For the first time since rejoining the league prior to last season, the UConn men will play a Big East conference game at home in front of fans this weekend when they host the Providence Friars in Hartford. Expected to be a sellout, the Huskies will begin the 20-game gauntlet through one of the toughest basketball conferences in America.
Just how good is the Big East? KenPom ranks all but one team inside the top-90, four teams are ranked inside the AP Top-25, and the Friars are receiving votes. The league also went 6-2 in the Gavitt Games (Big East vs. Big Ten) and is guaranteed at least a split in the Big East-Big 12 Battle. So what are the Huskies up against? Ten other pretty good teams. Here's how we rank them heading into conference play, from worst-to-first:
11) Georgetown: The reigning Big East Tournament champs, the Hoyas are the only team in the league with a sub-.700 win percentage at 5-4. Their non-conference wasn't overly impressive, starting the year off by losing to Dartmouth, but they did beat Syracuse in their last game. Freshman Aminu Mohammed (15.4 PPG, 8.4 RPG) is a stud who has lived up to the five-star hype, but there's not a whole lot else there.
10) Butler: We don't know a whole lot about the Bulldogs yet. Their three losses came against power conference opponents in Michigan State, Houston and Texas A&M, though the first two were fairly non-competitive. A win over Oklahoma will look nice come February, but otherwise they've beaten lower-level competition. Ranked 346th in adjusted tempo, Butler is perfectly happy playing in the 50s.
9) Marquette: The Golden Eagles got off to a roaring start in the Shaka Smart era, beating Illinois (albeit without Kofi Cockburn), Ole Miss and West Virginia in three straight games in mid-November. They've come back down to earth a bit since -- they lost by double-digits to St. Bonaventure, Wisconsin and UCLA -- but they love to fly up and down the court and can go 10 deep.
8) DePaul: This isn't your big brother's DePaul. The Blue Demons are 8-1 with a couple of quality wins against Rutgers and, most recently, at Louisville. And the one loss isn't bad at all, a four-point defeat against Loyola-Chicago. If you don't know the name Javon Freeman-Liberty, learn it. The 6-4 senior guard leads the team in points (20.4), rebounds (8.4), assists (4.0) and steals (2.1) while shooting 45 percent from the field. He's a walking bucket, and he creates a dangerous 1-2 combo with 6-6 David Jones (17.7 points, 8.2 rebounds). The Blue Demons might not finish in the top half of the league, but they're no doormat.
7) St. John's: There's no doubting the Red Storm can score, with Julian Champagnie (20.3 PPG, 6.3 RPG) and Posh Alexander (16.4 PPG) leading the charge, but they've only had two real tests and they failed them both. At 8-2 the losses came at Indiana and at home to Kansas, neither of which is bad. But the Johnnies best win is either Monmouth or Colgate, which aren't exactly resume-builders. A Saturday win at woeful Pitt is a must and then Monday they head to Seton Hall. We'll learn a lot about the Red Storm in the next week.
6) Creighton: Like many teams in the "bottom half" of the Big East, the Blue Jays have pretty much won the games they're supposed to win (though an upset of BYU last weekend was nice) while picking up a couple of acceptable losses against Colorado State and Iowa State. With four players averaging double-figures in points it's a balanced Creighton attack, with Ryan Nembhard (13.1 PPG, 4.7 APG, 45% 3PM) the straw that stirs the drink.
5) Providence: You can make a very good case that the Friars deserve to be ranked, with a 10-1 record that features win at Wisconsin and against Texas Tech, though it's one blemish was an 18-point setback against a Virginia team that looks NIT bound at best. Another balanced team, fifth-year center Nate Watson (15.3 PPG, 5.5 RPG) is a proven commodity in the paint, AJ Reeves is a streaky shooter (10.7 PPG, 38% FG) but might be the best pure scorer and Al Durham (13.5 PPG) can step up as well. Two of the Friars' first three league games are at UConn and against Seton Hall. Split those, and PC will be fine.
4) UConn: The Huskies are ranked slightly higher than Xavier, but for now of the clear "favorites", Connecticut has a little work to do. The 9-2 record is nice, though the two losses against Michigan State and West Virginia were frustration-filled affairs. And even with Adama Sanogo and Tyrese Martin healthy, there are questions about whether the Huskies can score enough in big games. The good news? Their defense is good enough where, barring a complete lights-out performance by an opponent, they'll never be out of a game. And RJ Cole has become the savvy veteran scorer that could be huge come March.
3) Xavier: The Muskateers already boast wins over Ohio State, Virginia Tech and Oklahoma State, and they most recently pummeled Cincinnati. Their lone loss to Iowa State looks better and better as the Cyclones emerge as the surprise team nationally. Offensively this is a dangerous bunch with multiple weapons. Paul Scruggs (11.7 PPG, 3.9 APG) and Jack Nunge (13.5 PPG, 7.5 RPG) are as consistent as they come, sophomore Colby Jones (12.3 PPG, 8.9 RPG) has taken a big step forward this year, and their leading scorer is a guard in Nate Johnson who is shooting 47 percent from deep. This could be the deepest team in the league.
2) Seton Hall: Picked to finish fifth in the preseason, the Pirates are for real. Overcoming a double-digit second half deficit to beat Michigan in Ann Arbor (though the Wolverines don't look very good), losing by only three to Ohio State and winning a slugfest over Texas are the highlights of the non-conference. Six-six Jared Rhoden (16.4 PPG, 7.3 RPG) is playing like an All-Big East performer, but the real X-factor might be Bryce Aiken. The sixth-year senior and Harvard transfer had only played 21 games the prior two seasons combined because of injuries, but he's finally rounding back into form. If he can improve on his 30 percent three-point shooting, the Pirates have another level to them.
1) Villanova: Only Georgetown has more losses than the Wildcats' three, but until proven otherwise they are the class of the league. The weekend setback to Baylor was capital "U" Ugly (36 points, 22 percent shooting), but their three losses are to teams currently ranked first (the Bears), third (Purdue) and fourth (UCLA) nationally. Collin Gillespie (16.2 PPG, 3.4 APG) might not be a big pro prospect, but he's an all-conference first-team performer and leads a talented, deep bunch that can beat anybody in the nation.