2017–18 Big East Conference men's basketball season
The 2017–18 Big East Conference men's basketball season began with practices in October 2017, followed by the start of the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season in November. This season marked the 39th year in the conference's history, but the fifth as a non-football conference, which officially formed on July 1, 2013. Conference play began in December 2017. For the first time since the reconfigured Big East formed, Villanova failed to win the regular-season title, with Xavier claiming the crown.
| 2017–18 Big East Conference men's basketball season | |
|---|---|
 | |
| League | NCAA Division I |
| Sport | Basketball |
| Number of teams | 10 |
| TV partner(s) | CBS, CBSSN, FOX, FS1, FSN |
| Regular season | |
| 2018 Big East Champions | Xavier |
| Season MVP | Jalen Brunson, Villanova |
| Tournament | |
| Champions | Villanova |
| Runners-up | Providence |
| Finals MVP | Mikal Bridges, Villanova |
| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | W | L | PCT | W | L | PCT | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 3 Xavier | 15 | – | 3 | .833 | 29 | – | 6 | .829 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 2 Villanova † | 14 | – | 4 | .778 | 36 | – | 4 | .900 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Seton Hall | 10 | – | 8 | .556 | 22 | – | 12 | .647 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Creighton | 10 | – | 8 | .556 | 21 | – | 12 | .636 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Providence | 10 | – | 8 | .556 | 21 | – | 14 | .600 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Butler | 9 | – | 9 | .500 | 21 | – | 14 | .600 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Marquette | 9 | – | 9 | .500 | 21 | – | 14 | .600 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Georgetown | 5 | – | 13 | .278 | 15 | – | 15 | .500 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| St. John's | 4 | – | 14 | .222 | 16 | – | 17 | .485 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| DePaul | 4 | – | 14 | .222 | 11 | – | 20 | .355 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| † 2018 Big East tournament winner Rankings from AP poll | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The 2018 Big East men's basketball tournament was held at Madison Square Garden in New York from March 7 through March 10, 2018. Villanova defeated Providence to win the tournament championship and receive the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.
Six Big East schools received bids to the NCAA tournament (Butler, Creighton, Providence, Seton Hall, Villanova, and Xavier). Only Villanova won more than one game in the Tournament, but the Wildcats defeated Michigan to win the NCAA Championship for the second time in three years.
Marquette received a bid to the National Invitation Tournament, where they advanced to the quarterfinals before losing to eventual NIT champions Penn State.
Villanova guard Jalen Brunson was named the Big East Player of the Year and was consensus National Player of the Year. Villanova freshman forward Omari Spellman was named Big East Freshman of the Year. Xavier head coach Chris Mack was named Big East coach of the year.
Head coaches
Coaching changes
On March 23, 2017, Georgetown officials announced that John Thompson III had been fired.[1][2][3] On April 2, it was reported that Patrick Ewing would replace Thompson as head coach.[4]
On June 9, 2017, Butler head coach Chris Holtmann left to become the head coach at Ohio State.[5] On June 12, the school hired Milwaukee head coach and Bulter alum LaVall Jordan as head coach.[6]
Coaches
| Team | Head coach | Previous job | Years at school | Overall record | Big East record | Big East titles | NCAA tournaments | NCAA Final Fours | NCAA Championships |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Butler | LaVall Jordan | Milwaukee | 1 | 21–14 | 9–9 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Creighton | Greg McDermott | Iowa State | 8 | 187–94 | 47––43 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| DePaul | Dave Leitao | Tulsa (asst.) |
6 | 87–99 | 39–63 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Georgetown | Patrick Ewing | Charlotte Hornets (asst.) | 1 | 15–15 | 5–13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Marquette | Steve Wojciechowski | Duke (asst.) |
4 | 73–59 | 31–41 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Providence | Ed Cooley | Fairfield | 7 | 144–94 | 64–62 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| Seton Hall | Kevin Willard | Iona | 8 | 150–114 | 62–82 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| St. John's | Chris Mullin | None | 3 | 39–60 | 12–42 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Villanova | Jay Wright | Hofstra | 17 | 422–165 | 191–103 | 6 | 13 | 3 | 2 |
| Xavier | Chris Mack | Xavier (asst.) |
9 | 215–97 | 57–33 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 0 |
Notes:
- Years at school includes 2017–18 season.
- Overall and Big East records are from time at current school and are through the end of the 2017–18 season.
- Mack's A-10 and McDermott's MVC conference records not included since teams began play in Big East.
