Big East Predictions

1.  Villanova:  Return a rock solid team here, should be the class of the conference.  Bring back Hilliard, Pinkston and Arcidiacano.  All three have conference honors potential and should be the core of a high seed come tourney time.  Josh Hart is another good player and his numbers should improve. Ochefu is a anchoring the front court and is a very capable big man.  Only big loss they had is James Bell who was a stellar player, but they bring back enough for another quality season.

2.  St. John’s:  I have been burned by the johnnies in the past, but I like them to have a good year in what will prove to be a mediocre conference.  They have some potential NBA talent on the roster. Harrison can really score, Obekpa is a defensive presence down low and he should be better than last year.  I like Rysheed Jordan to make leaps scoring this year too and along with seniors Greene and Pointer they will have a good mix of maturity and talent.  They play out of control at times, but if they can come together and play smarter this year they can hang with anyone.

 3. Georgetown:  Smith-Rivera is a serious talent and a quality do-it-all guard.  He is a future NBAer and they have more talent around him than they had last year.  While eligible, Josh Smith looked good last year, if he can play all year he is an absolute force in the paint.  Senior Jabril Trawick is back too and he should average double digit points for them. They also bring in highly touted freshman Isaac Copeland who should make an immediate impact.   They struggled from 3-point land last year shooting ~33% last year as a team, if they can find some consistent shooting from deep that would do wonders for the offense. 

 4.  Xavier:  They lose Semaj Chrstian who was a great guard for them last year, however they bring back enough to compete for an at-large bid come March.  Matt Stainbrook returns and is probably the best big man in this league.  He is a great low-post passer and he is very good around the rim.  Senior Dee Davis is back and will take over the main back court duties, I look for his PPG to take a big leap forward from the 7.7 he averaged last year.  Trevon Bluiett comes in as an immediate impact freshman and could start off the bat.

5.  Marquette: Love the hire they made of long-time Duke assistant Wojciechowski.  This team underachieved last year and lost impact players Gardner, Mayo and Wilson.  They bring in BYU transfer Matt Carlino who is a good scorer and facilitator.  Derrick Wilson, JaJuan Johnson and Deonte Burton are capable of having big years and their scoring numbers should improve from last year. 

6.  Butler: Kellen Dunham and Roosevelt Jones should shoulder most of the scoring this year.  Jones missed all of last year with an injury, but if he comes back at full strength he has all-conference potential.  Barlow is a steady and experienced point guard, he wont “wow” you, but he is a smart player.  The front court is a bit of a question mark.  Woods is a solid player; besides him the bigs on this team are unproven.

7. Seton Hall:  They bring in five star recruit and potential lottery pick Isiah Whitehead.  He should be a star immediately for the Pirates, and is almost impossible to guard one on one.  Gibbs is another good scoring guard, and Jaren Sina is a very smart player who can shoot.  Loses of Edwin and Teague will definitely be felt.  The front court is also unproven for Seton Hall.

8.  Providence:  Losing Bryce Cotton hurts, he was an unbelievably quick guard who could score in any way.  Ladontae Henton returns, he was solid last year and averaged second most points for them last year with 14 a game.  The thing that has Friar fans hopeful is finally having a healthy Kris Dunn.  If he lives up to potential then they could make noise.

9.  Creighton:  They lost McDermott, and that will obviously have a huge impact on the scoring numbers.  Sharpshooting big man Wragge is also gone, along with the very efficient Grant Gibbs.   They return some quality guards in Chatman and Dingman, but this team should have a down year.

10.  DePaul:  They lose long-time top player Cleveland Melvin, as well as the second leading scorer from last year in Brandon Young.  A lot of question marks on this roster, should be another lowly year for the Blue Demons.    

Cat's  Achilles heel last year was Creighton...no more McBuckets.

The backcourt adds Phil Booth a solid frosh, and Ennis(transfer from Rice 2yrs ago & said to be the best athlete on the team) is a year more experienced--adding more depth to that guard rotation.

Still lack size should Ochefu get in foul trouble.