “The talent in the league is deep with high-level coaches. I think the coaches are doing a great job getting the most out of their teams this early in the season. There are a lot of veterans back in the league. So it’s the same challenges each year in the BIG EAST. You have to bring your best to the table.”
A third team that has opened some eyes and exceeded expectations so far has been St. John’s. In his first season at the helm, head coach Mike Anderson has the Johnnies playing spirited ball and doing so without the services of senior Mustapha Heron the past few games. The Johnnies enter conference play toting an 11-2 record, have won seven straight games and own a 9-1 home mark. They are coming off a win over No. 16 Arizona in the Hall of Fame Al Attles Classic in San Francisco and will have to face another ranked team when they host No. 12 Butler at Carnesecca Arena Dec. 31 at 7:30 p.m.
Anderson has done a masterful job in putting his puzzle pieces together after the season began with so many questions.
“We started off with a bunch of pieces and we didn’t know how we were going to try and fit those pieces together,” Anderson said. “But now we’re starting to see those pieces come to fruition. Julian (Champagnie) and the way he’s playing and Josh Roberts and how he’s playing and obviously L.J. (Figueroa) and Mustapha (Heron). And with Mustapha going down it provided some other guys opportunities to go out and play. Nick Rutherford, I think, has played really well. But there’s another level we have to take it to and that’s what I’m looking forward to as we jump into conference play.”
Marquette dives into BIG EAST play owners of a 9-2 mark, winners of four straight and owners of the nation’s second leading scorer, Markus Howard, and his 25.9 points a game. And while the non-conference schedule may have been grueling, head coach Steve Wojciechowski knows even tougher nights lay ahead.
“We certainly challenged ourselves from a schedule standpoint and we met those challenges, and in some cases we haven’t met those challenges,” Wojo said. “But our team has grown and developed and I like our potential. But certainly we know with the New Year around the corner things are only going to get tougher and harder with the BIG EAST schedule.”
Like some of his other coaching brethren, Wojo sees the BIG EAST as one of the top, if not the top conference in the country.
“I think this year (the BIG EAST), from top to bottom, is as good as it’s ever been,” Wojo said. “I think the race is as wide open as it’s ever been and I don’t think there’s a conference in the country, one to 10, that has the quality of teams that our league does. It’s certainly showing in the non-conference and there will be hard-fought, contested, competitive games throughout the conference season.”
No team has shown more resiliency in the early season than Georgetown. After the Hoyas saw program cornerstones James Akinjo and Josh LeBlanc among four players departing the program, many saw a long season ahead in D.C. But so far so good for Patrick Ewing’s team as the Hoyas, sitting at 9-3, are currently riding a five-game winning streak as they head into conference play.
“We’ve been playing well. Playing more like a team. Sometimes less is more,” Ewing said. “I think with us losing four significant parts of our team it has galvanized our guys. They’re embracing the challenge to pick up the slack for what we lost and I think that’s helped us to be in the position we are right now.”
The Hoyas will travel to Providence for their Dec. 31 conference opener.
Villanova and Xavier will get everything started on Dec. 30 when the Wildcats host the Musketeers at 6:30 p.m. The Musketeers enter play with an 11-2 record and have been piling up wins thanks to a rather stingy defense. But head coach Travis Steele thinks his team is just scratching the surface of how good it can be.
“I don’t think we’ve played anywhere close to where we are capable of playing,” Steele said. “I think we still got to get guys on the same page, especially on the offensive end. Defensively we’ve been pretty good for the most part so far this season. We’ve been one of the better defenses in the country but our offensive execution and shot selection and just our ability to take care of the ball have been our shortcomings. We have to clean up that area of the floor.”
Villanova will step on the court Monday night with a 9-2 record, winners of five straight and a victory over then-No. 1 Kansas in its back pocket. And as you might expect, Wildcats’ head coach Jay Wright, the conference’s longest-tenured coach, sees the BIG EAST as the nation’s elite conference once again this season.
“I say it every year and I truly believe it, it’s not just hype. But top to bottom our league every year is the best league in the country,” Wright said. “Whoever the 10th team is, it has the ability to beat anybody in the country. And I think this year it’s going to play out more than it ever has. When we play in this league we know how good everybody is.”