The Big East is and forever will be a top three basketball conference. Other conferences have their ebbs and flows, but the grit and heart of The Big East reigns supreme always. It is not the Big East of old, sure, but nothing is and nothing ever will be again. The parity in college hoops is too great. The one and done culture does not breed dynasties and it’s not necessarily conducive to winning championships. And while the culture is constantly evolving in the sport, one thing remains: the pride of The Big East Conference. Combine that with at least 3 top 20 programs every season and 70% of their teams making the tournament, and there is no disputing the Big East’s prowess.
Now that I got that tangent out, you (probably) won’t have to hear it again in this column for the rest of the year. What you will be getting is a lot of content that is all leading back to that point. The players, the teams and the wins that make this conference the cream of the crop… Along with some other stuff. This is the Big East Beat.
Villanova block party
As a Big East lifer, all my love for the conference stemmed from my love for Villanova hoops. With parents that are both alumni of the university, I grew up worshipping GQ Jay and the Wildcats. Needless to say, the last five years have been a lot of fun for me (even though some first weekends of the tournament have sucked). With all that excitement, this season might be the most exciting of all those.
Most of you will read the next thing I have to say and be like, “oh this dude’s a homer ass hole,” but Nova’s win over Nicholls State was extremely impressive. And I know it’s supposed to be, but it was impressive in ways that isn’t normally how Nova is impressive. They had 13 blocks, with four coming from both Omari Spellman and Mikal Bridges.
Nova overwhelms defensively, but not in ways that show up in the box score. Of course it’s against an athletically inferior basketball team, but this shows something about Villanova. Jay Wright is currently working with his most athletically impressive roster he has ever had. He has a five-star big man, and wing players in Mikal Bridges (much more to come on him) and Jermaine Samuels that are more athletic than anyone he has coached.
Big Ten getting the best through one week
Last week, the Big East and the Big Ten participated in the Gavitt Tipoff games, which is an annual event that showcases the two conferences pitted against each other. This was very convenient for me, because after the preseason rankings came out, I said the Big East will have more ranked teams than the Big Ten at the end of the season.
This prediction is dependent on four teams in particular. I’m looking at Creighton and Providence from the Big East and from the Big Ten, Purdue, Minnesota and Northwestern. Those two Big East teams need to make it into the rankings and those three from the Big Ten need to fall out. Northwestern already has while Creighton already might have snuck their way in. But, Purdue and Minnesota are actually very good basketball teams. So is Providence, and Ed Cooley always has them playing best at the end of the year, but the Friars are not on the same level as Minnesota and Purdue.
I still think the Gophers and the Boilermakers will fall off a bit when Big Ten play starts for reasons I talked about in the article linked above, but for now the Big Ten is getting the best of the Big East.
The ABC’s: All the Buckets for Creighton
Creighton ended last season with a very sour taste in their mouth following the Mo Watson issues and the backlash that came from it on the court. But now senior Marcus Foster has this team right where they need to be after an offseason to tinker. In the Blue Jays’ 92-88 victory over Northwestern (who might actually sort of suck), he was one of four players that registered double figures as they totalled 92. That is a lot of points, especially against an “up and coming” team (I put quotes because they really sort of suck) that prides itself on defense and controlling the game.
Watch out for junior guard Khyri Thomas to continue to push the Jays into high scoring games as he has had at least twenty in two of three games this season. Also look for them to beat UCLA tonight at 7.
What to watch for after one week
Depaul isn’t a very interesting basketball team. They are really the only team in the Big East that never matters. Well, wipe that idea from your brain because they have one of the most electric players in the nation on their squad. His name is Pantelis Xidias and he is a 5’9″ bench mob killer out of Michigan City, Indiana. Put away the idiocy of the name of his hometown and just look at the goggles/hair combo. This kid slays. Look for panties to be thrown his way as he chills at the end of the bench during Blue Demons home games.
Mikal Bridges is going to win defensive player of the year. You heard it here first. I talked about his four blocks against Nicholls, which are a big part of his 1.7 per game so far. He is also sitting at 3 steals per. There is a real chance of him averaging 2 of each per game, and I would be surprised if he didn’t average 1.5 per. He is long, he is fast, he can jump through the roof. He is the most athletic player Jay Wright has ever coached, which is also making him maybe the best defensive player Wright has ever had. Look for his name in the first round of the draft on athleticism and defense alone.
Marquette senior Andrew Rousey can ball. I’ve been watching him for two years now and I’m not sure what he does wrong. He is sturdy on ball, a knock down shooter and an above average passer. He makes Marquette above average when without him they would simply be “fine.”