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Big East Basketball: Final Team Grades and Rankings for 2017-18

By Tristan Freeman

CINCINNATI, OH - FEBRUARY 28: Xavier Musketeers players celebrate after winning the Big East Conference regular season title with an 84-74 win over the Providence Friars at Cintas Center on February 28, 2018 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
CINCINNATI, OH - FEBRUARY 28: Xavier Musketeers players celebrate after winning the Big East Conference regular season title with an 84-74 win over the Providence Friars at Cintas Center on February 28, 2018 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /
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PHILADELPHIA, PA – MARCH 03: Head coach Patrick Ewing of the Georgetown Hoyas reacts during the game against the Villanova Wildcats at Wells Fargo Center on March 3, 2018 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Drew Hallowell/Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA, PA – MARCH 03: Head coach Patrick Ewing of the Georgetown Hoyas reacts during the game against the Villanova Wildcats at Wells Fargo Center on March 3, 2018 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Drew Hallowell/Getty Images) /

The 2017-18 season is over, so it’s time to take one final look at Big East Basketball. Here are the final rankings and grades for each team.

10. DePaul Blue Demons 11-20 (4-14)

2017-18 postseason result: None

Season Grade: D-

Another year, another basement-level finish for the Blue Demons. Tied for last in the Big East standings, DePaul’s best wins were against Providence and Marquette. Add to it six conference defeats where the margin was at least 15 points, it was once again a season to forget for this team.

9. St. John’s Red Storm 16-17 (4-14)

2017-18 postseason result: None

Season Grade: D+

This season was heading towards complete failure, after the season-ending injury to guard Marcus LoVett. St. John’s lost every game they played in January and were riding a 12 game Big East losing streak.

Then the impossible happened. The Red Storm knocked off Duke and Villanova in back-to-back games, with Shamorie Ponds dropping 59 points to lead the upsets. That saved not only the season from being a complete failure but possibly Chris Mullins’ job.

8. Georgetown Hoyas 15-15 (5-13)

2017-18 postseason result: None

Season Grade: B

This is an expectations-based grade since very little was expected of the Hoyas in Patrick Ewing’s first season as the head coach. We had to wait until Big East play, since the non-conference schedule was filled with teams from the SWAC and MEAC, arguably the two worst college basketball leagues.

But between the three overtime losses and four other winnable games that went the other way, Georgetown would’ve had an even better season. Expect big things from the program going forward.

 7. Marquette Golden Eagles 21-14 (9-9)

2017-18 postseason result: NIT Third Round

Season Grade: C

Coming into the season we knew that the Golden Eagles wouldn’t have a problem scoring (although Markus Howard had an even better season than expected). The question was going to be whether or not they would play enough defense to get back to the NCAA Tournament.

The answer was ultimate no. And for the most part, the Golden Eagles beat the teams they were supposed to and lost to those that were better than them. Hence, the average grade.

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