The fifth season after the split of the Big East could hardly have been better for the conference. It was that good a year.
The highlight was Villanova winning their second national championship in three years. They are poised to contend once again pending early NBA Draft decisions, but regardless, the Wildcats have been on a historic run. They are one of the elite programs in the country now, one that should be brought up in the same breath as the Dukes, the Kentuckys and Michigan States of the world. Jay Wright has now built them into a program that reloads and remains national contenders.
There was much more, however. Xavier actually won the outright regular season title and joined the Wildcats as a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. The Musketeers entered March as one of the hottest teams in the country.
Quality teams were right behind those two. The three teams that tied for third place were all good ones, though Seton Hall and Providence had up-and-down campaigns that surely gave their fans a bit of heartburn along the way. Butler had their moments good and bad in LaVall Jordan’s first season at the helm, but the end result was what has come to be expected: another NCAA Tournament bid along with 21 wins.
There is mostly good news looking further down the standings. Marquette was not far from the NCAA Tournament and won two games in the NIT, Georgetown was better than expected in Patrick Ewing’s first season at the helm, and St. John’s looked like they had a chance to be good before starting Big East play.
Four of the six teams that reached the NCAA Tournament won at least one game, though only Villanova advanced past the first weekend. Butler, Seton Hall and Xavier all lost by five points or less in the second round, with the Musketeers’ being the stunner as Florida State had a big rally after Xavier seemed to be in control.
The end result is that the Big East was second to the Big 12 in RPI, edging out the SEC and ACC. The Big Ten and Pac-12 were further back. This season was not an isolated one in terms of the success of the teams since the conference split in 2013. It tells you that the idea of a “Power 5 plus Big East” is off the mark. The Big East has re-asserted itself as a power conference, it is merely a slimmed-down, basketball only one as opposed to what it was before that.
The conference is in a great place, and one far better than many probably expected before the split. Even though next year looks like one with some uncertainty as to who will challenge Villanova and how the teams will come in, this won’t be the first time that is the case.
There is coaching stability in the conference, for now at least. After the season, one coaching change took place. Xavier head coach Chris Mack left to take the same job at Louisville, replaced by assistant coach Travis Steele. That means there will be some continuity on the bench, although the Musketeers will be hit by big graduation losses.
Final Standings
| Xavier | ||
| Villanova | ||
| Seton Hall | ||
| Creighton | ||
| Providence | ||
| Butler | ||
| Marquette | ||
| Georgetown | ||
| St. John’s | ||
| DePaul |
Conference Tournament
With a few exceptions, the Big East Tournament had a lot of close games with drama in the final minutes.
The first round began with a matchup of teams with coaches who played during the conference’s glory years. No. 9 St. John’s took out No. 8 Georgetown 88-77, before No. 7 Marquette had to hold off No. 10 DePaul 72-69.
The quarterfinals had two sessions that were a mirror image of each other. The afternoon began with No. 1 Xavier blowing out a St. John’s team that had almost no rest 88-60, followed by a dandy as No. 5 Providence edged No. 4 Creighton 72-68 in overtime. In the night session, No. 2 Villanova took care of Marquette 94-70, then No. 6 Butler got a stickback in the final seconds to edge No. 3 Seton Hall 75-74.
In the first semifinal, Villanova scored the first 19 points of the game and was never seriously challenged in an 87-68 win over Butler. The second was another great ballgame, with Providence rallying from being down by 17 points to send the game to overtime, where they then knocked off Xavier 75-72.
The championship game was a dandy, as could be expected since Providence has at times given Villanova fits even in Villanova. The Wildcats built up a 12-point lead on a few occasions in the second half, but Providence rallied once again and had a chance to win at the buzzer, but they instead played their third overtime game. There, they finally ran out of gas as Villanova won 76-66 to take home their third Big East championship in four years.
