The Big East finished last season as one of the most competitive conferences in the country, sending three teams to March Madness and boasting six teams with over 20 wins in the regular season.
This year is looking no different — while many stars have since graduated or been drafted into the NBA, high-level recruitment has brought in a total of 15 four and five-star recruits along with multiple impact transfers, making this season one of the most exciting for the conference in recent memory. As the dust settles on the player movement chaos, here is a brief look at how all the Big East men’s basketball teams are shaping up for the season.
1. University of Connecticut Huskies
Despite many of their big names like Stephon Castle, Donovan Clingan, Tristen Newton and Cam Spencer being drafted into the NBA, the Huskies are still the favorite to top the Big East after capping off a 37-3 (18-2 Big East) season with a national championship. UConn secured the commitment of forward Liam McNeeley, the No. 9 recruit in the class of 2024, alongside two four-star transfers in guard Aidan Mahaney and center Tarris Reed Jr. for the No. 11 transfer class of the offseason. Under Head Coach Dan Hurley, who has already cemented himself as one of the greatest collegiate basketball coaches we have seen, the Huskies have proven an ability to produce consistently top-level play and are well-positioned in their pursuit of a third consecutive national title.
2. Creighton Bluejays
Center Ryan Kalkbrenner, who averaged a career-high 17.3 points, 7.6 rebounds and a league-best 3.1 blocks per game, returns as the centerpiece of a Sweet 16 side that went 25-10 (14-6 Big East) last year for a No. 3 seed in the NCAA tournament. Around him, Creighton brought in a strong crop of newcomers including the top-60 recruit duo of forward Jackson McAndrew and guard Larry Johnson, transfer guard Pop Isaacs from Texas Tech University and Montenegro national team guard Fedor Žugić. The Bluejays’ success this season hinges on whether these new additions can replace the production from impact starters Trey Alexander and Baylor Scheierman.
3. Marquette Golden Eagles
Though they lacked movement this summer, the Golden Eagles are hoping to keep a top position in the Big East and possibly contend for the title. Luckily, with the exception of NBA draftees Tyler Kolek and Oso Ighodaro, they have retained many players who led their team to a second-place Big East finish with a 27-10 (14-6 Big East) record. The Golden Eagles look to improve upon their disappointing Sweet 16 exit against then-No. 11-seeded NC State for yet another deep tournament run with an experienced core.
4. St. John’s Red Storm
Despite St. John’s middling 20-13 (11-9 Big East) record and NCAA tournament miss last year, the Red Storm enter this season with high hopes for the No. 4 transfer class in all of college basketball. Newcomers like guards Kadary Richmond and Deivon Smith, in particular, give the Johnnies a high ceiling despite also facing the greatest variability in possible finishes in the regular season standings.
5. Xavier Musketeers
The Musketeers are projected to have the highest jump in rankings following an extremely active transfer window where they acquired seven new players, with four being four-star recruits. Specifically, the addition of Cam’Ron Fletcher, who averaged 6.7 points and 5.0 rebounds in only 15.6 minutes per game at FSU, as well as Ryan Conwell, who averaged 16.6 points and led Indiana State to the NIT final, will push the Musketeers toward a potential top-five conference finish and improve upon their previous 16-18 (9-11 Big East) record.
6. Providence Friars
After a promising first season under Head Coach Kim English, the Friars return with extra reinforcements in top-50 recruit forward Oswin Erhunmwunse and four four-star transfers, headlined by former Chicago State guard Wesley Cardet Jr. Yet, to improve upon their previous 21-14 (10-10 Big East) record, English needs to continue maturing as a tactician while leading his team without the star power of Devin Carter. Still, Providence looks to be a tough opponent for anyone in the conference.
7. Villanova Wildcats
Villanova cleaned house in Head Coach Kyle Neptune’s third season managing the team after another underwhelming Big East finish. With nine new faces behind the No. 24 recruiting class and a deep transfer cohort, patience is running out as Neptune needs to find a way to rally his new-look Wildcats to a better finish than their 18-16 (10-10 Big East) record from last year against the giants of the Big East.
8. Seton Hall Pirates
Roster turnover defined Seton Hall’s offseason. After losing a whopping 11 players, including Kadary Richmond, Dre Davis, Jaden Bediako and Al-Amir Dawes, the Pirates acquired eight total transfers to restock on talent and depth. While Seton Hall managed to get an interesting mixture of experienced veterans and potential-laden youngsters, they look to potentially struggle with an almost entirely reloaded roster compared to last year’s NIT tournament-winning, 25-12 (13-7 Big East) squad.
9. Georgetown Hoyas
Georgetown had one of the most active and impressive summers in all of collegiate basketball. They were able to land three four-star and one three-star transfers, highlighted by Ivy League freshman of the year guard Malik Mack, as well as three top-100 recruits. Additionally, the Hoyas retained star guard Jayden Epps, who averaged 18.2 points and 4.2 assists in the 2023-24 season. This team has very high hopes and oozes with potential entering this season as they look to continue their rebuild toward the top; until then, Head Coach Ed Cooley needs to prove to the Hoya faithful that this is not the same 9-23 (2-18 Big East) lineup from last year.
10. Butler Bulldogs
The Bulldogs, coming off a mediocre 18-15 (9-11 Big East) season, had the lowest-ranked transfer class in the Big East in an unproductive high school recruitment cycle in which they acquired zero total top-150 prospects. Coming off of a rather poor season amidst a longer downward trend across the past few years, the Bulldogs are projected to fall even further and finish as one of the bottom teams in the Big East.
11. DePaul Demon Deacons
The Blue Demons are coming off one of the worst college basketball seasons in recent history, only accruing three total wins and none in the Big East. DePaul also secured no notable transfers, focusing heavily on quantity over quality with a whopping 11 new players. New Head Coach Christopher Holtmann faces a massive uphill battle in his return to the Big East, as his team searches for any sort of rhythm to climb their way out of the bottom of the conference.