With the national champs losing four starters, Marquette stars Tyler Kolek and Oso Ighodaro graduating and Creighton losing its two leading scorers, the Big East is in rebuild mode. Of course, UConn coach Dan Hurley has built such a juggernaut that expectations are hardly dropping in Storrs.
On paper, the Big East does not look as powerful as it has been the past couple of years. A few teams look poised to ascend, with Xavier gaining experience in the transfer portal and St. John’s coach Rick Pitino scooping up two of the best guards in the portal. Hurley also filled some holes in the portal, but overall, the Big East’s transfer haul does not compare with the other high-major leagues.
Last season, the league was top-heavy with only three teams making the NCAA Tournament (and all three advancing to the second weekend). It is possible the middle is better this year and the league gets a few more teams in the tournament, because this time of the year, it’s easy to buy into feeling better off than a year before. Let’s take a look at the rosters and who got better and worse in what was a high roster turnover spring in the Big East.
No. 1 Connecticut
Biggest losses: Tristen Newton (15.1 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 6.2 apg); Cam Spencer (14.3 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 3.6 apg); Donovan Clingan (13 ppg, 7.4 rpg); Stephon Castle (11.1 ppg, 4.7 rpg)
Returning rotation players: Alex Karaban (13.3 ppg, 5.1 rpg); Hassan Diarra (6.1 ppg, 3 rpg); Samson Johnson (5.4 ppg); Solomon Ball (3.3 ppg)
Top 100 freshmen added: No. 17 Liam McNeeley, No. 37 Ahmad Nowell, No. 76 Isaiah Abraham
Top 100 transfers added: No. 45 Aidan Mahaney (Saint Mary’s), No. 49 Tarris Reed Jr. (Michigan)
Why they’re here: Can Hurley and the Huskies actually complete the three-peat? If so, they’d become the first college basketball program to win three consecutive national titles since John Wooden’s UCLA dynasty in the 1960s and ’70s. But as the last two programs to go back-to-back — Duke (1991-1992) and Florida (2006-2007) — clearly show, there’s a reason why that third championship is so elusive: Great players move on.
The 1992-1993 season was Duke’s first post-Christian Laettner, and none of Florida’s 2007 starters came back in 2008. UConn not only graduated Spencer and Newton, the Final Four Most Outstanding Player, but also lost Clingan and Castle to the NBA Draft. Karaban’s return at least gives Hurley one returning starter to build around, while backups the past two seasons like Diarra, Johnson and Ball will now be expected to assume larger roles.
McNeeley was a later signee, but Hurley should make great use of one of the best incoming shooters in the freshman class. Then there’s Mahaney and Reed, two instant-impact transfers; Mahaney’s shooting efficiency dropped a little last season, but the two-time All-WCC guard remained productive, and his like-mindedness with Hurley should be a boon. The Huskies should be Big East contenders as long as Hurley is their coach, but there’s no discounting how much UConn lost this summer.
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No. 2 Marquette
Biggest losses: Tyler Kolek (15.3 ppg, 7.7 apg); Oso Ighodaro (13.4 ppg, 6.9 rpg)
Returning rotation players: Kam Jones (17.2 ppg); David Joplin (10.8 ppg, 3.9 rpg); Stevie Mitchell (8.8 ppg, 4.1 rpg); Chase Ross (6.1 ppg, 3.1 rpg); Ben Gold (5.0 ppg, 3.0 rpg), Sean Jones (5.8 ppg)
Top 100 freshmen added: No. 63 Damarius Owens
Top 100 transfers added: None
Why They’re Here: Shaka Smart has stuck to his plan of staying out of the transfer portal, and it has allowed Marquette to retain talent better than any program in the country. This upcoming season is a big test to see if that strategy can still work after losing two of the pillars of the program in Kolek and Ighodaro. Those two made everyone else look better.
Jones should see his playmaking responsibilities increased. Last season in the six games Kolek missed with an oblique injury, Jones went off for 20.8 points and 4.5 assists per game. Gold will likely replace Ighodaro in the starting lineup, and while he cannot replicate Ighodaro’s passing, he does help stretch the floor with his shooting. Ross and Joplin will need to make leaps and so too will a few of the sophomores — Tre Norman and Zaide Lowery would be the most likely candidates — and it usually works out for Smart. He’s done a good job identifying guys who will develop, and they have the confidence that if they put in the work, they’ll get the opportunity.
