This is the time of year where seasons overlap; college basketball starts November 3rd. Here is an early look at the Big East Conference:
— Butler (15-20, 6-14 LY)
haven’t made the NCAA’s since 2018.
shot 37% behind the arc last year (#31)
added senior G Jackson, first-team Horizon League all-star LY
6-7 senior Ajayi scored 17.2 ppg for Pepperdine two years ago, then bolted to Gonzaga, but only scored 7.4 ppg LY, so he is at his third school in three years.
— UConn (24-11, 14-6 LY)
made NCAA’s last 5 years, won 2/last 3 national titles.
last two years, played slow pace (#343/#330)
are deeper this year, expect to play faster.
brought in transfer point guards, from Georgia/Dayton.
62% of their scoring from LY is back, which is a lot.
odd stat; they lost their last four visits to Seton Hall.
— Creighton (25-11, 15-5 LY)
made last 5 NCAA’s, making Sweet 16 three times.
top four scorers from last year are gone.
added five transfers TY, including two from Iowa.
were 3rd-worst team in country at forcing turnovers LY.
have better depth this year (#295/bench minutes LY)
— DePaul (14-20, 4-16 LY)
haven’t made NCAA Tournament since 2004
have been .500 in conference games since 2007.
48.8% of scoring is back from LY, which is good.
only Big East team whose leading scorer is back.
added 5 transfers this year.
shot 34.4% on arc LY; transfer RJ Smith shot 38.6% on arc, at Colorado.
— Georgetown (18-16, 8-12 LY)
made 1 of last 8 NCAA Tourneys (2021)
last four years, they’re 12-67 in conference games.
added six transfers TY, including three big guys
junior PG was once Ivy League Rookie of Year at Harvard
need better shooting (shot 32.3% on arc LY)
were 10-3 out of conference LY, but they played easiest non-conference schedule in country.
— Marquette (23-11, 13-7 LY)
made NCAA Tournament last four years, going 3-4.
under Smart, they’re 61-27 in Big East games.
forced turnovers 21.7% of time LY (#18)
were #3 in country in turnover margin LY.
were #279 in rebounding margin LY.
lost top three scorers from LY, get PG Jones back (was hurt LY)
Famous birthdays, October 8th:
Chevy Chase, 82
Sigourney Weaver, 76
Enos Cabell, 76
Mike Morgan, 66
Tony Eason, 66
Emily Procter, 57
Matt Damon, 55
Monty Williams, 54
Olmedo Saenz, 55
Nick Allen, 27
Hunter Goodman, 26
Isaiah Collier, 21
— Providence (12-20, 6-14)
missed NCAA’s the last two years.
best player was hurt LY, then bolted to St John’s.
Friars lost 10 of their last 11 games LY.
were #346 LY in forcing turnovers.
added three transfers to bolster their backcourt.
shot 35.6% on arc LY (#76); 45.5% of their shots were 3’s (#50)
— Seton Hall (7-25, 2-18 LY)
LY, had #356 eFG% offense.
LY, had #335 eFG% defense.
forced turnovers 22.2% of time LY (#8)
their NIL budget is $1.5M, about 1/3 of most Big East teams.
haven’t made NCAA’s since 2022.
senior F Fisher played last 3 years at: Texas Tech, DePaul, Pacific
— St John’s (31-5, 18-2 LY)
made NCAA’s LY for first time since 2019
have 11 games this year at Madison Square Garden; high expectations.
were #317 in bench minutes LY.
Shot 30.1% on arc last year (#340)
added 6 transfers this year, 4 of them guards.
big guy Ejiofor scored 14.7 ppg LY, grabbed 8.1 rebounds/game.
— Villanova (21-15, 11-9 LY)
were 31-29 in Big East in 3 years under Neptune (0-0 in NCAA’s).
Kevin Willard is new coach; he’s made NCAA’s 7 of last 9 years.
Villanova’s subs played #358 minutes LY.
Willard added 11 transfers; they’re deeper, will play faster.
Last 4 years, Devin Askew has played for Cal, Texas, Kentucky, Long Beach State
— Xavier (22-12, 13-7 LY)
made NCAA’s twice in last seven years.
Richard Pitino is new coach (27-11 conference games last 2 years)
Pitino’s Lobos were in top 25 in tempo all four years he was there.
Pitino added 10 transfers TY; six of them scored double figures LY.
Those six transfers come from smaller programs:
Belmont, Boise State, Evansville, Montana, North Dakota, Valparaiso