Postseason Awards
Player of the Year: Jalen Brunson, Villanova
Rookie of the Year: Omari Spellman, Villanova
Coach of the Year: Chris Mack, Xavier
Defensive Player of the Year: Khyri Thomas, Creighton
Sixth Man Award: Donte DiVincenzo, Villanova
Most Improved Player: Myles Powell, Seton Hall
All-Conference Team
Trevon Bluiett, Sr. G, Xavier
Mikal Bridges, Jr. F, Villanova
Jalen Brunson, Jr. G, Villanova
Marcus Foster, Sr. G, Creighton
Kelan Martin, Sr. F, Butler
Shamorie Ponds, So. G, St. John’s
Season Highlights
- Villanova won their second national championship in three years.
- Two Big East teams – Xavier and Villanova – landed No. 1 seeds in the NCAA Tournament.
- Villanova guard Jalen Brunson swept the major National Player of the Year awards.
- The conference’s non-conference mark (103-23) is the third-best in conference history, bettered only in 1984-85 and 1988-89.
What we expected, and it happened: Villanova was a powerhouse. The Wildcats returned a team with the requisite talent and experience, not to mention toughness, to go far, and they did just that.
What we expected, and it didn’t happen: Providence was expected to give a good push for the top spot, but finished several games back. The Friars returned every rotation player from a year ago, although Emmett Holt suffered a season-ending injury, but had an up-and-down campaign between injuries, illness and other inconsistency. They were good, but a little more was expected.
What we didn’t expect, and it happened: St. John’s lost their first 11 Big East games. Not only were the Red Storm expected to be better, but they showed real promise in non-conference play. They took fifth place at the AdvoCare Invitational, losing only a tough one to Missouri, had decent wins over the likes of Nebraska and Saint Joseph’s, and had a nice RPI coming out of non-conference play, although they needed some good wins in Big East play for NCAA Tournament consideration. The start to Big East play ended any chance of that, although they followed that up with four straight wins including a win over Duke at Madison Square Garden.
Team(s) on the rise: Georgetown. The first under Patrick Ewing was better than most expected, and based on early off-season happenings the Hoyas look like they are not far away from being an NCAA Tournament team again.
Team(s) on the decline: Xavier. It won’t be steep, because the Musketeers just don’t do that, but there’s no denying that losing their top five players is going to mean a big hit next year, especially with a coaching change (even if it is a guy who has been in the program like Chris Mack was when he took over).
2018-19 Big East Outlook
Villanova remains the team to beat, but the margin may dissipate a little since the Wildcats lose four starters. Still, they have Phil Booth and Eric Paschall leading the way and a strong cast of newcomers ready to come in and contribute. They even have talented players like Jermaine Samuels who didn’t play much in 2017-18 between an injury and waiting his turn.
Who will follow them? It’s a great question given that pretty much everyone else loses a lot of pieces as well. Xavier loses all five starters, Providence loses their stalwart point guard and forward, Seton Hall loses most of their top contributors, Creighton loses Marcus Foster and Khyri Thomas and Butler loses Kelan Martin. Marquette, for good measure, watches Andrew Rowsey walk out the door.
Many of these teams gain key players, but how it all shakes out is a tough call. You might pick Xavier as the top challenger just on tradition, especially since the elevation of Travis Steele means there’s continuity. Providence will get Holt back, which can only help, but now they need Makai Ashton-Langford to step into the lead point guard role, a position they have had no worries about for several seasons. Butler might be the best pick since they have just about everyone back aside from Martin as well as The Butler Way.
St. John’s still has potential as well, especially if Mustapha Heron is eligible this season, and Georgetown will be rising before long as well with the additions Patrick Ewing has had already this off-season. However, losing Marcus Derrickson will hurt for next year, making them look like an X-factor as much as anything. DePaul still looks likely to be among those bringing up the rear.
The overwhelming theme is uncertainty. Recent history gives you reason to believe the Big East will be just fine next season. What that looks like in terms of players and teams who lead the way in that regard, however, is very tough to figure right now.
