Seton Hall
Way too early Big East men's basketball standings for the 2020-21 season
Date: March 29, 2020By: Wilnir Louis
This Big East standings prediction is based on the makeup of the team without the seniors from the 2019-20. The rankings do not take into consideration any players who may transfer out or any transfers who can become immediately eligible for the 2020-21 season and also does not take into consideration any player who may stay in the NBA draft.
1. Villanova Wildcats
Credit: Brad Mills/USA TODAY Sports
Villanova is a team that snuck in at the end of the season to win a share of the Big East regular season title and become the two-seed in the Big East Tournament. Villanova was also able to do that with only one senior on their team. Villanova had two unanimous selections on the Big East All-Freshman Team in Justin Moore and Jeremiah Robinson-Earl, who won Big East Freshman of the Year. They will complement the likes of Saddiq Bey and Collin Gillespie beautifully, and they will become the targeted team once again.
2. Creighton Bluejays
Credit: Steven Branscombe/ USA TODAY Sports
Creighton was a surprise to everyone in the 2019-20 season, but they will surprise no one in the 2020-21 season as only three players were seniors. Creighton was a team that continued to build their chemistry late in the season, and it showed in their final two regular season games. With players like Marcus Zegarowski and Ty-Shon Alexander, Creighton could make a case to become back-to-back Big East regular season title holders at the end of the season.
3. Seton Hall Pirates
Credit: Seton Hall Athletics
Seton Hall will have a huge hole to fill with the seniors that they graduated in Myles Powell, Quincy McKnight, and Romaro Gill, but it’s a position that Kevin Willard has been in before and succeeded. The Pirates still have excellent talent on their team, especially in their front court with Sandro Mamukelashvili and Jared Rhoden. The Pirates will return some serviceable guards along with Takal Molson, who sat in the 2019-20 season due to transfer rules. Seton Hall will stay afloat in the top half of the conference.
4. Butler Bulldogs
Butler loses four players due to graduation, including Kamar Baldwin who was a closer for the Bulldogs. Butler still had great players on their team, including Aaron Thompson who dealt with a lot of injuries in the season but was regarded as a great defensive guard. Bryce Nze also had a huge role on that Butler team. Butler will be a team that causes a lot of fits in the Big East.
5. Marquette Golden Eagles
Marquette will be a sleeper team in the Big East. The loss of Markus Howard, Sacar Anim, and Jayce Johnson is a lot, but the Golden Eagles have potential on their team to make huge strides in the 2020-21 season. The roles of these players, like Brendan Bailey, Theo John, and Koby McEwen will be heightened but they will be able to thrive with their increased roles.
6. UConn Huskies
UConn will be making their return to the Big East after their stint with the American Athletic Conference. In the 2019-20 season, UConn finished fifth in the 12 team league. They also played two Big East teams in Xavier in the Charleston Classic and Villanova at the Wells Fargo Center. UConn graduated two seniors but one of them was the team’s leading scorer. James Bouknight looks to return for UConn along with Tyler Polley, who averaged over nine points per game in 15 starts before missing most of the season due to injury. UConn has the potential to make some noise in their first season in the Big East
7. Xavier Musketeers
Xavier was a team that was great at certain points in the season, however they will have a lot of holes due to graduations. Four players were seniors, including Tyrique Jones and Quentin Goodin. The good news for Xavier is that Naji Marshall was a junior in the 2019-20 season when he was elected to the Big East First Team. Paul Scruggs also joined Marshall in that junior class. Xavier will need pieces around those two players to step up.
8. St. John’s Red Storm
Credit: St. John’s Athletics
St. John’s had a lot to deal with in the 2019-20 season, including a new head coach in Mike Anderson along with injuries but this was a team that started finding themselves late in the season. St. John’s could be a scary team and could even push to be in the top half of the conference.
9. DePaul Blue Demons
DePaul could not find any success in the 2019-20 season, finishing at the bottom of the conference two games back from Georgetown, who was ninth in the standings, but the chemistry on the team could be strong for the 2020-21 season. The Blue Demons only graduated three players with the headline being Jalen Coleman-Lands. Paul Reed, Jaylen Butz, Charlie Moore were among the juniors on the team that season, and if they all return, they will have the experience for a greatly improved season.
10. Providence Friars
Providence was one of the hottest teams in college basketball to end off the season and made a sneaky push to finish fourth in the conference in the 2019-20 season. That team also had a lot of upperclassmen with four seniors and two graduate players. Providence will look to return David Duke and Nate Watson, but the loss of players graduating will make it difficult for Providence to replicate success.
11. Georgetown Hoyas
Credit: AP Photo/ Nick Wass
Georgetown dealt with some injuries through conference play, with Mac McClung and Omer Yurtseven missing some games, which lead to their low finish. Yurtseven is graduating and McClung declared for the NBA Draft. Georgetown still has a possibility of retaining McClung since he is still eligible to return to school. Jahvon Blair and Jamorko Pickett were also double-digit scorers for the Hoyas in the 2019-20 season, so look for them to step up in the 2020-21 season.
Wilnir Louis is the Station Manager at 89.5 FM WSOU and can be reached at wsoustationmanager@gmail.com.
