Big East Basketball: Projecting the 2019-20 all-conference teams

First-Team All-Big East*

*Note: The Big East names six players to the first team.

G Markus Howard, Marquette

Stats: 27.7 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 3.3 apg, 42/41/85 percent shooting

Howard’s scuffling teammates may cheat him out of his second consecutive Big East Player of the Year award, but he is a no-doubt unanimous first-team selection. He is pacing the league with some staggering metrics:

• 27.7 ppg (first, Powell is second at 21.3)
• 37.9 percent usage rate (first, Powell is second at 33.6)
• 10.2 box plus/minus (first, Reed second at 8.7)
• 6.9 PORPAGATU! (first, Bey second at 5.1)
• 115 three-point makes (first, Bey second at 76)
• 112.4 offensive rating (fifth, min. 18 percent usage rate)
• 58.8 percent true shooting (sixth, min. 18 percent usage rate)
• 26.4 assist rate (sixth)

Howard has bettered his 2018-19 performance when he took home the conference POY, while his chief competitor Powell has been worse. But similarly to the Oklahoma collapse in 2017-18 that prevented Trae Young from winning Big 12 Player of the Year even though his numbers (27 & 9 on 42 percent shooting) were far superior to Devonte’ Graham’s (17 & 7 on 40 percent shooting), Howard may have to settle for a first-team honor. As always, one lesson remains: don’t lose to DePaul.

G Myles Powell, Seton Hall

Stats: 21.3 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 2.8 apg, 40/31/80 percent shooting

Powell’s numbers are down across the board after his breakout junior campaign, which can be partially attributed to his injury woes throughout the season. However, as the headliner on the conference’s first-place squad, he is a surefire selection to the all-Big East first-team and the possible POY beneficiary of Marquette’s late-season implosion, no matter how unseemly that 39/26/81 percent shooting line in conference play may look on the stat sheet (among the 24 Big East players to post at least a 30 percent usage rate since 2009-10, Powell ranks just 18th in offensive rating).

Powell still deserves plenty of credit for the legacy he has built-in South Orange. When Desi Rodriguez, Angel Delgado, and Khadeen Carrington graduated in 2018, Seton Hall said goodbye to the core of one of the program’s finest classes in school history. For Powell to pick up that mantle, push the Pirates into the national spotlight, and potentially cap his senior season with a Big East title, a protected NCAA tournament seed, and a conference POY trophy is quite the accomplishment for the Trenton native.

G Ty-Shon Alexander, Creighton

Stats: 17.0 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 2.3 apg, 43/40/86 percent shooting

Alexander’s progression from intriguing rookie to impact sophomore to a two-way beast as a junior has been a treat to watch. His multi-faceted scoring talents are a perfect fit for Creighton’s equal-opportunity offense, and his defense has been the Jays’ secret weapon as they’ve rocketed up the standings. The aforementioned Howard and Powell have combined for just 14.3 ppg on 27 percent shooting from the field and 22 percent shooting from beyond the arc in three games against Creighton this season, largely due to Alexander’s defensive prowess. He may be the leader in the clubhouse for 2021 Big East Player of the Year award.

F Saddiq Bey, Villanova

Stats: 16.0 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 2.4 apg, 48/45/77 percent shooting

After a promising freshman campaign, I was excited to see what the Maryland product had in store for his sophomore season. Bey has not disappointed, expertly filling the Wildcats’ need for scoring on the wing.

Using his 6-foot-8 frame to rise up over defenders, Bey has absolutely gashed the Big East from deep, knocking down nearly 48 percent of his treys in conference play. His 118.6 offensive rating leads the Big East, among players with at least an 18 percent usage rate.

Bey should be a mainstay on the all-Big East first team for years to come, but he may make the jump to the NBA this spring. His size and stroke have catapulted him up the draft boards, so much so that he is now seemingly a first-round lock, with a chance to sneak into the back-end of the lottery as well. Bey would be the seventh Wildcat drafted in the first round in the Jay Wright era.

G Marcus Zegarowski, Creighton

Stats: 15.9 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 5.0 apg, 48/41/76 percent shooting

G Kamar Baldwin, Butler

Stats: 15.6 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 3.3 apg, 41/31/85 percent shooting

It was splitting hairs for the final two first-team spots between Zegarowski, Baldwin, and Villanova’s Collin Gillespie. At varying points throughout this process, to which noted Busting Brackets expert Lukas Harkins can attest, I had all three on the first team at one point or another. I settled on the Creighton and Butler stars, and I still don’t feel great about it.

Let’s make the case for all three:

Zegarowski knocks down over 40 percent of his threes, is a wildly efficient scorer from all over the floor, and is the motor for the best offense in the Big East.

Baldwin is the best defender of the group, is carrying a massive offensive load for a banged-up Butler squad, and has hit his fair share of clutch baskets throughout the season.

Gillespie is the leader of an incredibly inexperienced Villanova group that yet again has a chance to grab a share of the conference title, doing a little bit of everything on the floor – solid team defense, quality shooting, excellent passing, and a minuscule turnover rate.

In the end, I went with the players who scare me the most as an opposing fan. It feels as if Zegarowski has total control of the game, merely toying with defenders as he contemplates popping a three or slithering to the rim. Gillespie provides much of the same skill set, but doesn’t have quite the same ceiling. Baldwin’s lower efficiency was nearly enough to push him onto the second team; among all players with at least a 25 percent usage rate across college basketball, Baldwin ranks just 149th in offensive rating (103.4). But he carries such a heavy load for the Bulldogs on both ends of the floor that I gave him the nod. I am already unsure of that decision.