One of the stories worth watching this year was how the new Big East would fare. My concerns were I didn't see a dominant team or one capable of national prominence unless things absolutely broke right. I did believe there was sufficient depth and a possibility at 5-6 teams to make the dance. The first part looks to be true, the second? Doubtful.
The Leaders:
- Creighton: The Bluejays have looked impressive early in Big East play and appear the team to beat. They romped Marquette on New Year's Eve and added a nice win at Xavier this past Sunday. Last night, they ran Butler off the court in an offensive clinic. National POY candidate, Doug McDermott matched Butler with 24 in the 1st half.
I tweeted some incredible offensive numbers last night. Forward Ethan Wragge has become such a weapon for this team paired with McDermott, teams simply have no answer for both of them. Double Doug? Wragge is going to get open and kill you. Entering last night, he had an effective fg% of 71.6% while attempting only 6 2-pt fgs. That's 2nd best in the nation. The term Wragge Bomb will likely terrorize teams the rest of the year.
Creighton has yet to do much travel out east, only venturing to Jersey so far against a woeful Seton Hall team. We'll have to see how they handle that as the season progresses but you may not see a better offensive team in all of college basketball this season.
- Villanova: I wasn't sure what to make of Villanova heading into the season. I certainly liked the pieces but wasn't sure how it would all come together. Well, it's melded quite nicely for Jay Wright. The Wildcats are 3rd in KenPom and are effective on both sides of the ball.
They're getting contributions up and down the lineup with key minutes and play coming from freshan Josh Hart. Despite lacking a lot of size, the Wildcats are effecient on the glass, more than holding their own. They could be a little stronger with the ball but even that isn't a terrible issue for them.
Their only loss has come to Syracuse who happens to be undefeated. They won the Battle for Atlantis beating a green Kansas team but earned it with a nice win over a very good Iowa ball club. After a few middling seasons, Jay Wright has Villanova trending upwards again.
The Disappointments:
- Marquette: I chronicled their misery earlier this month. Since then, play has still been uneven with the backcourt being the primary concern.
- Providence: I pegged Providence as a breakout team this season. Then projected Big Easy Newcomer of the Year Brandon Austin was suspended and subsequently transferred to Oregon. Fellow newcomer Rodney Bullock is still suspended and guard Kris Dunn re-injured his shoulder ending his season.
Coach Ed Cooley can still probably salvage a NIT appearance but a return trip to the NCAAs is not going to happen.
- St. John's: I've been duped by Steve Lavin teams so many times, he could sell me beachfront property in Kansas. I also bought into CBS Sports college hoops scribe Jon Rothstein who continually calls St. John's the 'most talented" team in the Big East. Athetic talent and basketball talent don't always equate. Chances are, I'll buy in next year, too.
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If the season ends today, it looks like the new Big East gets 4 teams into the NCAA tournament. Villanova, Creighton and Xavier are locks with Georgetown looking pretty healthy. DePaul, Seton Hall, St. John's, Providence & Butler have no chance with Marquette needing a big run.
The league has recruited very well in its first season out of football land. It'll need to continue to do that. The league could also use a villain and bully. In the 80s, that was Big John and Georgetown. The recent was Syracuse. If I've learned anything on social media when it comes to the schools of this conference, primarily the original members, they were unified by one thing, their unabashed hatred for all things Syracuse.
The Big East 2.0 is still finding itself and ordering its basketball hierarchy. It may take a few years for us to figure out who the new bully is and where the new rivalries are. It'll be a fascinating experiment in basketball only schools dedicated to winning
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