Career Division I minutes on roster
| Team | Minutes | Players with 2,000-plus minutes |
|---|---|---|
|
24,256 |
6 players with 2,000-plus |
|
|
13,344 |
2 players with 2,000-plus |
|
|
13,338 |
2 players with 2,000-plus |
|
|
13,099 |
1 player with 2,000-plus |
|
|
12,741 |
2 players with 2,000-plus |
|
|
12,496 |
3 players with 2,000-plus |
|
|
11,638 |
3 players with 2,000-plus |
|
|
10,457 |
2 players with 2,000-plus |
|
|
10,248 |
2 players with 2,000-plus |
|
|
9,703 |
3 players with 2,000-plus |
|
|
6,675 |
1 player with 2,000-plus |
No. 3 Xavier
Biggest losses: Quincy Olivari (19.1 ppg, 5.6 rpg); Desmond Claude (16.6 ppg, 3.2 apg); Abou Ousmane (6.7 ppg, 6.4 rpg); Gytis Nemeiksa (5.2 ppg, 4.2 rpg)
Returning rotation players: Dayvion McKnight (12.4 ppg, 4.8 apg); Trey Green (5.6 ppg, 1.1 apg); Dailyn Swain (4.6 ppg, 3.0 rpg)
Top 100 freshmen added: None
Top 100 transfers added: No. 11 Ryan Conwell (Indiana State)
Why They’re Here: Xavier is the most experienced high-major team in college basketball going strictly by minutes played. Sean Miller brought in seven transfers, led by Conwell and former Toledo guard Dante Maddox Jr. Those two should help the Musketeers shoot it better than last season’s mediocre shooting team. Xavier also benefits from the return of Zach Freemantle and Jerome Hunter, who both missed last season with injuries. Freemantle was the second-leading scorer on Xavier’s Sweet 16 team two years ago, and Hunter was the sixth man on that team. The talent, depth and experience on this roster is a much closer clone to that team than what Xavier had last year. It’s smart to bet on Miller to bounce back. He has never missed two straight NCAA Tournaments in his career.
No. 4 Creighton
Biggest losses: Baylor Scheierman (18.5 ppg, 9 rpg, 3.9 apg); Trey Alexander (17.6 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 4.7 apg); Francisco Farabello (3.8 ppg)
Returning rotation players: Ryan Kalkbrenner (17.3 ppg, 7.6 rpg, 3.1 bpg); Steven Ashworth (11.1 ppg, 4.2 apg, 3.3 rpg); Mason Miller (5.6 ppg, 3.3 rpg)
Top 100 freshmen added: No. 38 Jackson McAndrew
Top 100 transfers added: None
Why they’re here: Kalkbrenner withdrawing from the NBA Draft is one of the most consequential Big East roster moves for next season. The three-time Big East Defensive Player of the Year not only gives Greg McDermott his defensive linchpin, but also an excellent pick-and-roll partner for Ashworth, who should assume a larger shot volume in his second season in Omaha. That said, since Scheierman and Alexander assumed so much of Creighton’s oxygen offensively — not a bad thing, considering the Bluejays were ninth in adjusted offensive efficiency last season — McDermott must pivot without them.
Slot Pop Isaacs (Texas Tech) and Jamiya Neal (Arizona State) into starting roles. Named third-team All-Big 12 last season, Isaacs’ 3-point shot (29.3 percent last season) has to be more consistent, but the 6-foot-2 guard can definitely score and should benefit from not having to carry such an outsized offensive load. McDermott’s task? Reining him in — as in, lowering his 14.1 shots per game last season — without stifling his hot-streak tendencies. This team should be more balanced than last season’s, which basically went only six or seven deep, but with less top-end talent.
