Big East Basketball: Top 5 potential additions to join UConn in the league

1. Gonzaga

There is no question that while the WCC is a mid-major conference, Gonzaga does not play like a mid-major program. Mark Few is about to begin his 21st season in Spokane, and the Bulldogs have made the NCAA Tournament in every single one of those seasons. It’s easy to knock their conference, giving them a slate of easy games in January and February, but their recent success has proven that this wasn’t a fluke.

The Bulldogs played for the national championship in 2017. They are the most successful program that the Big East will ever consider. They’ve played games in recent years against current Big East schools and have proven time and time again that they are a national force. Regardless of location, Few is going to go out and land an impressive group of recruits and Gonzaga always seems to be nationally ranked.

Obviously, geography would be a struggle. Gonzaga is all the way on the west coast, thousands of miles away from most of the conference. Few and the Bulldogs have stated that they could make the move work, but that’s a lot of travel for these student athletes, and not just in basketball. Each of the current 11 Big East teams would also have to travel to Spokane on a yearly basis, a commitment that might be hard to make.

The bottom line is that from a basketball perspective, there isn’t a better move. Even if the geography is whack, Gonzaga is a private school with an elite basketball team and no football program. If the geography works, this is the best move for the competitiveness of Big East basketball. Just imagine watching Gonzaga play Villanova and Marquette instead of Portland and Pacific twice a year.

These were five potential additions to the Big East, but maybe the conference is content with 11 schools? Either way, there are no shortage of intriguing options for the Big East and it’ll be interesting to see the next moves in conference realignment.