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Big East Basketball: Searching for schedule trends

By Carmine Carcieri

Dec 31, 2014; Cincinnati, OH, USA; A general view of the Big East logo on the wall as the Xavier Musketeers take the court prior to the game against the Georgetown Hoyas at Cintas Center. Xavier won 70-53. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 31, 2014; Cincinnati, OH, USA; A general view of the Big East logo on the wall as the Xavier Musketeers take the court prior to the game against the Georgetown Hoyas at Cintas Center. Xavier won 70-53. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports /
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What are our takeaways/observations from the Big East basketball 2016-17 schedule?

Remember when the Big East was dead?

Related Story: Five takeaways from the Big East Tournament

Well, that narrative is thrown out the door following what was an excellent 2015-16 season for the conference.

Villanova won their first National Championship since 1985 on Kris Jenkins’ buzzer beating three pointer heard around the world. Before losing to Wisconsin in the second round, Xavier earned a two seed in the NCAA Tournament. Providence made it’s third straight Big Dance appearance under Ed Cooley and won their first game in the NCAA Tournament since 1997.

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Even Butler nearly shocked Virginia in the second round and Seton Hall got in on the fun by winning the Big East Tournament.

So, what does the league have in store for a follow up?

Villanova has a chance to be the first team to repeat as National Champions since the Florida Gators pulled it off in 2006-07. Xavier will once again be a top-10 team, Creighton is a borderline top-25 squad and Butler, Seton Hall and Georgetown will be in the mix for the Big Dance. Combine the improvement of St. John’s roster and another highly touted recruiting class for the Marquette Golden Eagles, and the Big East is going no where any time soon.

With excitement filling the air, the conference released it’s league slate last Tuesday. There are plenty of must-see match-ups and interesting trends, so let’s dive into our latest observations.

  • Conference play will tip-off on December 28 with four games on slate. DePaul at Villanova, Providence at Xavier and Georgetown at Marquette might not be big-draw games, but Seton Hall versus Creighton could be a special opening to the Big East schedule. The Pirates will be without Isaiah Whitehead this season, but return four junior starters. The Bluejays of Creighton have one of the best backcourts in the entire nation, consisting of Maurice Watson Jr. and Marcus Foster.
  • The Providence Friars received no time to break in their new look roster without Kris Dunn and Ben Bentil. Ed Cooley’s team opens up the season at Xavier, travels to Hinkle Fieldhouse to play the Butler Bulldogs, play their home opener against a much improved Georgetown team and battle Creighton at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center to close out their first four conference games.
  • Normally, the Big East has it’s annual five-game marathon on New Year’s Eve. This year, the conference has opted to stay away from a day that is dominated by college football. They will have their marathon on Martin Luther King Day (Monday, January 16) instead. The five match-ups consist of Marquette at Butler (12 p.m. ET), Creighton at Xavier (2 p.m. ET), DePaul at St. John’s (4:30 p.m. ET), Seton Hall at Villanova (6:30 p.m. ET) and Providence at Georgetown (9 p.m. ET).
  • Seton Hall plays three straight home games in the middle of February against the top three teams in the Big East, Creighton, Villanova and Xavier.
  • St. John’s tips-off conference play against Butler on December 29 at Carnesecca Arena. After winning just one game in the Big East last season (home versus DePaul), could the Johnnies steal the first game of league play?
  • The match-ups that every Big East fan is looking forward to? Xavier versus Villanova. The Musketeers travel to the Pavilion (not the Wells Fargo Center) for a showdown with the Wildcats on January 10. The return game at the Cintas Center will take place a month later (February 11).

Villanova is clearly the class of the conference and should finish on top of the standings for the fourth year in a row. Xavier will also likely finish in second with Creighton coming in at third, but beyond that, this league is wide open.

Who knows how good Butler will be without Kellen Dunham and Roosevelt Jones? How about the Hoyas with their 10-to-11 man rotation? And can Khadeen Carrington take the reins at point guard for the Pirates?

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There are a lot of question marks to be answered, but one thing is for sure, this is a conference that is right up there with the Power Five leagues.

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