Big East Basketball: 2023 conference tournament preview and predictions
By Joey Loose
The Big East Basketball Tournament kicks off on Wednesday from Madison Square Garden; which team cuts down the nets in New York?
This year marks one decade since Big East Basketball reformed in 2013, with many of those old schools heading to the AAC and ACC. In the time since that happened, Villanova has dominated this conference but that has not happened this season. In that way, it’s been an unusual season in the Big East, but Villanova is not left for dead and there’s a lot of talent here on display.
The top half of the conference is very strong and there will be five NCAA Tournament teams from this league. Marquette secured the top spot in this tournament and certainly was the strongest of the bunch, blowing out Baylor, winning impressive games in conference play, and taking the conference crown. Connecticut has also looked mighty impressive at times, but a rough stretch in the middle of the season leaves them with work to do in New York.
Despite their own struggles, preseason favorite Creighton has still put themselves in great position to make noise, both in the conference and in the Big Dance, and might have the league’s most talented starting five. Let’s not forget either about Xavier and Providence, two very strong teams that will be in the NCAA Tournament and will not be an easy out in the postseason.
Seeing DePaul and Georgetown struggle is nothing new, but the dismal play of Villanova this season has been unexpected, even in their first year without Hall of Fame coach Jay Wright. St. John’s was another team down on their luck this season, with a talented roster expected to produce at a higher level than this. That just leaves Seton Hall and Butler, two teams rebuilding under new head coaches who is likely to be conference contenders a few years from now.
While Villanova has won four of the last five Big East Tournament titles, it was 8-seed Georgetown who got the job done during a surprising run back in 2021. With Villanova down and a tight collection near the top, this truly could be anyone’s league to win. It’s fair to say that the Big East Tournament will be one of the most exciting in the coming week, but who’ll get the job done?