UPCOMING SCHEDULE:
The first two games of the BE season are tonight and they are essentially toss-ups:
Seton Hall @ Marquette 7PM Fox Sports 1
Georgetown @ DePaul 9PM Fox Sports 1
The remainder of the Big East teams begin their conference schedule tomorrow:
Xavier @ Villanova Noon Fox Sports 1
Creighton @ St. John's 2:00 Fox Sports 1
Providence @ Butler 2:30 CBS Sports Network
On Saturday there is a quintuple header as all 5 teams play their 2nd games:
DePaul @ Seton Hall 11AM Fox Sports 1
Butler @ Xavier 1PM Fox Sports 1
St. John's @ Providence 3:30 PM Fox Sports 1
Marquette @ Georgetown 5:30 PM Fox Sports 1
Villanova @ Creighton 10 PM Fox Sports 1
OOC:
Six league teams were able to post between 10 and 12 out-of-conference wins with a handful of OOC games remaining for league teams:
Georgetown @ UConn (25 Jan)
Marquette vs Stetson (27 Jan)
Villanova @ Temple (17 Feb)
TEAM NOTES:
Xavier
Strengths: Playing well defensively, Rebounding, Offensive balance
Weaknesses: Offense can be a bit too perimeter focused
Villanova
Strengths: Team chemistry, sharing the ball, balance, solid on O and D
Weaknesses: Can be beat on the defensive glass, don't get to the FT line consistently, 3-point shooting %
Butler
Strengths: Offensive efficiency and balance. Lot of guys who can share and score the ball.
Weaknesses: Defense doesn't create turnovers or intimidate opponents
Providence
Strengths: great inside-outside combo, National POY-level player that can dominate late in games, solid on both ends of floor
Weaknesses: Don't get to the FT line with frequency, not a good deep shooting team, depth is a ?, consistency of the support cast
Marquette
Strengths: Defense has good length and speed combo and has gelled earlier than anticipated, team is young - there is upside
Weaknesses: Young guards have been turning the ball over too frequently, offensive efficiency is quite average despite having two bigs that can score it.
Seton Hall
Strengths: solid starting core, more balanced offense than in recent seasons (still Whitehead-centric), strong O-board team
Weaknesses: Turnover prone, poor FT shooting, can be beat on the defensive glass, depth
Georgetown
Strengths: Senior leadership of DSR, FT shooting
Weaknesses: Inconsistent, ball-handling, guard depth, rebounding, defense is average
Creighton
Strengths: Offensive efficiency is high, team shares ball well and gets good looks
Weaknesses: The defense is mediocre and doesn't create turnovers, FT shooting, allow opponents to make a high % of 3s
DePaul
Strengths: They get to the FT line on offense and have some offensive firepower
Weaknesses: Poor defense, don't pressure opponents, don't take care of the ball, don't create turnovers, they accept losing too easily and don't play hard
St. John's
Strengths: Good 2PFG defense that can clog the paint and defend well
Weaknesses: One of the worst offenses in the country, poor shooting team, poor ball-handling team, don't create turnovers, allow opponents to make a high % of 3s
PREDICTED STANDINGS:
THE TOP TIER
The battle for first place should be waged by Villanova and Xavier - both teams are in the kenpom and RPI top 10 and are playing well offensively and defensively. Butler seems to be a clear choice to place third but will be challenged by Providence - the Bulldogs offense has been quite efficient but their defense is not up to par with that of 'Nova and X. If Butler can improve defensively as the season progresses, they could challenge for 1st or 2nd in the conference. Providence has a very effective inside-outside combo with Kris Dunn and Ben Bentil but needs more consistency from the supporting cast. The Friars play hard and have demonstrated they can compete with high level teams like Arizona and Michigan St.
1. Xavier (has the least number of question marks at this stage)
2. Villanova (rebounding and defensive questions linger, shooting a lot of 3s while not making a decent % of them)
3. Butler (rugged team that needs to amp up the D while continuing to share it on O)
4. Providence (teams will pack it in against them - can they get balanced scoring and make enough jumpers to open up defenses)
THE MUDDLE (MUDDY MIDDLE)
Any of these teams could finish from 5th to 8th - but is unlikely to finish any higher or lower than that.