Preseason
Preseason poll
Prior to the season, the Big East conducted a poll of Big East coaches, coaches do not place their own team on their ballots.[7]
| Rank | Team | |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Villanova (8) | |
| 2. | Seton Hall (1) | |
| 3. | Xavier (1) | |
| 4. | Providence | |
| 4. | Creighton | |
| 6. | St. John's | |
| 7. | Marquette | |
| 8. | Butler | |
| 9. | Georgetown | |
| 10. | DePaul | |
| (first place votes) | ||
Preseason All-Big East teams
Source[8]
| Honor | Recipient |
|---|---|
| Preseason Player of the Year | Jalen Brunson, Villanova |
| Preseason All-Big East First Team | Kelan Martin, Butler |
| Marcus Foster, Creighton | |
| Khadeen Carrington, Seton Hall | |
| Ángel Delgado, Seton Hall | |
| Trevon Bluiett, Xavier | |
| Preseason All-Big East Second Team | Markus Howard, Marquette |
| Rodney Bullock, Providence | |
| Kyron Cartwright, Providence | |
| Marcus LoVett Jr., St. John's | |
| Shamorie Ponds, St. John's | |
| Preseason All-Big East Honorable Mention | Khyri Thomas, Creighton |
| Desi Rodriguez, Seton Hall | |
| J. P. Macura, Xavier | |
| Preseason Rookie of the Year | Omari Spellman, Villanova |
Regular season
Rankings
| Increase in ranking | ||
| Decrease in ranking | ||
| Not ranked previous week | ||
| () First place votes |
| Pre | Wk 2 | Wk 3 | Wk 4 | Wk 5 | Wk 6 | Wk 7 | Wk 8 | Wk 9 | Wk 10 | Wk 11 | Wk 12 | Wk 13 | Wk 14 | Wk 15 | Wk 16 | Wk 17 | Wk 18 | Wk 19 | Final | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Butler | AP | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | |||||||||||||
| C | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | ||||||||||||
| Creighton | AP | RV | 25 | RV | RV | 25 | 25 | 25 | 25 | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | |||||
| C | RV | RV | RV | 23 | RV | 25 | 24 | 23 | 25 | 22 | RV | RV | RV | RV | 25 | RV | 24 | ||||
| DePaul | AP | ||||||||||||||||||||
| C | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Georgetown | AP | ||||||||||||||||||||
| C | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Marquette | AP | ||||||||||||||||||||
| C | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Providence | AP | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | ||||||||||||||
| C | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | ||||||||||||||||
| Seton Hall | AP | 23 | 22 | 20 | RV | 19 | 15 | 23 | 23 | 21 | 13 | 19 | RV | RV | RV | RV | |||||
| C | 23 | 23 | 22 | 24 | 19 | 15 | 22 | 24 | 21 | 15 | 19 | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | ||||
| St. John's | AP | ||||||||||||||||||||
| C | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Villanova | AP | 6 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 1 (41) | 1 (45) | 1 (43) | 3 | 1 (52) | 1 (63) | 1 (63) | 1 (47) | 1 (48) | 3 (9) | 3 (4) | 4 | |||
| C | 6 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 1 (22) | 1 (26) | 1 (27) | 3 | 1 (27) | 1 (31) | 1 (31) | 1 (22) | 1 (22) | 2 (8) | 3 (4) | 5 | ||||
| Xavier | AP | 17 | 15 | 15 | 21 | 13 | 10 | 9 | 6 | 5 | 10 | 11 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 4 (5) | 4 | 3 | |||
| C | 17 | 17 | 14 | 20 | 14 | 9 | 8 | 5 | 4 | 10 | 12 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 4 (1) | 4 | 4 |
Conference matrix
This table summarizes the head-to-head results between teams in conference play.
| Butler | Creighton | DePaul | Georgetown | Marquette | Providence | Seton Hall | St. John's | Villanova | Xavier | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| vs. Butler | – | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 |
| vs. Creighton | 1–1 | – | 0–2 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 2–0 |
| vs. DePaul | 2–0 | 2–0 | – | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 |
| vs. Georgetown | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | – | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 2–0 |
| vs. Marquette | 2–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 | – | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 |
| vs. Providence | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | – | 2–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 |
| vs. Seton Hall | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–2 | – | 0–2 | 2–0 | 2–0 |
| vs. St. John's | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | – | 1–1 | 2–0 |
| vs. Villanova | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | – | 0–2 |
| vs. Xavier | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 2–0 | – |
| Total | 9–9 | 10–8 | 4–14 | 5–13 | 9–9 | 10–8 | 10–8 | 4–14 | 14–4 | 15–3 |
Player of the week
Throughout the season, the Big East Conference named a player of the week and a freshman of the week each Monday.