Ryan Kalkbrenner’s return is big for Creighton’s 2024-2025 hopes. (Tim Nwachukwu / Getty Images)
No. 5 St. John’s
Biggest losses: Daniss Jenkins (14.9 ppg, 5.4 apg); Joel Soriano (13.8 ppg, 9.5 rpg); Jordan Dingle (11.6 ppg, 1.7 apg); Chris Ledlum (9.5 ppg, 6.9 rpg, Nahiem Alleyne (6.4 ppg), Glenn Taylor Jr. (4.4 ppg)
Returning rotation players: RJ Luis Jr. (10.9 peg, 4.6 rpg); Zuby Ejiofor (4.3 ppg, 3.1 rpg); Brady Dunlap (3.2 ppg)
Top 100 freshmen added: No. 55 Jaiden Glover
Top 100 transfers added: No. 6 Kadary Richmond (Seton Hall), No. 19 Deivon Smith (Utah)
Why They’re Here: Pitino has one of the most talented backcourts in the country in transfers Richmond and Smith. Both are ball-dominant guards who do not shoot it well from distance, so the fit is questionable. But Pitino is pretty good at getting the most out of his talent. The Johnnies are mostly unproven outside of those two, North Texas wing Aaron Scott (11.0 ppg last season) and Luis, but it’s a roster with good positional size that could excel on the defensive end. One key will be finding a reliable frontcourt threat and some shooting. The best option up front could be 7-footer Vincent Iwuchukwu (USC), a former four-star recruit. The shooting could come from Greek freshman guard Lefteris Liotopoulos, who averaged 23.2 points and shot 36 percent from 3 for his academy team last season in Greece.
No. 6 Providence
Biggest losses: Devin Carter (19.7 ppg, 8.7 rpg, 3.6 apg); Josh Oduro (15.9 ppg, 7.5 rpg); Davonte Gaines (8.5 ppg, 4.2 rpg)
Returning rotation players: Jayden Pierre (9.5 ppg, 3.2 apg); Bryce Hopkins (15.5 ppg, 8.6 rpg); Corey Floyd Jr. (4.8 ppt, 3.0 rpg); Rich Barron 4.4 ppg)
Top 100 freshmen added: No. 94 Oswin Erhunmwunse
Top 100 transfers added: None
Why They’re Here: The Friars were 11-2 last season and trending toward the NCAA Tournament bubble before Hopkins tore his ACL. The star forward is back, and while Kim English didn’t make any splashy additions through the portal, he did land some solid players. Both Jabri Abdur-Rahim (Georgia) and Bensley Joseph (Miami) were rotation players at the high-major level. Redshirt sophomore Christ Essandoko from Saint Joe’s has upside as a young big, and English landed a scoring guard from the low-major level in Wesley Cardet Jr. (Chicago State), who averaged 18.7 points last season. It’s not going to be easy to replace do-everything guard Carter, but if Hopkins can return to the level he played the past two seasons before his injury, this appears to be a team that could find itself on the bubble.
Biggest losses: TJ Bamba (10.1 ppg, 3.6 rpg); Justin Moore (9.8 ppg, 2.2 apg); Mark Armstrong (8.4 påg, 2.4 apg), Tyler Burton (7.5 ppg, 6.1 rpg); Hakim Hart (6.3 ppg); Brendan Hausen (6.2 ppg)
Returning rotation players: Eric Dixon (16.6 ppg, 6.5 rpg); Jordan Longino (6.6 ppg, 2.5 rpg)
Top 100 freshmen added: No. 82 Josiah Moseley, No. 82 Matthew Hodge
Top 100 transfers added: No. 90 Wooga Poplar (Miami)
Why They’re Here: Villanova looked to be one of the big winners in the transfer portal a year ago, but all it got the Wildcats was a .500 record for the second straight season in the Big East. This offseason was not as fruitful. Villanova did get a commitment from one of the top guards in the class, VCU’s Max Shulga, only to see Shulga change his mind and return to VCU. The late addition of Poplar from Miami helped fill the need for a proven perimeter scorer, but this is a team without many players who have produced at the high-major level outside of Poplar and super senior Dixon.
Those two will likely be joined in the starting lineup by fifth-year senior Jhamir Brickus (La Salle), who averaged 13.9 points and shot 40 percent from 3 last season. Outside of those three, it’s tough to say who will start. One wildcard is 6-9 guard Kris Parker (Alabama), a former top-100 recruit who redshirted last season. Stylistically, the Wildcats still play similarly under Kyle Neptune as they did under Jay Wright — slow tempo and high 3-point rate — but Neptune’s teams just haven’t been nearly as efficient. This is a younger roster, but the hope is the pieces will fit together better than a year ago.
