Conference Tournament Preview: Big East

History: Georgetown has fallen on hard times, but they have the most tournament tiles (8). It can be hard to believe that the Hoyas won the title as recently as 2021. Syracuse, long gone from the conference, has reached the title game the most often (15).

Winning the Big East Tournament doesn’t typically equate to NCAA Tournament success. Villanova is the last team to pull off the Big East/NCAA Tournament double when they won both in 2018. Two of the last three champions didn’t make it out of the first weekend (2021 Georgetown lost their first game, while 2023 champion Marquette lost in the second round).

Returning Champion: Marquette. The Golden Eagles won the regular-season and tournament crowns. It was their first Big East Tournament title. As stated above, they lost to Michigan State in a 2-vs-7 game in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

Format:  All 11 schools make the field, with the top five seeds automatically advancing to the quarterfinals.

Favorite:  UConn (28-3, 18-2)

The Huskies pulled off one of the most dominant Big East regular seasons you will ever find. Only six of their 18 conference wins were within single digits, and two of those games were 9-point margins. Amongst their 11 Quad 1 wins are non-conference conquests of Texas, North Carolina, and Gonzaga. Every win was by double digits.

The Huskies score (3rd in adjusted offensive efficiency) and defend (13th in adjusted defensive efficiency). Despite their offensive prowess, nobody averages more than 15 points. Pick your poison on who you want to stop and hope the others have cold nights.

Contenders: Creighton (23-8, 14-6), Marquette (23-8, 14-6), Seton Hall (20-11, 13-7), St. John’s (19-12, 11-9)

Live Long Shot:  Providence (19-12, 10-10)

Preview:

Can anyone stop UConn? Of course. No team is unstoppable. While I wouldn’t expect miracles, both games against Butler this year were decided by single digits, while Xavier did the same in one of their two matchups. Whoever wins the Butler – Xavier game will play UConn.

Creighton enters the tournament on a 7-1 run, including a win over UConn. The Blue Jays have eight Quad 1 wins and are 15-8 in Quad 1/2. They average 80.8 points with three players averaging over 17 points (Guard Baylor Scheierman averages 18.5 points/8.8 rebounds/4.1 assists). UConn gets a lot of press, and for good reason. However, Creighton is a legitimate Final Four contender.

Marquette played a tough non-conference slate that included wins over Illinois, Kansas, and Texas. In a stacked Maui Jim Invitational, they lost the title game to Purdue by three. The big question for the Golden Eagles is the status of senior guard Tyler Kolek (15.0 points, 7.6 assists). He missed the final two games of the season due to an oblique injury. If he’s healthy, Marquette is the third Final Four threat from the Big East. If not, he is going to be tough to replace.

Seton Hall won at least one game against every team in the Big East other than Creighton. One of their losses to the Blue Jays was a 3-overtime thriller. The top five scorers are all seniors. While Kadary Richmond (16.2 points/6.6 rebounds/4.8 assists) is a legit offensive star, the Pirates rely heavily on their defense. In their win over UConn, they held the high-scoring Huskies to 60 points, one of nine times they held a Big East opponent under 70 (they had three other games where they held opponents to exactly 70). The Pirates didn’t do much in the non-conference, losing to Iowa, USC, Baylor, and Rutgers. Their best win was a neutral-court triumph of Missouri, hardly a major win.

St. John’s enters the tournament on a five-game winning streak that saved their season. While three of those wins were over Georgetown and DePaul, they also defeated Creighton and Butler by double digits. Like Seton Hall, the Red Storm relies heavily on seniors. Four of their top five scorers are seniors. 6’11” forward Joel Soriano is a beast, averaging 14.1 points and 9.4 rebounds. The Seton Hall – St. John’s winner will likely get UConn in the semifinals.

Providence needs a run to receive an at-large bid. If they get past Georgetown, they will face off with Creighton, a team they split with this season. Junior guard Devin Carter averages 19.4 points and 8.6 rebounds. The Friars earned some credibility when they knocked off Wisconsin by 13 in the Gavitt Tipoff Games. It was a home game. They finished the season with a 5-6 mark in their last 11 games, dropping them to borderline bubble status.

Bottom Line:

If UConn is on top of their game, it will be very hard to beat them. However, there are roadblocks. Butler or Xavier can put a scare into them, as can St. John‘s or Seton Hall. For a #1 seed, their road isn’t paved in gold. The Huskies will have to earn it.

Winner: Creighton. Marquette broke through with their first Big East title in 2023. In 2024, Creighton will try to repeat that feat. They are 0-4 all-time in Big East title games, including back-to-back losses in 2021 and 2022.