Big East Basketball: What each team's 2024 New Year's Resolution should be
By John Makuch
It's the start of the New Year and for all Big East Basketball teams is hopefully, the start of something good. Some have more to hope for than others but everyone still has something to play for.
Here's a look at what each Big East program's New Year's Resolution should be.
UCONN - To avoid the injury bug
The UConn Huskies have had their issues with injuries this season, and even before the season. Star big man Donovan Clingan dealt with a foot issue, and now he is out for an extended period yet again after their loss to Seton Hall.
This is also a team that could have had a win against Kansas had Stephon Castle been healthy for that matchup, but unfortunately, he dealt with a knee issue that had him sidelined as well. Injuries are more of a random event besides a good performance from your training and fitness staff, so there is not much action they can take to fix this problem, but it is the only thing holding them back from repeating as champions in 2024.
For now, they will have to play this next stretch without Donovan Clingan, but they have figured out how to win without some major pieces before, so the Huskies will be in that position yet again.
Marquette - Improve rebounding
Despite their great season so far, and the great play of Oso Ighodaro, the Marquette Golden Eagles find themselves at 10th in the Big East in rebounds per game with 34.1. While they make up for this in other areas, this is still an area of concern going forward for this team, you cannot win a championship in this conference without quality rebounding, and this team needs to find that.
A big reason for this is how guard-heavy this team is, and obviously, efficiency will naturally bring offensive rebounding down, but Ighodaro solely holds down the glass. They can look to David Joplin to put in more work in terms of rebounding, who only averages 3.6 rebounds per game in 24.8 minutes of basketball. However, they have to do it, and that needs to be their big change in the new year.