Returning top-8 players (by minutes)
| Team | |
|---|---|
|
No. 1, No. 4, No. 5, No. 6, No. 7, No. 8 |
|
|
No. 1, No. 2, No. 6, No. 7, No. 8 |
|
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No. 3, No. 4, No. 6, No. 7, No. 8 |
|
|
No. 3, No. 4, No. 6, No. 7 |
|
|
No. 3, No. 6, No. 7, No. 8 |
|
|
No. 1, No. 6, No. 7 |
|
|
No. 1, No. 8 |
|
|
No. 2, No. 8 |
|
|
No. 4, No. 6 |
|
|
No. 5, No. 8 |
|
|
None |
No. 8 Butler
Biggest losses: DJ Davis (13.5 ppg, 3.2 rpg); Posh Alexander (11.3 ppg, 4.9 apg, 4.6 rpg); Jalen Thomas (7.7 ppg, 6.2 rpg); Connor Turnbull (4.1 ppg)
Returning rotation players: Pierre Brooks II (14.8 ppg, 4 rpg); Jahmyl Telfort (13.9 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 3 apg); Andre Screen (5.2 ppg, 4.5 rpg); Finley Bizjack (4.2 ppg); Landon Moore (3.8 ppg)
Top 100 freshmen added: None
Top 100 transfers added: None
Why they’re here: Somehow, Thad Matta’s team has the second-most experience in the Big East, at least in terms of D-I minutes played. (By comparison, Butler would rank seventh in the ACC and 12th in the SEC.) But Butler was old last season, too — 24th in D-I experience, per KenPom — and that didn’t stop it from slumping to the finish line, losing eight of its last 11 games. Since then, Matta lost his starting backcourt of Davis and Alexander, and though Brooks and Telfort return as wing starters, the Bulldogs didn’t necessarily add replacement production out of the portal.
Patrick McCaffery (Iowa) is at least a proven high-major contributor and will fill some of the frontcourt void left by Thomas’ departure. Having the 7-foot-1 Screen back is huge, too (no pun intended). The backcourt is less certain, though; All-Big East Rookie honoree Bizjack returns after a brief foray into the portal, and Moore might be the person best poised to assume Alexander’s playmaking responsibilities. Kolby King (Tulane) is probably ready for a larger role than last season, too, but as a scorer, not a set-up man. Matta has elements to work with, but this team doesn’t seem much better positioned than last season’s eighth-place team.
9. Seton Hall
Biggest losses: Dre Davis (15.0 ppg, 5.9 rpg); Kadary Richmond (15.7 ppg, 7.0 rpg, 5.1 apg); Al-Amir Dawes (15.0 ppg, 2.3 apg); Jaden Bediako (8.1 ppg, 6.9 rpg)
Returning rotation players: Dylan Addae-Wusu (8.6 ppg, 5.3 rpg); Isaiah Coleman (5.4 ppg, 2.6 rpg)
Top 100 freshmen added: None
Top 100 transfers added: None
Why they’re here: The NIT champs might have been a preseason Top 25 team if Shaheen Holloway could have retained his best players, but Seton Hall got hit hard by the transfer portal. Seven players transferred out, most notably leading scorers Richmond and Davis. The Pirates have 11 new players coming in: seven D-I transfers, three freshmen and one junior college transfer. There is some hope for the future among the sophomore class, which now includes three former top-100 recruits in Garwey Dual (Providence), Scotty Middleton (Ohio State) and Gus Yalden (Wisconsin). Holloway always seems to find a way to build a winner. He hasn’t had a losing record since his first year at Saint Peter’s in 2018-19.
