There is a lot of pressure on the enter for Big East basketball programs.
After landing just three teams in the NCAA Tournament a year ago, and the field expanding to 76 teams this year, the conference is aiming to get as many as seven teams in the dance this March.
Yet there are still many questions surrounding the league and how teams in transition will do.
There are three new head coaches, Providence, Creighton, and Butler, and one – Georgetown – squarely on the hot seat.
Will anybody be able to challenge St. John’s or UConn or will the two top dogs in the Big East run away from the pack once again?
We discuss the league and rank teams entering the 2026-27 season.
1. St. John's Red Storm
St. John’s lands the top spot because of the precedent. A back-to-back regular season and tournament champion gets to start the season at the top of the league until proven otherwise, and Rick Pitino has put together a very strong contender – assuming eligibility holds.
British point guard Quinn Ellis will be one the best playmakers in the country and gives the Johnnies the maestro they were lacking last year, which will immensely help key returner Ian Jackson. Tounde Yessoufou has the potential to be a lottery pick in June’s NBA Draft and a year in the Pitino laboratory, working on his shot, will only make him a better player with his dynamic athleticism.
Ruben Prey will have to answer questions at center trying to replace program legend Zuby Ejiofor, but he will hopefully be aided by international prospect Babacar Sane, who has elite athleticism in the frontcourt for the Johnnies. However, Sane will have another court hearing on November 9 as he is currently playing on a judge-issued temporary restraining order.
Yet one of most impactful additions for St. John’s was Auburn transfer Keyshawn Hall, who has proven to be an effortless scorer in the preseason. Hall is fighting for a fifth year of eligibility and, like Sane, has been given a temporary restraining order as he waits for a New York judge to make his final decision.
St. John’s has the pieces to be at the top of the Big East once again, and make a deep run in the NCAA Tournament, assuming its full roster is eligible and available.
2. UConn Huskies
Dan Hurley has won two National Championships at UConn with teams that fit his identity and has put the Huskies as one of the most consistent programs in the country, yet this team might be his best.
Not only in the talent he added in the offseason but in the makeup and mentality of his team.
UConn will have to replace the winningest player in program history, Alex Karaban, and have turned to Duke transfer Nik Khamenia – who was on the opposite side of the classic Elite Eight finish – to fill his shoes. Hurley also went out to fill the void in the paint and added blossoming Seton Hall center Na’jai Hines.
Sure, the talent the Huskies brought in was one of the best portal hauls in the country, but they also added freshman Colben Landrew, a potential lottery choice in June. Also, you cannot discount the returners of potential All-American point guard Silas Demary Jr., March Madness hero Braylon Mullins, and the potential return of Solo Ball from offseason wrist surgery at the start of conference play.
It’s clear Dan Hurley really likes his team entering this season and it could prove to be the squad that gets UConn back atop of the Big East standings.
3. Villanova Wildcats
The clear-cut third best team in the Big East a year ago and surprise in the conference now has expectations entering the second season under Kevin Willard as he loaded up in the transfer portal this offseason.
The Wildcats do bring back Tyler Perkins for a third season, but he is surrounded by a handful of players making the jump to power conference basketball in Jake Fiegen (Cornell), Elijah Crawford (UIC), and Darryl Simmons II (St. Bonaventure).
The Wildcats also made a major splash in international waters by adding Italian big man Luigi Suigo and built around him with Ohio State wing Devin Royal and Oregon forward Kwame Evans.
Villanova looks to be very strong in the frontcourt on paper but the questions surrounding this team will come in the backcourt and how smooth the transition is to the big leagues.
4. Marquette Golden Eagles
It’s not a new era of Marquette basketball but it could certainly be considered a new phase of the program under Shaka Smart.
Even with returning several key players, including Big East Player of the Year contender Nigel James Jr., the Golden Eagles finally went to the transfer portal and landed Louisville center Sananda Fru and St. Thomas (MN) guard Nolan Minessale, who posted 19.8 points per game last season.
Will it translate to the Big East? Will returning players like Adrien Stevens, Royce Parham, and Damarius Owens take the production leap for Marquette as Shaka Smart continues to preach about player development?
The Golden Eagles need a bounce back season, and they might have assembled the roster to do the job.
5. Xavier Musketeers
Richard Pitino, with added resources at Xavier this offseason, should have a much better team than last year. Although, the Musketeers started to put things together at the end of the season.
The major question of the roster surrounds returning wing Filip Borovicanin, who is fighting for a fifth year of eligibility. If he plays, which he is currently allowed to, it will only make the roster deeper.
