The Big East had anticipated a solid campaign heading into this year’s edition of March Madness. Coming off back-to-back National Titles victorious, the conference has already been put to rest.
It didn’t take long for the Big East to exit the Big Dance. After the official bracket was revealed on Selection Sunday, the conference saw five teams reach the 2025 NCAA Tournament. However, the previous standard set by the UConn Huskies, seemed to be too heavy for the rest of the conference to overcome.
This year’s bracket was home to several Big East teams including: St. John’s (2 seed), Marquette (7 seed), UConn (8 seed), Creighton (9 seed), and Xavier (11 seed). While the seeding wasn’t exactly what the conference had hoped for, there was loads of potential especially up-front with St. John’s, and UConn returning for more.
Those hopes were shot to their grave as each team in the conference failed to make it out of the Round of 32. After Marquette and Xavier lost in the first round, UConn and Creighton each lost in close outings to respective one-seeds Auburn and Florida.
And St. John’s… well that’s a different story.
It all started on Friday, March 21, when both Xavier and Marquette lost. Xavier reached the tournament as an 11 seed after winning their First Four matchup in dramatic style. Former Xavier head coach Sean Miller defeated his now, current team, Texas Longhorns 86-80 after trailing most of the game. Following the excitement, the Musketeers were sought to possibly upset the No. 6 Illinois Fighting Illini. However, after a close first half, the Illini ran away and defeated Xavier 86-73 in the first round.
Possibly the biggest trainwreck down the stretch was Marquette. The Golden Eagles became extremely streaky after starting their season hot with wins over Purdue, Maryland, and Wisconsin. Carrying little to no momentum into the tournament did Shaka Smart’s team no favor. Marquette lost 75-66 to No. 10 New Mexico in the first round.
Most of the deep-run hopes truly replied on the Big East’s top 3 teams. St. John’s, UConn, and Creighton, were all Sweet 16 hopefuls after dominating their first matchups. Creighton was the first team to handle business across the tournament field. As underdogs, the Bluejays defeated No. 8 Louisville with massive performances from Jamiya Neal, Steven Ashworth, and Ryan Kalkbrenner. Having to face the toughest team in America was no easy challenge. The Bluejays put up a solid effort and even played a close game most of the way. However, Auburn and Johni Broome were too much to handle. The Bluejays surrendered to an 82-70 loss in the Round of 32.
That story was relativity the same with UConn who led throughout most of the second half and lost late due to big performances from Walter Clayton Jr. and Alijah Martin. UConn was ultimately, the final Big East team to lose, following a close 77-75 defeat.
Following the loss, UConn head coach Dan Hurley stated in an interview, “I thought we played with the heart of a championship program… there’s an honor in the way we went out.” Hurley emotionally continued, “This year has been a real battle, we’ve had to battle, and battle, and battle. At times I don’t think we liked each other a whole lot with some of the things we had to go through together. But I don’t think I love a team more.”
The question now stands, are the glory days past the Big East?
There was no bigger disappointment than St. John’s who marshalled a tremendous season under Rick Pitino. The “Johnnies” lost in their ideal environment, Providence, Rhode Island. Yet, again, it was another SEC opponent. John Calipari’s Arkansas Razorbacks eliminated St. John’s in another close battle that came down to the wire. It was a 75-66 loss.
“They were the better team,” Coach Pitino said following the loss. “They outplayed us. They deserve to move on and we don’t. That’s what March Madness is all about, sometimes no matter how great a regular season you have, you play this way and you’re going to get beat.”
St. John’s won the Big East Tournament and finished the regular season with a 31-5 record (18-2 conference). The Red Storm tragically suffered from foul trouble and lackluster performances from stars including RJ Ruis and Kadary Richmond.
To say the Big East doesn’t have talent is blasphemy. The conference might be heading towards some issues with the noticeable trends in postseason let-up. The Big East has won 4 of the last 10 National Championships, delivered by UConn and Villanova. As the conference searches for regained dominance one could only question, has the conference seen its glory days?