Career made 3-pointers on roster
| Team | 3-pointers |
|---|---|
|
807 (6 players with 50-plus) |
|
|
608 (4 players with 50-plus) |
|
|
596 (3 players with 50-plus) |
|
|
551 (4 players with 50-plus) |
|
|
501 (4 players with 50-plus) |
|
|
492 (4 players with 50-plus) |
|
|
483 (4 players with 50-plus) |
|
|
420 (3 players with 50-plus) |
|
|
385 (3 players with 50-plus) |
|
|
253 (3 players with 50-plus) |
|
|
253 (1 player with 50-plus) |
Biggest losses: Dontrez Styles (12.8 ppg, 5.8 rpg); Supreme Cook (10.5 ppg, 8 rpg); Rowan Brumbaugh (8.3 ppg); Jay Heath (8.2 ppg); Ismael Massoud (5.6 ppg); Wayne Bristol Jr. (3.7 ppg, 3.3 rpg)
Returning rotation players: Jayden Epps (18.5 ppg, 4.2 apg); Drew Fielder (5.2 ppg, 3.1 rpg)
Top 100 freshmen added: No. 44 Thomas Sorber, No. 72 Kayvaun Mulready
Top 100 transfers added: No. 9 Malik Mack (Harvard)
Why they’re here: The first year of the Ed Cooley experience went poorly, frankly. The Hoyas won only two more games than they did in Patrick Ewing’s final campaign, didn’t win a single league game against anyone but DePaul and lost 19 of their final 21 games. But Cooley is a builder, and given what he accomplished at Providence, deserves the benefit of the doubt. Case in point? Landing Mack, the second-highest ranked transfer in the entire Big East (behind only Kadary Richmond at St. John’s). Mack is a future pro and was one of the most productive freshmen in any league last season, and he gives Cooley another go-to backcourt scorer alongside Epps. By season’s end, those two could be one of the three or four best backcourt tandems in the league.
But they’ll have to do plenty of heavy lifting on what should be the conference’s least-experienced roster. Micah Peavy (TCU) is the only player on the roster with over 2,000 career minutes, and while he’ll slot onto the perimeter nicely, he’s never been more than a third or fourth option. Sorber has a chance to start from the jump, and NBA Global Academy big man Julius Halaifonua — who committed in August in reclassifying up from 2025 — might have a role straight away, too.
Cooley needs a few more seasons to get Georgetown where it can be, but that starts with developing a few of these young guys — and somehow keeping them around for the future.
11. DePaul
Biggest losses: Chico Carter Jr. (10.9 ppg, 3.7 apg); Elijah Fisher (10.2 ppg, 3.8 rpg); Da’Sean Nelson (9.7 ppg, 3.5 rpg); Jaden Henley (8.6 ppg); Jalen Terry (8.5 ppg, 4 rpg); Jeremiah Oden (7.6 ppg, 3.2 rpg); K.T. Raimey (6.8 ppg); Caleb Murphy (5.6 ppg); Churchill Abass (3.9 ppg, 3.5 rpg)
Returning rotation players: None
Top 100 freshmen added: None
Top 100 transfers added: No. 98 Layden Blocker (Arkansas)
Why they’re here: DePaul, like fellow bottomfeeder Louisville from last season, flipped its entire program this offseason, hiring former Ohio State coach Chris Holtmann and replacing, well, its whole roster. That’s not a bad thing, though, as the Blue Demons won only three games all season and none in 2024. (Yes, really.) Holtmann, who should be a stabilizing force, probably is better off starting from scratch — and that’s especially true given who he landed in the transfer portal. DePaul has the fourth-most experience in the league and is middle of the pack in career 3-point production, both of which are dramatic improvements from last season.
Isaiah Rivera was a role player at Colorado State before balling out for UIC last season, but he’s still a 40.7 percent career 3-point shooter. David Skogman (Davidson) played only 17 games last season before suffering a season-ending foot injury, but can also stretch the floor at 6-foot-10. Jacob Meyer (Coastal Carolina) was maybe the best player, as a freshman, on a bad team, but like Rivera and Skogman, can knock down 3s. That isn’t Blocker’s game, but the former top-60 recruit is a dynamic athlete who can cause problems defensively.
The fact is, DePaul needs a multi-year rebuild, and while next season’s team can be a step in the right direction — if low- and mid-major transfers adjust well to a better level of competition, that is — Holtmann is still far away from having a legitimate Big East contender. But that’s more than could be said about this program this time last year.
(Top photo of Connecticut coach Dan Hurley and player Alex Karaban: Jamie Squire / Getty Images)
