Many believed once the Big East broke apart that the newly revived Big East wouldn’t be anywhere close to what the old league had to offer. Villanova and the rest of the the Big East has risen to the occasion as they have shown the nation that the Big East means business. With Villanova winning the the National Championship twice in the last three years and the Big East able to place over half their league in the NCAA tournament their is no doubt that the Big East is a constant contender. This year will be a little different for the up and coming programs as the as Villanova looks to be the only team who could possibly make a run in March. The Wildcats are by far nowhere close to the team they were last year after losing three players drafted in the first round. The rest of the league seems to be at an unknown. Xavier comes into the year with talented players but will now be looking at first time head coach Travis Steele to lead the way as Chris Mack departed for Louisville. Xavier will look to hopefully repeat as the Big East Regular Season Champs but the likelihood that they can replace Villanova for that title is doubtful. Marquette has plenty of talent returning this year with Markus Howard leading the charge but will Steve Wojciehowski be able to bring the team to the next level. Butler, Providence, and St. John’s all look like they could be tough outs all season but each team just can’t fully rely on what they have and need to find big players to step up. Creighton, Seton Hall, and Georgetown may be able to push teams to the limits but will most likely struggle down the stretch to close games out. The Big East is Villanova’s to win or lose and everyone else will have to survive punch after punch to rise to the top tier of the conference.

Projected Standings (Regular Season):

  1. Villanova
  2. Marquette
  3. Xavier
  4. Providence
  5. St. John’s
  6. Butler
  7. Seton Hall
  8. Creighton
  9. Georgetown
  10. DePaul

Projected 1st Team

G: Markus Howard, Marquette

G: Kamar Baldwin, Butler

F: Eric Paschall, Villanova

F: Sam Hauser, Marquette

C: Jessie Govan, Georgetown

Projected 2nd Team

G: Phil Booth, Villanova

G: Shamorie Ponds, St. John’s

G: Myles Powell, Seton Hall

F: Naji Marshall, Xavier

F: Martin Krampelj, Creighton

Projected Player of Year

Markus Howard, Marquette

Projected Coach of Year

Steve Wojciechowski, Marquette

Projected Freshman of Year

Jahvon Quinerly, Villanova

By Matt Karner

Big East hoops writer for NCAAM Review Bracketologist for Busted Bracketology (www.bustedbracketology.wordpress.com) Twitter: @karner44 Instagram: @karner44