A Sight For Sore Eyes
The long awaited return of college basketball is upon us as four BIG EAST women’s basketball squads take the court on Wednesday for their 2020-21 season openers. The up-and-down, dramatic and uncertain offseason continued even through Tuesday as teams continued to change up their scheduling. Included in that group is Providence, which subbed out its original opponent for Quinnipiac, which the Friars will face in the first contest of the season for a BIG EAST squad on Wednesday at 1 p.m. ET in Hamden, Conn. PC is followed by Xavier which visits Detroit Mercy at 2 p.m., and Villanova, which also called a last-minute audible to host Rider at 3 p.m. Creighton rounds out Day 1 when it hosts rival Drake at 4 p.m. After a quiet Thanksgiving Day and Black Friday, five more games are slated for Saturday, including a top-25 showdown between No. 19/19 DePaul and No. 13/13 Texas A&M in Chicago at 5 p.m.
 
Preseason Polls
The top two teams in the BIG EAST Preseason Coaches’ Poll are also two of the top teams in the country as Connecticut landed No. 3 in both the Associated Press Top 25 and the USA Today Coaches’ Poll, while DePaul was slotted 19^th in both national polls. The Huskies, who return to the BIG EAST after a seven-year absence, were the unanimous favorites to win the league in their first season of BIG EAST play since 2012-13, while the six-time regular-season champion Blue Demons were picked as runner-up. Marquette, the squad which has battled DePaul in the last four BIG EAST Tournament title games, received votes in the AP Preseason Poll. The Golden Eagles were slotted third in the BIG EAST coaches’ poll.
 
National Preseason Awards
Eight BIG EAST players were recognized across six national award preseason watch lists this November, including two lists apiece for UConn standouts Christyn Williams, Paige Bueckers, Evina Westbrook and Olivia Nelson-Ododa. All four were tabbed to the 2021 Women’s Jersey Mike’s Naismith Trophy Watch List for the top individual honor in college basketball, along with reigning BIG EAST Tournament Most Outstanding Player Lexi Held of DePaul. Williams, the BIG EAST Preseason Player of the Year, was also named to the Ann Meyers Drysdale Watch List which recognizes the top shooting guard in the nation, along with the Blue Demons’ Sonya Morris. Bueckers, the BIG EAST Preseason Freshman of the Year, is on the Nancy Lieberman Award Watch List for top point guard, while Nelson-Ododa is in the running for top center as a Lisa Leslie Award nominee. Westbrook was joined by teammate Aubrey Griffin on the Cheryl Miller Award Watch List for top small forward, while reigning BIG EAST Freshman of the Year Maddy Siegrist of Villanova rounded out the preseason honorees on the Katrina McClain Award Watch List for top power forward.
 
Upcoming Schedule – As Of Nov. 24
Wednesday
Providence at Quinnipiac, 1 p.m. (Video | Stats)
Xavier at Detroit Mercy, 2 p.m. (Video | Stats)
Rider at Villanova, 3 p.m. (Video | Stats)
Drake at Creighton, 4 p.m. (Video | Stats)
Saturday
Providence at Rhode Island, 1 p.m. ( Stats)
St. John’s at Fairleigh Dickinson, 2 p.m. (Video | Stats)
Villanova at Manhattan, 2 p.m. (Stats) 
Creighton at Northern Iowa, 3 p.m. (Video | Stats)
13/13 Texas A&M at 19/19 DePaul, 5 p.m.  (Video | Stats)
Sunday
RV/- Marquette at North Dakota, 2 p.m. (Video | Stats)
Bryant at Providence, 2 p.m. (Video | Stats)
Monday
Creighton at RV/RV South Dakota State, 7 p.m. (Video | Stats)
All times Eastern