| Week | Player of the week | Freshman of the week |
|---|---|---|
| November 13, 2017[9] | Kelan Martin, Butler | Omari Spellman, Villanova |
| November 20, 2017[10] | Trevon Bluiett, Xavier | Ty-Shon Alexander, Creighton |
| November 27, 2017[11] | Jalen Brunson, Villanova | Mitch Ballock, Creighton |
| December 4, 2017[12] | Desi Rodriguez, Seton Hall | Omari Spellman (2), Villanova |
| December 11, 2017[13] | Markus Howard, Marquette | Mitch Ballock (2), Creighton |
| December 18, 2017[14] | Jalen Brunson (2), Villanova | Omari Spellman (3), Villanova |
| December 26, 2017[15] | Marcus Foster, Creighton | Mitch Ballock (3), Creighton |
| January 2, 2018[16] | Kelan Martin (2), Butler | Jamal Cain, Marquette |
| January 8, 2018[17] | Markus Howard (2), Marquette | Jahvon Blair, Georgetown |
| January 15, 2018[18] | Kelan Martin (3), Butler | Naji Marshall, Xavier |
| January 22, 2018[19] | J. P. Macura, Xavier | Omari Spellman (4), Villanova |
| January 29, 2018[20] | Marcus Foster (2), Creighton | Naji Marshall (2), Xavier |
| February 5, 2018[21] | Shamorie Ponds, St. John's | Omari Spellamn (5), Villanova |
| February 12, 2018[22] | Shamorie Ponds (2), St. John's | Jamorko Pickett, Georgetown |
| February 19, 2018[23] | Mikal Bridges, Villanova | Naji Marshall (3), Xavier |
| February 26, 2018[24] | Khadeen Carrington, Seton Hall | Naji Marshall (4), Xavier |
Honors and awards
All-Big East Awards and Teams
| Honor | Recipient |
|---|---|
| Player of the Year | Jalen Brunson, Villanova |
| Coach of the Year | Chris Mack, Xavier |
| Freshman of the Year | Omari Spellman, Villanova |
| All-Big East First Team | *Trevon Bluiett, Xavier |
| *Jalen Brunson, Villanova | |
| Mikal Bridges, Villanova | |
| Marcus Foster, Creighton | |
| *Kelan Martin, Butler | |
| Shamorie Ponds, St. John's | |
| All-Big East Second Team | Ángel Delgado, Seton Hall |
| Marcus Derrickson, Georgetown | |
| Markus Howard, Marquette | |
| Desi Rodriguez, Seton Hall | |
| Khyri Thomas, Creighton | |
| All-Big East Honorable Mention | Andrew Rowsey, Marquette |
| Kyron Cartwright, Providence | |
| All-Big East Freshman Team | Mitch Ballock, Creighton |
| Jahvon Blair, Georgetown | |
| *Naji Marshall, Xavier | |
| *Jamorko Pickett, Georgetown | |
| *Omari Spellman, Villanova | |
| Nate Watson, Providence | |
| Defensive Player of the Year | Khyri Thomas, Creighton |
| Most Improved Player | Myles Powell, Seton Hall |
| Sixth Man Award | Donte DiVincenzo, Villanova |
| Sportsmanship Award | Tyler Wideman, Butler |
| *unanimous selection Sources[25][26][27] | |
Postseason
2018 Big East tournament
| First round March 7 | Quarterfinals March 8 | Semifinals March 9 | Championship March 10 | ||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Xavier | 88 | |||||||||||||||||
| 9 | St. John's | 60 | |||||||||||||||||
| 8 | Georgetown | 77 | |||||||||||||||||
| 9 | St. John's | 88 | |||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Xavier | 72 | |||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Providence | 75* | |||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Creighton | 68 | |||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Providence | 72* | |||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Providence | 66 | |||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Villanova | 76* | |||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Villanova | 94 | |||||||||||||||||
| 7 | Marquette | 70 | |||||||||||||||||
| 7 | Marquette | 72 | |||||||||||||||||
| 10 | DePaul | 69 | |||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Villanova | 87 | |||||||||||||||||
| 6 | Butler | 68 | |||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Seton Hall | 74 | |||||||||||||||||
| 6 | Butler | 75 | |||||||||||||||||
NCAA tournament
The winner of the Big East tournament, Villanova, received the conference's automatic bid to the 2018 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament.
| Seed | Region | School | First Four | First round | Second round | Sweet Sixteen | Elite Eight | Final Four | Championship |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | East | Villanova | N/A | defeated (16) Radford 87–61 | defeated (9) Alabama 81–58 | defeated (5) West Virginia 90–78 | defeated (3) Texas Tech 71–59 | defeated (1) Kansas 95–79 | defeated (3) Michigan 79–62 |
| 1 | West | Xavier | N/A | defeated (16) Texas Southern 103–82 | eliminated by (9) Florida State 70–75 | ||||
| 8 | South | Creighton | N/A | eliminated by (9) Kansas State 59–69 | |||||
| 8 | Midwest | Seton Hall | N/A | defeated (9) NC State 94–83 | eliminated by (1) Kansas 79–83 | ||||
| 10 | East | Butler | N/A | defeated (7) Arkansas 79–62 | eliminated by (2) Purdue 73–76 | ||||
| 10 | West | Providence | N/A | eliminated by (7) Texas A&M 69–73 | |||||
| W–L (%): | 0–0 (–) | 4–2 (.667) | 1–3 (.250) | 1–0 (1.000) | 1–0 (1.000) | 1–0 (1.000) | 1–0 (1.000) Total: 9–5 (.643) |
National Invitation tournament
Marquette received an invitation to the National Invitation Tournament.
