Big East Basketball: 5 biggest takeaways from 2019 Gavitt Games

JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA - MARCH 21: Myles Powell #13 of the Seton Hall Pirates reacts in the second half against the Wofford Terriers during the first round of the 2019 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena on March 21, 2019 in Jacksonville, Florida. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images) /

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CHICAGO, ILLINOIS – FEBRUARY 12: DePaul Blue Demons cheerleaders perform against the Marquette Golden Eagles at Wintrust Arena on February 12, 2019 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Quinn Harris/Getty Images) /

2. DePaul is for real

One of the longest waiting games has been when DePaul Basketball finally becomes a factor in the Big East and potentially nationally. They’ve had some talented individual players but not a good enough collective roster to make the NCAA Tournament – something the program hasn’t done since 2004.

After some false starts, it really seems like things have changed for the better. The Blue Demons have started 4-0 for the first time since the 2008-09 season. They passed their first real test in the Gavitt Games, beating Iowa on the road, 93-78. Big man Paul Reed had 25 points and 12 rebounds while Jalen Coleman-Lands chipped in with 17. Kansas transfer Charlie Moore had just eight points but still leads the team in scoring overall in 16.5 ppg and 4.5 apg.

With transfers and quality freshmen such as Romeo Weems and Markese Jacobs arriving, DePaul has a legit rotation feating power conference talent that can both score and defend. Could they collapse and be the same old Blue Demons? Sure. But I have a good feeling it won’t be the case.

3. Villanova really needs Bryan Antoine soon

The biggest surprise from the Gavitt Games wasn’t that Villanova lost at Ohio State but the fact that they lost by 25 points and were never in the game from jump. The Buckeyes are a legit Final Four threat… but so are supposed to be the Wildcats. There’s no need to overreact to a Jay Wright-coached team but it’s clear that this Villanova squad will have their fair share of ups and downs.

Freshman Jeremiah Robinson-Earl will have some good and bad games but the other key players such as Saddiq Bey and Collin Gillespie will have to play at a consistently high level to keep the Wildcats around top-10 status. This team has a high ceiling but apparently a low floor as well.
The good news is that five-star freshman Bryan Antoine has been recently cleared to practice.

Hopefully, he’ll be back around the start of December and add another weapon to the rotation. But the Ohio State loss did make it clear that he’s an important piece to any potential run in the ladder part of the season.

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