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Big East Basketball

Big East Roundup: Where We Stand at the Break

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Villanova Basketball

With winter break officially upon us — and with conference play already begun — it’s time to take the temperature of the other ten teams in the Big East. Right now Villanova sits exactly in the middle of the pack in the 11-team conference, occupying sixth place with a 1-1 Big East record and an 8-5 margin overall.

Whether it’s surprises like Georgetown, off to a 10-2 start under head coach Ed Cooley after going 9-23 last season, or powerhouses like Marquette and UConn (apart from a Thanksgiving tournament skid) dominating as usual, here’s a look at what’s going on around the Big East before conference play begins in earnest in the new year.

Big East Standings (as of Dec. 23, 2024)

Team Conf. Overall Home Away NET KenPom
MARQ 2-0 11-2 8-0 2-2 9 10
GTWN 2-0 10-2 8-1 2-1 78 66
SJU 2-0 10-2 8-0 1-0 28 12
CONN 2-0 10-3 7-0 2-0 16 15
CREI 1-1 8-5 7-1 0-2 74 53
VILL 1-1 8-5 7-1 0-2 66 54
PROV 1-1 7-6 6-1 1-1 76 79
DEP 0-2 8-4 8-1 0-3 86 103
XAV 0-2 8-5 7-1 0-3 64 57
BUT 0-2 7-6 5-3 0-2 71 69
HALL 0-2 5-8 3-4 0-2 176 135

Undefeated in Conference Play

First and foremost is Marquette, which looks like one of the best teams in the country right now. The Golden Eagles already have ranked wins against Purdue and Wisconsin under their belt, with their losses coming against a top ten Iowa State team in Ames and an incredibly dangerous Dayton squad that will probably win the A-10.

Georgetown comes next, and although the rankings systems don’t love the Hoyas as much as their record might suggest: the KenPom ratings put Georgetown’s nonconference strength of schedule in the 343rd slot, one of the easiest in all of Division 1. That said, the Hoyas sit at 2-0 in Big East play, including an 81-57 blowout of Creighton. Their losses came at West Virginia (their lone Quad 1 game) and at home against Notre Dame (Quad 3).

St. John’s is another team the metrics love, with KenPom putting them in the top 15. They’re 10-2 with a pair of one possession Quad 1 losses, both of which came in the Bahamas: a two overtime slugfest against then-No. 16 Baylor and a 66-63 loss to Georgia. They blew out DePaul to open Big East play, then survived a road match against Providence via buzzer beater.

UConn checks in at 10-3, with all of their losses coming in a meltdown of epic proportions at the Maui Invitational. The Huskies have reeled off six wins since then, though, including a top ten win over Gonzaga, and their 4-2 record in Quad 1 games trails just Auburn (6-1) and Oregon (4-1).

Playing .500 Ball

The final team ahead of Villanova is Creighton, who took down the Wildcats 86-79 in Omaha on Saturday, Dec. 21. The Blue Jays saw starting guard Pop Isaacs go down with a hip injury that will force him to miss the season, and they’ve played a brutal schedule to date, going 1-3 in Quad 1… the lone win coming against then-No. 1 Kansas.

Next are the Providence Friars, who started out the season 5-0 but entered a 2-6 tailspin since then. They needed overtime to take down DePaul on the road, then lost the aforementioned buzzer-beating heartbreaker against an excellent St. John’s team.

Rounding Up the Rest

Of the teams currently winless in Big East play, DePaul (8-4) possesses the best overall record. It’s an impressive turnaround for head coach Chris Holtmann, taking over a squad that went 0-20 in the Big East last season, but much of that magic came against a 349th-ranked nonconference schedule. The Blue Demons have already more than doubled their win total from last season and don’t look like a slouch, but wins might end up hard for them to come by as the season rolls on.

Xavier sits at 8-5, with all five of their losses counting as Quad 1. After forcing UConn to overtime in Hartford and coming within a hair of beating Marquette at home, the Musketeers won’t be fun for anyone to play. Butler sits amidst a five game losing streak, four of those coming against teams in the top 25, and they just played the Huskies close in a 78-74 loss in Indianapolis. They’ll host Villanova following the break, yet another brutal Big East matchup for Wildcats fans to keep a close eye on. 

Seton Hall, who the Wildcats dropped 79-67 at home to open conference play, rounds out the conference. It’s been a brutal year so far for the Pirates, with three of their five wins coming against Quad 4 teams. For a team that made five of six NCAA Tournaments between 2016 and 2022, it’s been a stunning fall from grace during head coach Shaheen Holloway’s tenure… a trend that might sound familiar for Villanova fans.

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