It was hard to label year one of the “new” Big East as anything less than a disappointment. An exciting conference championship game inside Madison Square Garden between Providence and Creighton dredged up some positive emotions of the past, but the succeeding week was a brutal reminder of just how drastically things have changed.
At least for the moment, Big East basketball is back
After a disappointing end to its first year as a “new” conference, no league is off to a better start in 2014-15 than the Big East.
Dennis Wierzbicki-USA TODAY Sports
The Big East sent four teams to the 2014 NCAA Tournament, and those four teams combined for exactly two victories and zero trips to the Sweet 16. No. 2 seed Villanova and No. 3 seed Creighton did nothing to reward the confidence that the Selection Committee placed in both them and their conference by getting pasted in the Round of 32 by a combined 42 points.
With the Bluejays losing the national Player of the Year and more than a few folks claiming ‘Nova had been a fraud all season long, hopes weren’t exactly high for a Big East revival in year two. Through three weeks of play in the 2014-15 season, however, the new Big East’s record would allow it to fit in without issue at a holiday party co-hosted by Ray Allen’s shot against Georgetown and Gerry McNamara’s 2006 performance inside Madison Square Garden.
As the calendar turns to December, the Big East and the Big Ten remain the only conferences in America that can claim all their teams have more wins than losses. And no league’s overall record is more sparkling than the Big East’s 42-12 mark.
Perhaps the most impressive thing about the Big East’s earned stature is that it hasn’t been accumulated through the typical November cakewalk. Of the 10 teams in the league, only Seton Hall (5-0) and Xavier (5-2) have yet to defeat a squad from one of the “Power 5” conferences, although the Pirates do own victories over teams from the Atlantic 10, Mountain West and Missouri Valley.
As for the resumes of the other eight teams ...
Villanova - Again appearing to be the class of the conference, the 6-0 Wildcats have already defeated ranked foes in VCU and Michigan.
Butler - The Bulldogs stunned then-No. 5 North Carolina in the first round of the Battle 4 Atlantis and went on to defeat conference brethren Georgetown in the tournament’s 3rd place game.
Georgetown - Speaking of which, the Hoyas got to that point by upsetting No. 18 Florida in an overtime thriller.
Providence - The reigning Big East Tournament champs took care of the ACC’s Florida State and Notre Dame on back-to-back days, and their only blemish is a road loss to No. 1 Kentucky.
Creighton - The Jays showed that life after Doug McDermott might be better than expected when they knocked off No. 18 Oklahoma on Nov. 19.
St. John’s - The Johnnies took care of reigning NIT champion Minnesota, and their only loss remains a competitive defeat at the hands of a top 10 Gonzaga squad.
Marquette - Despite some deserved panic after a home loss to Omaha, the Golden Eagles have bounced back with solid resume wins over Georgia Tech and Tennessee.
DePaul - Yes, even DePaul. The Demons pulled off a stunner over the weekend by drilling a well-regarded Stanford team by 15 points to move to 3-1 on the season.
Despite these resumes, Villanova remains the only member of the group of 10 that is ranked in both major polls (Butler is No. 23 in the latest AP Top 25). It appears convincing a still skeptical college basketball world is going to take more than a hot November.
While the early season splash has helped alleviate the perception hit the conference took at the end of last season, everyone associated with the Big East knows that it’s what happens in the season’s last three weeks that is going to have the largest impact on how the conference is viewed going forward.
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