Big East Basketball: Way-too-early power rankings for 2021-22 season

[Halldan1]

Big East Basketball: Way-too-early power rankings for 2021-22 season

After a number of offseason moves and decisions, how does Big East Basketball look for the 2021-22 season? Here's an early look at the league.

bustingbrackets.com

by Tristan Freeman

When it comes to Big East Basketball, there are typically three storylines going on each season. The first is how many NCAA Tournament bids the conference will get; can DePaul get out the basement of the standings, and whether someone can beat out Villanova at the top.


Even with a pandemic going on and games being cancelled left and right, two of those storylines ended up with the same ending. The DePaul Blue Demons finished with a 5-14 overall record (2-13 in league play) and to their credit, went through at least three different “pauses” that completely affected their play. But that didn’t stop the administration from firing the coaching staff and starting all over.

Villanova finished first in the standings with an 11-4 league record, while Creighton was 14-6. The Wildcats via percentage won out, with the programs splitting their two matchups against one another. They ended up being just two of the four teams from the Big East to make the Big Dance, along with the UConn Huskies in their first season back in the league since moving over from the AAC, along with the Georgetown Hoyas, who went on a miraculous run to win the automatic bid to make the field too.

In the end, both Villanova and Creighton made it to the Sweet 16, falling to Gonzaga and Baylor, the two best teams in the country. But it was a solid year for the conference overall, including St. John’s being very competitive and UConn back home and in the national conversation.

It’s now time to look towards the 2021-22 season for the Big East, which will get here in no time at all. Has there been any change in the hierarchy of the league? Here’s a current ranking for the conference heading into June.

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[hbkmyr]

Don’t show this to those Athletic UConn writers.

 

[STLPirate12]

I'll save you guys some clicks:

1. Villanova
2. Xavier
3. St. John's
4. Seton Hall
5. Butler
6. Connecticut
7. Creighton
8. Marquette
9. Providence
10. Georgetown
11. DePaul

 

[TrueBlue1989]

I'll save you guys some clicks:

1. Villanova
2. Xavier
3. St. John's
4. Seton Hall
5. Butler
6. Connecticut
7. Creighton
8. Marquette
9. Providence
10. Georgetown
11. DePaul

SJU too high. UConn too low.

 

[mbraue]

I'll save you guys some clicks:

1. Villanova
2. Xavier
3. St. John's
4. Seton Hall
5. Butler
6. Connecticut
7. Creighton
8. Marquette
9. Providence
10. Georgetown
11. DePaul

Now that’s more like it. Will be interesting to see where BE coaches pick us. Also Jerry Carino and Zach Braziller - two best beat reporters who know our program inside and out and have an excellent relationship with Willard.

 

[hallstorm]

SJU too high. UConn too low.

Also Xavier too high and Creighton too low.

 

[jdavispirates]

Creighton is going to be bad next year

 

[Halldan1]

It's early but....

1. Villanova (top 5 nationally)

2. Connecticut (15-25)
3. Seton Hall (25-35)
4. Xavier (30-40)
5. St. John's (30-40)
6. Butler (30-40)

7. Creighton (40-60)
8. Marquette (45-65)
9. Providence (50-70)
10. Georgetown (60-80)
11. DePaul (80-100)

 

[shu09]

Tier 1: Villanova
Tier 2: Connecticut, Xavier
Tier 3: Butler, Seton Hall, St. John's
Tier 4: Marquette, Creighton, Providence, Georgetown
Tier 5: DePaul

 

[jdavispirates]

1. Nova
2. Uconn
3. X
4. Hall
5. Butler
6. St J
7. Providence
8. Georgetown
9. Marquette
10. Depaul
11. Creighton

 

[SPK145]

1. Villanova (5-10)

2. Connecticut (20-25)
3. Seton Hall (35-45)
4. Xavier (35-45)
5. St. John's (35-45)

6. Butler (50-60)
7. Marquette (65-75)
8. Providence (75-80)

9. Creighton (75-85)
10. Georgetown (90-100)
11. DePaul (100-120)

 

[dehere23]

Everyone seems to be coming in pretty close on these.

I’m generally on-board with how folks are projecting based on rosters as they look now. Although I’m more bullish on Butler than SPK and have them in that second tier/group. With all the seniors they are bringing back plus how their young guards emerged I think they will be pretty good.