| Seed | Bracket | School | First round | Second round | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Finals |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Notre Dame | Marquette | defeated (7) Harvard 67–60 | defeated (3) Oregon 101–92 | eliminated by (4) Penn State | ||
| W–L (%): | 1–0 (1.000) | 1–0 (1.000) | 0–1 (.000) | 0–0 (–) | 0–0 (–) Total: 2–1 (.667) |
References
- Jeff Goodman and Jeff Borzello (March 23, 2017). "Hoyas dismiss coach John Thompson III after 13 seasons". espn.com. Retrieved March 23, 2017.
- Santamaria, Paolo B., and Sean Hoffman, "John Thompson III Fired After 2 Consecutive Losing Seasons," thehoya.com, March 23, 2017.
- Anonymous, "Georgetown fires head coach John Thompson III after 13 years," si.com, March 23, 2017.
- "Patrick Ewing hired as coach of Georgetown". USA TODAY. Retrieved April 3, 2017.
- "Butler's Chris Holtmann hired as Ohio State coach". USA TODAY. Retrieved June 9, 2017.
- "Butler stays in the family: New coach is LaVall Jordan". Indianapolis Star. Retrieved June 13, 2017.
- "Villanova Sits Atop Coaches' Preseason Poll Again". Big East Conference. Retrieved October 18, 2017.
- "Villanova's Jalen Brunson Selected Preseason Player of the Year". BigEast.com. Big East Conference. October 18, 2017. Retrieved October 18, 2017.
- "Butler's Martin, Villanova's Spellman Earn MBB Weekly Honors". Big East Conference. Retrieved January 8, 2018.
- "Xavier's Bluiett, Creighton's Alexander Take MBB Weekly Honors". Big East Conference. Retrieved January 8, 2018.
- "Villanova's Brunson, Creighton's Ballock Earn MBB Weekly Honors". Big East Conference. Retrieved January 8, 2018.
- "Seton Hall's Rodriguez, Villanova's Spellman Take MBB Weekly Honors". Big East Conference. Retrieved January 8, 2018.
- "Marquette's Howard, Creighton's Ballock Earn MBB Weekly Honors". Big East Conference. Retrieved January 8, 2018.
- "Villanova's Brunson, Spellman Take MBB Weekly Honors". Big East Conference. Retrieved January 8, 2018.
- "Creighton's Foster, Ballock Earn MBB Weekly Honors". Big East Conference. Retrieved January 8, 2018.
- "Butler's Martin, Marquette's Cain Take MBB Weekly Honors". Big East Conference. Retrieved January 8, 2018.
- "Big East Conference – Marquette's Howard, Georgetown's Blair Earn Weekly MBB Honors". www.bigeast.com. Retrieved January 8, 2018.
- "Butler's Martin, Xavier's Marshall Take Weekly MBB Honors". www.bigeast.com. Retrieved January 15, 2018.
- "Xavier's Macura, Villanova's Spellman Earn Weekly MBB Honors". Big East Conference. Retrieved January 30, 2018.
- "Big East Conference – Creighton's Foster, Xavier's Marshall Take Weekly MBB Honors". www.bigeast.com. Retrieved January 30, 2018.
- "St. John's Ponds, Villanova's Spellman Earn Weekly MBB Honors". www.bigeast.com. Retrieved February 23, 2018.
- "St. John's Ponds, Georgetown's Pickett Take Weekly MBB Honors". www.bigeast.com. Retrieved February 23, 2018.
- "Villanova's Bridges, Xavier's Marshall Earn Weekly MBB Honors". www.bigeast.com. Retrieved February 23, 2018.
- "Seton Hall's Carrington, Xavier's Marshall Take Weekly MBB Honors". www.bigeast.com. Retrieved March 3, 2018.
- "Villanova's Brunson Named BIG EAST Player of the Year" (Press release). Big East Conference. March 7, 2018. Retrieved March 9, 2018.
- "Creighton's Thomas Repeats as Defensive Player of the Year" (Press release). Big East Conference. March 5, 2018. Retrieved March 9, 2018.
- "Xavier's Bluiett, Villanova's Brunson, Butler's Martin Unanimously Named All-BIG EAST" (Press release). Big East Conference. March 4, 2018. Retrieved March 9, 2018.
External links
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