The Big East Beat is back in a big way at the same time conference play started in full force. In the first week of conference play, there was one team that really stood out amongst the rest. That is a team best known for a duo of sort of nerdy looking white dudes that rejoined forces in Boston this year and a half court shot that was just about this close to making the history of March Madness more fun. The Butler Bulldogs started by opening some eyes around the conference with their hot start in the first week of play. I took note, and for that reason, this edition of the Big East Beat is kind of Butler themed. I will still talk about Villanova. And also probably Seton Hall. And for sure how I have no idea what to think about Georgetown still.

Game of the year already happened

Georgetown is a team that doesn’t really make a ton of sense this season. They only suffered one loss in non conference, an overtime loss to Syracuse, but outside of that their schedule was just about the worst in the country (350 of 351 in SOS). To open Big East play, they had a game against Butler. On paper, who really cares about this game. When it occurred, it really just looks like a matchup between a Georgetown team whose record means nothing and a Butler team that probably won’t make it out of the first weekend of March Madness.

Instead, those who tuned into Fox Sports 1 got much more than that. Georgetown looked really good for about 30 minutes, much like in their game against Syracuse. They were even leading by twenty late in the first half. Butler came all the way back to send the game to overtime. During the free hoops, stud Kelan Martin tied the game at 89 under 30 seconds and then hit the game winner with 2.6 left on the clock. He finished with 27. Pair that with Kamar Baldwin’s 31, and it became obvious why Butler is a threat in the Big East.

On the other hand, there really is still no indication of what Georgetown is. They have faced two quality opponents and both times, they have shown that they can not only run with them, but thrive. In all other games, they have absolutely dominated inferior competition. It is obvious Patrick Ewing has instilled a new culture there and it is obvious that Jessie Govan is an absolute beast, but outside of that, Georgetown could be anything. I would be equally as unsurprised if they either lost every conference matchup or came in fifth in the conference. Tonight’s matchup with DePaul will be extremely telling of the Hoyas’ future this season.

Butler’s not so happy new year

The Georgetown matchup turning out to be a tough game did not help Butler in any way. Following that game and their second matchup against Villanova (more to come regarding that game), Butler has these four games before January 12: Xavier in Cincinnati, Seton Hall at home, Creighton in Omaha and Marquette at home.

Georgetown is a game that was hard fought on the road and went to overtime. Villanova is one of the best teams in the nation. Xavier and Seton Hall are the second and third best teams in the Big East in no particular order. Creighton is one of the highest scoring teams in the nation and extremely hard to defend. Also, Omaha is the furthest away from home for all Big East opponents. Then, Marquette is the team that Butler will probably be competing with for the fifth spot in the Big East, so that game means a lot to the Bulldogs for conference seeding.

That’s just about as hard as it gets to open a conference season. If they can get out of that at 3-3, they will be in a really good position with the rest of the season. If they can get out of it 4-2, they might be able to finish above a squad like Creighton and maybe even sneak into the national rankings. They are off to a good start, too.

Villanova is still the best team in the country

They have gotten off to a 2-0 start in that stretch. One of those wins is against Villanova, who was ranked number one in the nation at the time. The final score was a nine-point margin and Nova got it down to 5 within five minutes, but the Bulldogs dominated the game overall. Following the game, both my parents, who are Villanova alumni, called me on the phone. “PJ, what the hell is up with this? Why can Nova never win at Butler? Why can’t Jay just figure out Indianapolis and get over this hump?” My response, quite simply, was, “Hinkle Fieldhouse is a death trap.” Butler has the most important home-court advantage in the entire Big East. Any team in the country would struggle playing there.

This includes Villanova, who is still the best team in the nation. Duke is the most talented team in the nation and their ceiling is something that should make the rest of college hoops cower in fear. Michigan State’s guard play isn’t quite at an elite level. Arizona State does not know how to handle success yet. That is tier one at the moment. Villanova has a top 5 coach, absolutely no lower than the second best backcourt, some of the best rebounding they have had in recent memory, and the best 3 and D prospect in the country. This loss is not telling for Villanova in any way. Look out for their first matchup with Xavier next Wednesday in one of the early matchups of the year.

Some other things

• I know some people are probably laughing at me about my hot takes regarding Seton Hall. Please continue to do that. Their win against Creighton was big for numerous reasons and they keep showing me more and more. I would like to double down on how good I think the Pirates are. I will probably say this weekly.
• 70% of the Big East will be playing in the tournament. 50% will make it out of the first weekend. 20% will be in the Elite 8. At least 10% will be in the Final Four. That’s the most math I will do for all of 2018.
• I talked about him briefly in the first week of The Big East Beat, but bench mob superstar Pantelis Xidias is probably the biggest individual electric factory in the entire Big East. And he goes to DePaul. DePaul’s coolest player of the last 20 years won’t sniff the court this season. What he will do is make rec specs cool while bench mob dancing his way into your girl’s panties.
• My favorite thing this year is Xavier’s propensity to blow for like 32 minutes against bad teams and then pull out awesome comebacks. See: game against East Tennessee State, Big East opener against DePaul.