 

[dehere23]

Also I think Prov could surprise. Maybe I overrate Cooley too much because despite last season I think he does a good to very good job annually. But Watson is probably the best big in the league and after last season I could see Cooley pulling out all stops and getting the most out of his group

 

[lloyde dobler]

Also I think Prov could surprise. Maybe I overrate Cooley too much because despite last season I think he does a good to very good job annually. But Watson is probably the best big in the league and after last season I could see Cooley pulling out all stops and getting the most out of his group

With Providence, it’s more than a one-season thing. It’s now been a three-year thing other than the last month before the virus kicked in. Sort of fitting that their only post-season game the past three years was getting manhandled at home by Anderson’s Arkansas team.

 

[Halldan1]

2019 18-16

2020 19-12

2021 13-13

 

[Hallsome]

Tier 1: Villanova
Tier 2: Connecticut, Xavier
Tier 3: Butler, Seton Hall, St. John's
Tier 4: Marquette, Creighton, Providence, Georgetown
Tier 5: DePaul

What’s your basis for CT?

 

[sami]

Also I think Prov could surprise. Maybe I overrate Cooley too much because despite last season I think he does a good to very good job annually. But Watson is probably the best big in the league and after last season I could see Cooley pulling out all stops and getting the most out of his group

Funny, I think Cooley disappoints annually but is held with such high regard here.

 

[SHU AL 84]

I need X and Butler to show me they know how to win consistently. Not sold on the X coach.

 

[hbkmyr]

Funny, I think Cooley disappoints annually but is held with such high regard here.

Never understood the Cooley love. And it’s not just here. His name comes up for just about every job opening.

 

[Pirate19001]

Funny, I think Cooley disappoints annually but is held with such high regard here.

Cooley consistently does less with more but because of his personality/recruiting everyone loves him. Like Willard he has one tourney win in a decade though he did his underachieving with a lottery pick and top 50 kids.

 

[dehere23]

Funny, I think Cooley disappoints annually but is held with such high regard here.

The last few years are a fair critique. Like I said, admittedly I think I overrate him because of a combination of what he did before the past few years and because I like him. I don't think he has disappointed annually though. 2013-2018 is basically the better part of the KW era. I know some think he underachieves with talent, but my recall is that early on he won with kids who weren't that highly-rated as recruits but who he developed into top BE performers (like Cotton, Henton, Bentil). Even Dunn I believe was a kid who blew up late as a recruit and stayed loyal to EC.

 

[dehere23]

What’s your basis for CT?

Experience + talent. Cole, Martin, Polley, Whalley, Gaffney, Akok. All solid players in their own right and experienced; and some could be better than solid next year with growth. Plus some of that young talent like our favorite big man, Jackson and kids coming in the door.

 

[CL82]

Experience + talent. Cole, Martin, Polley, Whalley, Gaffney, Akok. All solid players in their own right and experienced; and some could be better than solid next year with growth. Plus some of that young talent like our favorite big man, Jackson and kids coming in the door.

The new guys look like they should contribute right away:
Samson Johnson, Jordan Hawkins and Rahsool Diggins

 

[HallBall02]

UConn has too many traditional big guys in small ball college game..

There will be a PF/Cs or two that will not be happy at the end of year. I don’t see how Samson Johnson gets much PT either.

 

[CL82]

UConn has too many traditional big guys in small ball college game..

There will be a PF/Cs or two that will not be happy at the end of year. I don’t see how Samson Johnson gets much PT either.

That's the question, isn't it? He shot 43% from three on limited attempts last season (call it like 3 for 7 or something like that) so I suspect that Hurley sees stretch 4 potential in him. It seems to me that he is going to be mostly fighting Akok Akok for minutes. If Akok is back to full strength, and 18 months after surgery he should be, then I think that you are right that Samson's minutes will be limited. Hurley's hinted at a faster pace of play this year (which was abysmal last season) so that may mean more rotations. It will be interesting to see how Hurley adapts to the loss of Bouknight. He's got a lot talented pieces but it isn't clear to me how they all fit.

I do think that you nailed a potential issue for us. We need to draw the opponent's 4 man out of the paint so that it is easier to run iso's for our slashers. In order to be able to do that, we need bigs who are at least a credible 3pt threat.

