Just a few weeks ago, Dan Hurley sat at a table in Madison Square Garden and declared that the Big East is the top men’s basketball conference in the nation. He also criticized other leagues that make similar claims but lack championship trophies.
It didn’t take a sleuth like Hercule Poirot, Nancy Drew, or Columbo to figure out who he was referring to. The Big East has won four of the last eight NCAA titles, while the Big Ten hasn’t done it in 25 years.
At the beginning of the 2024–25 college basketball season, however, the Big East hardly appears to be the best league in the country when the calendar turns to December.
The SEC and Big 12 each have four teams in the Top 10 of the KenPomrankings, while the conference has none at all.
Two Big East teams are listed in the KenPom Top 20: St. John’s at number 20 and Marquette at number 11.
UConn?
The two-time reigning national champions (5-3) are ranked No. 24 on KenPom and may be removed from the AP Top 25 after dropping their last three games in the Maui Invitational before defeating Maryland Eastern Shore 99-45 on Saturday night.
Hurley, a Jersey City native and former Seton Hallguard, stated Saturday night that “clearly a lot went on there and our performance in Maui shocked the college basketball world and the sports world.”
Hurley continued, “The psyche from the monster that the staff and players have created is jarring.” This was in reference to the Maui experience, in which UConn placed eighth out of eight teams. It was a very humiliating week that really got us in the ass.
Hurley’s behavior with the officials in Maui, when he was handed a technical foul in overtime of the Memphis game that led to his team’s first defeat, received condemnation from a number of sources.
Monmouth coach King Rice observed Hurley’s difficulties from the mainland and made an effort to empathize.
Following his team’s first victory of the season versus Seton Hall on Saturday, Rice remarked, “Danny lost [three] in a row and his job is hard.” All right? Thus, kindly lend your group your support. Love to your children. Alright, be upset with the coach if he decides to play with an excessively demanding timetable. Continue to help the children.
UConn50-Creighton56-Xavier60-Butler61-Villanova86-Georgetown98-PC99-DePaul127-Seton Hall Big East on KenPom11-Marquette20-St. John’s24
Although UConn’s early-season woes following the loss of four starters to the NBA have been startling, they are not the only Big East team to suffer setbacks.
Currently 5-3 and ranked No. 50 by KenPom, Creighton was selected second in the league. Before rallying to defeat Notre Dame on Saturday in the seventh-place game at the Players Festival in Las Vegas, the Bluejays suffered three consecutive losses: to AP No. 20 Texas A&M, San Diego State (by 18), and in-state foe Nebraska.
Xavier, which is 6-1 and ranked third in the Big East, just suffered a 25-point loss to Michigan last week.
Then there is Seton Hall, who was selected 10th in the Big East and has one of the weakest offenses in college basketball. They have lost to Fordham, Hofstra, and Monmouth, who were previously winless. On KenPom, the Pirates are ranked 127th.
That’s my fault as the coach. Following his team’s first defeat to Monmouth in 16 meetings, Pirates coach Shaheen Holloway made the following statement on Saturday. Anything that occurs is my responsibility since I will never put my players in a bad situation.
Villanova?
With losses to undefeated Columbia, St. Joes, Maryland, and Virginia, the Wildcats, who were selected sixth in the conference, are currently 4-4, casting doubt on Kyle Neptune’s ability to go out his fourth season as Jay Wright’s replacement.
Providence finished ninth in the Battle 4 Atlantis after dropping three straight games after starting the season 5-0.
There have been some bright spots in the Big East despite all of this gloom.
Marquette (8-0), ranked No. 10, has defeated Georgia, Maryland, and then-No. 6 Purdue to go undefeated.
Butler is 6-1 after defeating No. 25 Mississippi State and Northwestern to win the Arizona Tip-Off.
DePaul has a perfect 7-0 record under first-year coach Chris Holtmann, who was previously the Butler coach.
The league is also home to a number of outstanding rookies with NBA potential, like Georgetown forward Thomas Sorber and UConn wing Liam McNeeley. Those two are expected to compete for the title of Big East Freshman of the Year.
However, given the current state of the league, there won’t be many chances to defeat highly ranked opponents once league play begins.
The upcoming weeks can be crucial. This week marks the start of the Big 12-Big East Battle, as Butler (against KenPom No. 5 Houston), Marquette (against No. 6 Iowa State), and Creighton (against No. 7 Kansas) all have excellent chances to win significant non-conference games.
When UConn plays KenPom No. 23 Baylor on Wednesday night in Gampel Pavilion, it will have the opportunity to demonstrate that it is back on track. Hurley’s team will then play KenPom No. 3 Gonzaga (7-1) at Madison Square Garden on December 14 after traveling to KenPom No. 35 Texas (6-1) on Sunday.
Hurley stated, “I don’t think [Baylor] is a must-win game in game 9 of the season, but in Gampel, where we play great and are very comfortable, we know we’re going to have a great crowd.” This is an important game for both of us since we know we’re playing a top-tier squad.
Schedule of the Big 12-BIG East Battle
December 3.
Villanova at Cincinnati
Providence’s BYU
December 4th
Connecticut’s Baylor
Creighton, Kansas
Texas Tech’s DePaul
Iowa State at Marquette
December 6.
West Virginia’s Georgetown
At TCU, Xavier
December 7.
St. John’s University at Kansas State
Houston’s Butler
December 8th
Seton Hall, Oklahoma State
Adam Zagoria works as a freelance journalist for NJ Advance Media, covering Seton Hall and college basketball in New Jersey. You may visit his website at ZAGSBLOG.com and follow him on Twitter at @AdamZagoria.
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