5. Seton Hall (best blend of offense / defense from the middle group & nearest thing to a take-over guy)
6. Marquette (most upside of this middle group - will the young guards trend upwards quickly enough to garner 5th?, probably a year away from contending for the upper division of the league)
7. Georgetown (an enigma, which Hoya team shows up?, the talent is there to finish 5th, the lack of ball skills and inconsistent shooting is a concern)
8. Creighton (surprising offense - perhaps not enough defense to finish at the top end of this middle group)
THE BOTTOM FEEDERS
9. DePaul (a team with some talent that is too content with losing and doesn't get after it on defense for 40 minutes)
10. St. John's (young team that lacks offensive talent)
The first two games of the BE season are tonight and they are essentially toss-ups:
Seton Hall @ Marquette 7PM Fox Sports 1
Georgetown @ DePaul 9PM Fox Sports 1
The remainder of the Big East teams begin their conference schedule tomorrow:
Xavier @ Villanova Noon Fox Sports 1
Creighton @ St. John's 2:00 Fox Sports 1
Providence @ Butler 2:30 CBS Sports Network
On Saturday there is a quintuple header as all 5 teams play their 2nd games:
DePaul @ Seton Hall 11AM Fox Sports 1
Butler @ Xavier 1PM Fox Sports 1
St. John's @ Providence 3:30 PM Fox Sports 1
Marquette @ Georgetown 5:30 PM Fox Sports 1
Villanova @ Creighton 10 PM Fox Sports 1
OOC:
Six league teams were able to post between 10 and 12 out-of-conference wins with a handful of OOC games remaining for league teams:
Georgetown @ UConn (25 Jan)
Marquette vs Stetson (27 Jan)
Villanova @ Temple (17 Feb)
TEAM NOTES:
Xavier
Strengths: Playing well defensively, Rebounding, Offensive balance
Weaknesses: Offense can be a bit too perimeter focused
Villanova
Strengths: Team chemistry, sharing the ball, balance, solid on O and D
Weaknesses: Can be beat on the defensive glass, don't get to the FT line consistently, 3-point shooting %
Butler
Strengths: Offensive efficiency and balance. Lot of guys who can share and score the ball.
Weaknesses: Defense doesn't create turnovers or intimidate opponents
Providence
Strengths: great inside-outside combo, National POY-level player that can dominate late in games, solid on both ends of floor
Weaknesses: Don't get to the FT line with frequency, not a good deep shooting team, depth is a ?, consistency of the support cast
Marquette
Strengths: Defense has good length and speed combo and has gelled earlier than anticipated, team is young - there is upside
Weaknesses: Young guards have been turning the ball over too frequently, offensive efficiency is quite average despite having two bigs that can score it.
Seton Hall
Strengths: solid starting core, more balanced offense than in recent seasons (still Whitehead-centric), strong O-board team
Weaknesses: Turnover prone, poor FT shooting, can be beat on the defensive glass, depth
Georgetown
Strengths: Senior leadership of DSR, FT shooting
Weaknesses: Inconsistent, ball-handling, guard depth, rebounding, defense is average
Creighton
Strengths: Offensive efficiency is high, team shares ball well and gets good looks
Weaknesses: The defense is mediocre and doesn't create turnovers, FT shooting, allow opponents to make a high % of 3s
DePaul
Strengths: They get to the FT line on offense and have some offensive firepower
Weaknesses: Poor defense, don't pressure opponents, don't take care of the ball, don't create turnovers, they accept losing too easily and don't play hard
St. John's
Strengths: Good 2PFG defense that can clog the paint and defend well
Weaknesses: One of the worst offenses in the country, poor shooting team, poor ball-handling team, don't create turnovers, allow opponents to make a high % of 3s
PREDICTED STANDINGS:
THE TOP TIER
The battle for first place should be waged by Villanova and Xavier - both teams are in the kenpom and RPI top 10 and are playing well offensively and defensively. Butler seems to be a clear choice to place third but will be challenged by Providence - the Bulldogs offense has been quite efficient but their defense is not up to par with that of 'Nova and X. If Butler can improve defensively as the season progresses, they could challenge for 1st or 2nd in the conference. Providence has a very effective inside-outside combo with Kris Dunn and Ben Bentil but needs more consistency from the supporting cast. The Friars play hard and have demonstrated they can compete with high level teams like Arizona and Michigan St.
1. Xavier (has the least number of question marks at this stage)
2. Villanova (rebounding and defensive questions linger, shooting a lot of 3s while not making a decent % of them)
3. Butler (rugged team that needs to amp up the D while continuing to share it on O)
4. Providence (teams will pack it in against them - can they get balanced scoring and make enough jumpers to open up defenses)
THE MUDDLE (MUDDY MIDDLE)
Any of these teams could finish from 5th to 8th - but is unlikely to finish any higher or lower than that.
5. Seton Hall (best blend of offense / defense from the middle group & nearest thing to a take-over guy)
6. Marquette (most upside of this middle group - will the young guards trend upwards quickly enough to garner 5th?, probably a year away from contending for the upper division of the league)
7. Georgetown (an enigma, which Hoya team shows up?, the talent is there to finish 5th, the lack of ball skills and inconsistent shooting is a concern)
8. Creighton (surprising offense - perhaps not enough defense to finish at the top end of this middle group)
THE BOTTOM FEEDERS
9. DePaul (a team with some talent that is too content with losing and doesn't get after it on defense for 40 minutes)
10. St. John's (young team that lacks offensive talent)