Jovan Milicevic returns for the Musketeers, who could be the team’s leading scorer, as Tru Washington reunites with Richard Pitino following a year with Miami after leaving New Mexico.
Pitino continued to load up in the portal with Texas A&M transfer Ruben Dominguez and LSU forward Michael Nwoko, which should complete the starting five.
Xavier will be able to score efficiently this season, and replacing Tre Carrol is no easy feat, but a return to the NCAA Tournament should be a very, very realistic goal in Cincinnati.
6. Providence Friars
Providence might be the toughest team to judge entering the season.
The loss of Dink Pate, a Big East Player of the Year candidate, is massive and the Friars are awaiting the eligibility status of transfers Joe Pinion and Derek Simpson after they were denied a temporary restraining order and now are fighting for an injunction to allow them to be on the court.
Yet it feels like new head coach Bryan Hodgeon is built for the moment.
There will be plenty of offensive talent with Miles Byrd, Devin Vanterpool, Malik Mack, and Ryen Mela but is there enough to compete inside with the rise in competition for Samson Aletan, a transfer from Yale, and Arrinten Page, a transfer from Northwestern who is coming off a career year.
If the legal system goes Providence’s way, the Friars could very easily find them near the top of the Big East standings.
7. DePaul Blue Demons
What Chris Holtmann has done with DePaul has been spectacular. A program that had players who were actively throwing games before he arrived returned to a respectability over the last two seasons and now it’s time to take the next step.
The problem with DePaul is that they have usually slipped up in a major way during the non-conference slate. Last year, the Demons lost to Buffalo, Northwestern, and LSU – coupled with a pair of losses to Georgetown in conference play. If those results are different, a 16-16 record could have been a 20-win season and fighting for an NCAA Tournament bid.
Layden Blocker returns in Chicago for another season while DePaul was one of the most active, and successful, teams in the portal with the key additions of Magoon Gwath, Kahmare Holmes, and Koree Cotton.
With an expanded NCAA Tournament, the door is open for DePaul to get back into the tournament for the first time since 2004.
8. Creighton Bluejays
A new era of Creighton basketball begins as Greg McDermott has officially stepped aside and Alan Huss takes over, who returned to the Bluejay staff last season. In his two years as a head coach at High Point, he went 56-15, won the conference’s regular season title in his first year, and made the NCAA Tournament after winning the conference tournament in his second year.
Yet now the expectations are higher trying to shake off a disastrous season in Omaha, not sniffing an NCAA bid.
A healthy Jackson McAndrew will help cure a lot of the things that hurt Creighton last season as well as the addition of Providence transfer Oswin Erhunmwunse, who will look to fortify the paint that was a blackhole after the departure of Ryan Kalkbrenner.
The new backcourt of BJ Davis and Wes Enis need to be able to elevate their games in the Big East and players like Jasen Green and Austin Swartz must show improvement from last year.
There could be a cap on how good this version of the Bluejays are but the hope for Creighton is that they will also have a high floor that will ensure a postseason berth.
9. Seton Hall Pirates
All indications out of South Orange is that Shaheen Holloway has added much more offensive talent this offseason, but Seton Hall still lacks a star on paper.
Simeon Wilcher returns to the conference after spending his first two years at St. John’s before transferring to Texas. Rodney Brown Jr. shined at Loyola Marymount last year but will need to carry that form over to a power conference after not getting much time at Cal or Virginia Tech.
Holloway will get this team tough and likely outperform the preseason expectations, but the departures of Budd Clark and Na’jai Hines took the Pirates from a top half preseason squad to the bottom half.
10. Georgetown Hoyas
It feels like it’s now or never for Ed Cooley at Georgetown to not be the doormat of the Big East. He has yet to finish with an above .500 record in conference play and another dismal year in his fourth season could spell the end of his time in the nation’s capital.
Georgetown landed a maestro at point guard in Kentucky transfer Jaland Lowe and added veterans in the transfer portal such as Elmarko Jackson and Vyctorius Miller with the returns of Caleb Williams and Vince Iwuchukwu.
It’ll be a pressure filled season for the Hoyas and not only do they need to get off to a good start in non-conference play, but a strong opening to league play might be more paramount for Ed Cooley.
11. Butler Bulldogs
It could be a long season inside Hinkle Fieldhouse for Butler.
A new head coach with a very unknown roster. A lot of pressure will be put on Jalen Jackson, who is returning from injury, with the hope that additions like Eduardo Klafke and Treyson Anderson can make a major impact.
Given the low expectations, the Bulldogs can shock a lot of people this season in the Big East.
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