 

[MBF72]

The new guys look like they should contribute right away:
Samson Johnson, Jordan Hawkins and Rahsool Diggins

CL82: remember, this is the Big East.

 

[dehere23]

CL82: remember, this is the Big East.

Hard for a freshman to make a real significant impact like Alexander did last year. Or Garcia.

But freshman can definitely be contributors in our league. There were a bunch last year who were rotation level besides those two above. Gtown’s PG, Butler’s young guards (at least one, maybe two I forget), Wusu at SJU, Prov’s young guard had moments, X had at least one or two and I’m probably forgetting.

 

[dehere23]

And I forget our boy Sanogo. He was an impact kid for Uconn last year.

 

[CL82]

CL82: remember, this is the Big East.

True but these are all Top 50 recruits. They are talented kids who have a chance to have an impact. Diggins reminds me to Khalid El Amin in terms of confidence and swagger. I actually think he may have an decent impact. I think of them like Richmond, Yetna and Harris. They are all talented enough to have an impact. Granted Richmond, Yetna and Harris all having college experience so it isn't a perfect comparison. I think both UConn and Seton Hall are going surprise some people next season. I guess we will see.

 

[IronKaz1]

True but these are all Top 50 recruits. They are talented kids who have a chance to have an impact. Diggins reminds me to Khalid El Amin in terms of confidence and swagger. I actually think he may have an decent impact. I think of them like Richmond, Yetna and Harris. They are all talented enough to have an impact. Granted Richmond, Yetna and Harris all having college experience so it isn't a perfect comparison. I think both UConn and Seton Hall are going surprise some people next season. I guess we will see.

CL82 your a pretty cool dude considering your a Huskie!

 

[Robot_Man]

Seeing top 5 to top 10 nationally for Nova expected from some posters above, and I've seen analysts like ESPN's Borzello put them at 2nd behind Gonzaga. Am I the only one who thinks that might be a stretch? I think they're going to miss Robinson-Earl a lot, both in terms of scoring and rebounding. A lot is going to be expected out of players like Eric Dixon and Nnanna Njoku, who have little to no experience. Dhamir Cosby-Roundtree may return, but that doesn't seem to be confirmed yet.

The guard/forward situation is better than the frontcourt, assuming Gillespie fully recovers from surgery on his torn MCL. After Gillespie, Moore, Samuels, and Daniels, you're again expecting a lot from players like Brandon Slater, Bryan Antoine, Trey Patterson, and incoming freshmen. It's another great incoming recruiting class, but there's no guaranteeing they're going to contribute right away. Antoine and Slater were both highly ranked recruits out of high school, too, but that hasn't led to consistent production for either at the college level yet, injuries, roster seniority, and Jay Wright's tendency to use a smaller rotation notwithstanding.

I agree that you have to put Villanova at number one in the conference until someone knocks them off, and with a weak conference overall again, that may not happen this coming year. However, I think there's more uncertainty with this Villanova team than usual. Ultimately, I think their success will depend on Gillespie returning to pre-injury form (and I'm hopeful that he does) and a few players flourishing in increased roles (e.g., does a player like Dixon or Patterson turn into this year's Omari Spellman?). I think that second item is the major question mark. If next year's Villanova team is like last year's team, minus Robinson-Earl, I don't think that's a top 10 team.

 

[dehere23]

They get benefit of doubt because of what Wright has done and built there, as they should.

Fair question as to how the Antoine’s, Casey’s and Dixon’s of the world progress. Also Swider is a loss offensively. Not irreplaceable but he had size, spread the floor and could shoot.

Still if Gillespie is pre-injury, he and Moore are one of the best backcourts in the country. Then you add a very good player in Daniels and Samuels who gives them some of what JRE could do with the inside/out floor spacing game.

 

[Fishjam]

I feel like its usually easy to pick the 1st and last teams. The rest of them can go in different orders but generally fit into 2 evenly matched tiers. 1 tier of NCAA teams and bottom tier that is inconsistent.

1 - Nova (5-10)

2 - UConn (20-30)
3 - Xavier (25-35)
4 - SH (30-40)
5 - St Johns (35-45)

6 - Butler (50-60)
7 - Marquette (50-60)
8 - Creighton (55-65)
9 - Providence (65--75)
10 - Georgetown (75-85)

11 - DePaul (85-100)