2026 Big East Tournament Preview & Conference Awards

CBB Review prepares you for every conference tournament leading up to Selection Sunday on Mar. 15. Up next: The Big East Tournament.

The top two teams in the Big East have been St. John’s and UConn all season, and they will be the teams to beat in the Big East Tournament at Madison Square Garden.

Villanova has solidified itself as the third-best team in the conference and is more than capable of making a run.

Teams 4-11 in the standings have been all over the place, and every team from this bunch has proven that they can beat one another. The opening round games of the Big East Tournament are going to be wild as there really are no strong favorites.

It’s UConn’s and St. John’s tournament to lose, but it wouldn’t be shocking to see a surprise team make a run to the championship.

2026 Big East Conference Awards

Player of the Year: Zuby Ejiofor, St. John’s

Freshman of the Year: Nigel James Jr., Marquette

Transfer of the Year: Silas Demary Jr., UConn

Coach of the Year: Shaheen Holloway, Seton Hall

First Team:

• G: Jaylin Sellers, Providence (18.1 PPG, 1.6 APG, 4.0 RPG, 43.9 3P%)
• G: Silas Demary Jr., UConn (11.1 PPG, 6.4 APG, 4.5 RPG, 1.6 SPG)
• F: Alex Karaban, UConn (12.9 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 2.8 APG, 40% 3PT)
• F: Tre Carroll, Xavier (18.0 PPG, 5.7 RPG, 2.6 APG, 1.2 BPG)
• F: Zuby Ejiofor, St. John’s (16.0 PPG, 7.1 RPG, 3.5 APG, 2.0 BPG)

Second Team:

• G: Acaden Lewis, Villanova (12.5 PPG, 5.3 APG, 3.2 RPG, 2.0 SPG)
• G: Nigel James Jr., Marquette (16.4 PPG, 4.8 APG, 3.5 RPG, 1.9 SPG
• G: Budd Clark, Seton Hall (12.4 PPG, 4.7 APG, 2.8 RPG, 2.0 SPG)
• F: Michael Ajayi, Butler (16.3 PPG, 11.1 RPG, 3.2 APG)
• F: Tarris Reed Jr., UConn (13.8 PPG, 8.0 RPG, 2.2 APG, 2.1 BPG)

2026 Big East Conference Tournament Simulation

First Round – Wednesday, Mar. 11

8. Butler (16-15, 7-13) vs. 9. Providence (14-17, 7-13) – 4 p.m. on Peacock

If there had to be an example of a true coin flip game, this would be it. These teams split their meetings in the regular season, with each game going into 2OT. This should be another close matchup, but with all of the drama around the Providence Friars as of late, it feels like Butler is the safer pick.

Ryan’s pick: 8. Butler

7. Marquette (12-19, 7-13) vs. 10. Xavier (14-17, 6-14) – 6:30 p.m. on Peacock

Xavier is coming into the contest spiraling, having lost five of their last six games. Xavier’s leading scorer Tre Carroll also suffered a hip injury in his last game, and his status for the Big East Tournament will be in doubt. Marquette has been a frisky team over the past month and is coming off a massive upset win over UConn.

Ryan’s pick: 7. Marquette

6. DePaul (16-15, 8-12) vs. 11. Georgetown (14-17, 6-14) – 9:00 p.m. on Peacock

Not many people would have picked DePaul to finish in 6th in the regular season standings but here they are, in large part due to their elite defense. Georgetown has underperformed all season and is in last place despite their talent. I’m rolling with the upset here as Georgetown will have the best two players on the court in K.J. Lewis and Malik Mack.

Ryan’s pick: 11. Georgetown

Quarterfinals – Thursday, Mar. 12

1. St. John’s (25-6, 18-2) vs. 8. Butler – 12 p.m. on Peacock

St. John’s has won 16 of their last 17 games in Big East play. They have an average margin of victory of 18 points against Butler in their previous 2 matchups this season. This is an easy pick.

Ryan’s pick: 1. St. John’s

4. Seton Hall (20-11, 10-10) vs. 5. Creighton (15-16, 9-11) – 2:30 p.m. on Peacock

Seton Hall has been fighting for their lives over the past month as they have been firmly on the NCAA Tournament Bubble. These are two even teams, as Seton Hall beat Creighton in Newark by two points and Creighton beat Seton Hall in Omaha by one point this season. It’s tough to bet against this scrappy Seton Hall team, and I predict they will find a way to pull this one out.

Ryan’s pick: 4. Seton Hall

2. UConn (27-4, 17-3) vs. 7. Marquette – 7 p.m. on FS1

Marquette did just beat UConn to close out the regular season in what was an embarrassing loss for UConn. Dan Hurley was ejected in the closing seconds as his team’s furious comeback came up just short. It’s hard to believe that this UConn team, which has National Championship aspirations, would fall to Marquette twice over a two-week time period.

Ryan’s pick: 2. UConn

3. Villanova (24-7, 15-5) vs. 11. Georgetown – 9:30 p.m. on FS1

Villanova will be without one of their best players, Matt Hodge, as they lost the Freshman to an ACL tear. Even without him, it’s hard to trust this Georgetown team to string together two good games in a row. I predict Villanova will win in a game that will be much closer than many people would expect.

Ryans’s pick: 3. Villanova

Semifinals – Friday, Mar. 13

1. St. John’s vs. 4. Seton Hall – 5:30 p.m. on FOX

This would be an amazing matchup with Seton Hall clinging onto their NCAA Tournament hopes and St. John’s looking to repeat as Big East Tournament Champs. The one knock on Seton Hall is that they are 0-6 against the top three teams in the Big East, and I’m afraid to say that this trend will continue.

Ryan’s pick: 1. St. John’s

2. UConn vs. 3. Villanova- 8 p.m. on FS1

UConn and St. John’s has felt inevitable for the past two months, and nothing that I’ve watched has changed my mind on this outcome. UConn is 2-0 against Villanova this season and should be able to advance to the championship.

Ryan’s pick: 2. UConn

Championship – Saturday, Mar. 14

1. St. John’s vs. 2. UConn – 6:30 p.m. on FOX

This has been the best rivalry in the Big East for the past two seasons. Dan Hurley, Rick Pitino, Alex Karaban, Zuby Ejiofor, this list of star power could go on and on. The two teams split their head-to-head matchups this season. Although a 40-72 loss to UConn will not happen to St. John’s as it did a few weeks prior, my gut is telling me UConn finds a way to capture the Big East Tournament Championship after squandering their chance to share the Big East Regular Season Title with St. John’s.

Ryan’s pick: 2. UConn