Big East Play Starts Tomorrow: Storylines and Predictions for the Conference

We’re a day away from conference play getting started for the Big East. The conference is totally done with nonconference play just yet, but with games like St. John’s/Seton Hall and Xavier/DePaul going tomorrow, I figure let’s jump into a look at the conference. I mean, what are you going to do, actually work today?

NCAA Tournament Projections

Locks: Marquette, Villanova, St. John’s, Butler, Creighton
Bubble: Providence, Seton Hall
NIT: Xavier, Georgetown
Other: DePaul

Storylines To Watch

1. Is this still Villanova’s league? 

I know Xavier won the conference last year but the consensus was the Big East was still owned by Villanova. Perhaps it’s because Villanova owns Xavier but it never felt like Xavier was the best team in the conference. This year we have Villanova not looking like, well, Villanova. They are ‘struggling’ by their measures after the departure of everyone from last year. So with that in mind, we’ve seen them take a little bit of a jump on the road against Kansas in a close loss and the blowout win over UConn. The question is what are they going to look like come February. The league is pretty bunched up, but for me the first question has to be if anyone can beat Nova in the Big East again.

2. Just how good is St. John’s?

Yeah, St. John’s is undefeated and yes they have arguably the most talented backcourt in the conference. But, we have no idea just how good this team is. The Red Storm haven’t played anyone of note in the nonconference. The best win is neutral vs VCU or neutral vs Georgia Tech – two teams that really aren’t close to tournament teams. This is the biggest concern for me with St. John’s. Despite the weak schedule they are barely a top-100 defensive team. Now, that can change whenever they get Sedee Keita back and add a rim protector. I also want to see Chris Mullin in a close game. This is the first year he’s had real expectations as a head coach and he’s done the job he had to in the nonconference, but how is he going to be when it’s a 6 point game vs Butler in February?

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3. Will Marquette’s defense hold up? 

One of the more specific storylines for me is Marquette’s defense. This was arguably the biggest individual storyline for the conference coming into the year. Marquette has always been a great offensive team. No one was going to doubt that with Markus Howard and the Hauser brothers on the roster. But, we’ve seen Marquette be unable to get stops the last couple of years and that’s how you end up with just 1 tournament trip under Wojo. This year? Marquette has the No. 50 defense according to KenPom with a schedule that’s included Kansas, Louisville, Wisconsin, Buffalo, Kansas State and Indiana. That’s exactly what it needs to be for Marquette to be good this year. If Marquette can continue to have a top-50 defense then you’re talking about a team that should be the favorite in the Big East and second weekend NCAA Tournament team.

4. Is Myles Powell going to go full Kemba? 

Myles Powell of Seton Hall has shown the ability to just take over a game and flat out win it. He did it against Kentucky earlier in the month. His ability to get his own shot and go from a bad half to winning a game is unreal. He’s one of the guys that has that ‘Kemba’ possibility to win the Big East tournament on his own back. He’s playing the 73rd most percentage of minutes in the country this season. He’s top-200 in percentage of shots and possessions. The ball is going to be in his hands a whole hell of a lot during Big East play. Seton Hall is likely going to end up as a bubble team but does have two quality wins over Kentucky (neutral) and Maryland (road). Powell can change that during conference play to a lock.

5. Can Providence hold serve without AJ Reeves? 

AJ Reeves is expected to return from injury sometime in mid to late January as long as there are no setbacks with the foot injury. He was turning into the second scoring option behind Alpha Diallo. The Friars were able to get a huge road win over Texas without Reeves but now we have Big East play. They play three home games vs Creighton, Villanova and Seton Hall with a road game at Georgetown before Reeves is likely to return after Jan. 15. If they can go 2-2 without Reeves, they should be in decent position for his return.

All-Conference Team Predictions: Markus Howard (Marquette), Shamorie Ponds (St. John’s), Myles Powell (Seton Hall), Max Strus (DePaul), Alphia Diallo (Providence)

Big East Player of the Year: Markus Howard (Marquette)

Big East Coach of the Year: Steve Wojciechowski (Marquette)