Big East Preseason Predictions Part II

[scoscox]

2. Georgetown
3. DePaul
5. St Johns
9. Seton Hall

bold

[handdownmandown]

This isn’t meant to provoke anyone though I’m sure it’s going to: I think X is the most overrated team in the league. They’re damn lucky their record isn’t far worse, and they’d better find some consistent O and quick. The TCU game was a positive to be sure, but I’ve seen nothing that makes me think they’re title contenders.

1. Butler - has to be first as of now. I’m truly impressed, and most was done without their 7 footer.
2. Nova - I think it’ll be someone else as I’m not as high on them as I have been, but that’s comparing this team to past ones. They’re still good.
3. Creighton - I think they’re a half point above the rest save for GTown who’s an equal. Mahoney adds a tremendous amount and if/when Mintz gets back, they’ll be even better, until they lose an indispensable part of the team, which usually happens around MLK Jr. day or so
4. Georgetown - could even be higher. I love Yurt.

Small gap

5. DePaul. Their last 4 games make me wonder if water has found its level (and that was it) but then again they came back in a huge way and put away Northwestern like a good team should.

6. Marquette - wobbly. When you subtract the four or five games Howard wins by himself and the two games he loses by shooting then out of it, what’s left? 8-10 or 9-9 is my guess

7. Hall - would be my second choice completely healthy. I think they take multiple hits they wouldn’t have taken healthy early in conference play and this puts them down here

8. St John’s - love the non-con but it’s still too steep a hill. A home loss to a good but not great Vermont and a loss to an Arizona State team that I watched lose at home to Creighton to...they’re close but a half step behind

9. X - see above

10. Providence - they’d better win a few early because this could snowball. Too bad because I like Ed

[scoscox]

This isn’t meant to provoke anyone though I’m sure it’s going to: I think X is the most overrated team in the league. They’re damn lucky their record isn’t far worse, and they’d better find some consistent O and quick. The TCU game was a positive to be sure, but I’ve seen nothing that makes me think they’re title contenders.

1. Butler - has to be first as of now. I’m truly impressed, and most was done without their 7 footer.
2. Nova - I think it’ll be someone else as I’m not as high on them as I have been, but that’s comparing this team to past ones. They’re still good.
3. Creighton - I think they’re a half point above the rest save for GTown who’s an equal. Mahoney adds a tremendous amount and if/when Mintz gets back, they’ll be even better, until they lose an indispensable part of the team, which usually happens around MLK Jr. day or so
4. Georgetown - could even be higher. I love Yurt.

Small gap

5. DePaul. Their last 4 games make me wonder if water has found its level (and that was it) but then again they came back in a huge way and put away Northwestern like a good team should.

6. Marquette - wobbly. When you subtract the four or five games Howard wins by himself and the two games he loses by shooting then out of it, what’s left? 8-10 or 9-9 is my guess

7. Hall - would be my second choice completely healthy. I think they take multiple hits they wouldn’t have taken healthy early in conference play and this puts them down here

8. St John’s - love the non-con but it’s still too steep a hill. A home loss to a good but not great Vermont and a loss to an Arizona State team that I watched lose at home to Creighton to...they’re close but a half step behind

9. X - see above

10. Providence - they’d better win a few early because this could snowball. Too bad because I like Ed

Not that crazy. We're 9th in NET for a reason. That said we're also 4th in KP with the third best defense and 6th best offense in the league, so I think 9th is unlikely. Like I said in my post though, not a lot separates 2-9 right now

travis also proved to be a pretty good coach last season and i'm giving him the benefit of the doubt somewhat

[Django]

2. Georgetown
3. DePaul
5. St Johns
9. Seton Hall

bold

Not bold, just the sorry fate of the injured, lord knows we’ve learned all we need to learn about the school of hard knocks here in the black and blue league. And Hall is 8 if you put my Jays after them, and as soon as Powell and the Big Mamushkah get back on the court 100 percent they fly up towards the top. So far Georgetown has the best addition by subtraction since THE REFORMATION.

[MackNova]

I don't think Butler HAS to be No. 1, but I think either Butler or Villanova has to be No. 1.

TIer 1

1. Villanova
I'm a homer, but Villanova has run this league since its rebirth (I know Xavier won in 2018, but every Nova fan will take what happened that season!) Offensively, the team is extremely dangerous at all five positions at all times. Defensively, there is a lot of work to be done, but this is the youngest team Jay has had in ages, so I think they'll figure it out as the season goes on. It might happen late, and it might happen next season, but I trust Jay to get it done.

2. Butler
Easily the best resume in the Big East. Balance on offense and defense, with a ton of experience and a star in Baldwin.

Tier 2
3. Marquette
Elite shooting and respectable defense. Statistically, they look great. I just wonder if the role players are THIS good shooters. Are Anim, Bailey and Elliott all 42%+ shooters from 3-pt range? I doubt it. However, they get to the line a lot, and I think their free throw shooting and 2-pt percentages could have positive regression.

4. Creighton
I think Denzel Mahoney is going to make a huge difference for them. Yet another good scorer, and Mahoney is long enough where he can play several positions for them. It may take some time for them to get healthy and acclimated, but I like their ceiling.

5. Xavier
Xavier is one of the two best defensive teams in the league, and they have vets who can score, but I don't think they have enough shooters where trading 2s for 3s against some of these teams could cause trouble.

6. Seton Hall
Hardest team to rank because of Powell's status. A healthy Powell and Sandro puts them in Tier 1. But the margin for error in this league is really tough. It sounds like they're targeting the 2nd game of Big East play for Powell to come back, which is good. I had them 3rd originally, but after some second thoughts, I moved them down a bit. All these teams are very close.

Tier 3
7. Georgetown
All the advanced metrics have them higher than this, and Ewing has done a great job this year. But the lack of scholarship players will bite them during the Big East grind. Boeheim may be right that losing Akinjo is addition by subtraction, as it allows them to play through Yurtseven more. But is McClung THIS good as a sophomore? If he plays at the level he has recently, Georgetown can beat anyone in this league and compete for the title.

8. DePaul
Paul Reed is a stud and Charlie Moore has been awesome. But they're still DePaul, and they need to prove it before I put them much higher than this. They are a clear tier behind every team I put ahead of them on KenPom. They are a great story (and 8th still might make the NCAA Tournament, especially with their non-con), but they have to prove it to me.

9. Providence
I thought people overrated them in the preseason, but nobody expected them to be THIS bad. But Providence has always been the type of team to be mediocre in the non-con then surprise people in league play. This is the worst non-con performance they have had in a while, but that Texas win may start a turnaround for them.

10. St. John's
Heron and Figueroa are a nice one-two punch, and beating Arizona without Heron was stunning. I just don't think they have enough scoring outside of those two guys, especially when it comes to outside shooting, and the defense isn't good enough to make up for that.

[NJRedman]

1. Butler
2. Nova
3. Marquette
4. Seton Hall
5. DePaul
6. St. Johns
7. Creighton
8. X
9. GTown
10. Providence

Lots of ties in records. I think GTown with a short bench gets heavy legs in the second half of conference play. PC wont roll over but just isnt very good this year. 3-8 all within a win or 2 of each other.

[Xuperman]

I'm going to stick to my preseason predictions although I need SHU to get healthy asap. As for those concerned with the Xavier offense, only X and CU have 3 scorers in the BE top 20. If that continues to be the case, some of the posters here are going to look pretty silly....if Butler wins it I will.

[Edrick]

As of this morning, here is the Big East team’s national rank in offensive efficiency:

7 - Villanova
15 - Georgetown
16 - Butler
18 - Creighton
32 - Marquette
51 - Seton Hall
54 - Xavier
91 - DePaul
111 - St Johns
139 - Providence

[Edrick]

And defense...

13 - Seton Hall
15 - Butler
22 - Xavier
40 - Marquette
45 - DePaul
47 - Providence
69 - St Johns
83 - Villanova
91 - Georgetown
98 - Creighton

[Edrick]

Butler is #7 and on top of the Big East because it has both a top 20 offense and defense. It is flexible enough to win any sort of game