Big East Basketball: Preview and Predictions for 2014-15 Season

Once the most influential and trendsetting conference in college basketball, the Big East Conference fell back into the pack last season in its new, smaller form.

Heading into year two, the 10-team league made entirely of private schools is searching for a new identity beyond just being the remnants of a once-great league.

The 2014-15 season figures to be a good one for the conference as a whole, though it might not be that competitive at the top. More intrigue should occur in the middle of the pack, as a major departure of talent has led some schools to have to treat this season like a rebuilding one.

Villanova won the regular-season title last season, while Providence took the conference tournament title. Who figures to be in the hunt for those crowns in 2014-15?

Check out our Big East preview for some insight as the season gets ready to begin.

Top Storylines

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Replacing Star Power

Two of the most exciting players in the country held court in the Big East last season, but Creighton's Doug McDermott and Providence's Bryce Cotton aren't around anymore.

In fact, five of the six players who made the all-conference first team and nine of 16 who earned all-conference honors either graduated or left early for the NBA.

New stars will step up, both for those major individual talents and for other departed starters, but will any of them rise to the level of prominence like McDermott and Cotton did? And for their former teams—Creighton and Providence—can success exist with such a void in the lineup?

One-team Race?

It was mostly a two-team race last season between Villanova and Creighton, with the former taking the conference regular-season title by two games in 2013-14. This year, though, it might not even be that close based on how overwhelming of a favorite Villanova appears to be.

The Wildcats were picked first by nine of the Big East's 10 coaches, while nearly every major website and publication that previewed the conference tabbed Villanova as well.

How Many Bids?

Last year, the Big East sent four teams (Villanova, Creighton, Providence, Xavier) to the NCAA tournament, while Georgetown and St. John's played in the NIT. Villanova had the deepest run, losing to eventual national champion Connecticut in the Sweet 16.

The four bids in 2013-14 were half of what the league had the year before, but that's when the Big East was a 16-team super conference.

Bleacher Report's Kerry Miller projects between three and five bids this season, which is still a solid number for a 10-team league, though only Villanova would be considered a lock.

The Favorite

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Villanova Wildcats

The reigning regular-season champion brings back four starters from the team that went 29-5 and reached the Sweet 16 as a No. 2 seed.

Leading scorer James Bell has graduated, but guards Ryan Arcidiacono and Josh Hart join wing Darrun Hilliard and forward JayVaughn Pinkston to form the conference's most experienced roster.

"With a year of experience, this team looks very good," wrote Matt Norlander of CBS Sports.

One of the more efficient shooting teams in the country last season at 45.6 percent, the Wildcats figure to play much the same way with their three-guard backcourt serving as the foundation, while the 6'7", 235-pound Pinkston will continue to do his thing inside.

The Challengers

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Georgetown Hoyas

Georgetown had a down year in 2013-14, finishing in seventh place with a sub-.500 record in conference play for the first time since 2009.

Leading scorer D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera is one of three starters back, but what will make or break the Hoyas' season is how they're able to implement a talented recruiting class into the rotation.

Coach John Thompson III landed a five-man class that 247Sports ranked as the 11th-best group of prospects in the country. Isaac Copeland and Paul White, a pair of 6'9" forwards, should help improve what was a very soft defense last season. 

St. John's Red Storm

Steve Lavin's roster is stacked with guards, which should make for some fun games to watch when the Red Storm are playing.

A lack of frontcourt depth could be an issue, but reinforcements from the high school and junior college ranks (as well as sophomore Christian Jones, who redshirted last season) should help fill the gap.

Center Chris Obekpa only played 20.1 minutes per game last season, but his 94 blocks translated to a rate of nearly six per game if spread over 40 minutes.

Xavier Musketeers

The Musketeers only bring back two starters, but they're two important ones in center Matt Stainbrook and point guard Dee Davis. Both seniors, they'll be counted on to help replace the production lost by Semaj Christon's early NBA departure, while also providing leadership to six freshmen.

Chris Mack has gotten Xavier into the NCAA tournament in four of his five seasons, and with a tough nonconference slate—including a spot in the Battle 4 Atlantis tourney—this group should be poised for another strong run when the postseason comes.

The Bottom Dwellers

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Creighton Bluejays

Not only did Creighton lose Doug McDermott, the No. 5 all-time scorer in Division I history, but it also lost sharpshooter Ethan Wragge and two others starters. Only Austin Chatman is back, and the 6'0" senior point guard will have to get a bunch of newcomers up to speed early for the Bluejays to be competitive.

DePaul Blue Demons

Long the doormat of the Big East, last season was no different. The Blue Demons' 3-15 mark in conference play in 2013-14 put them in last place for the sixth straight year, and they have to replace three starters.

The arrival of Illinois transfer Myke Henry, a 6'6" junior who sat out last season, could be the key to a turnaround.

Marquette Golden Eagles

The surprise departure of coach Buzz Williams to Virginia Tech was just part of an offseason of turnover for Marquette. New coach Steve Wojciechowski has to replace three starters, most notably Davante Gardner, but BYU transfer Matt Carlino should provide an instant scoring punch.

Best Rivalry

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Georgetown/St. John's

With the upheaval the conference has gone through the past two seasons, a lot of the great rivalries went away.

But original Big East members Georgetown and St. John's remain, and though it hasn't been as competitive a series as of late, the Hoyas and Red Storm have been playing each other hard since the 1980s.

This season's clashes are only 11 days apart on the 2014-15 schedule. Georgetown hosts St. John's on Feb. 17, then the return game is Feb. 28 at Madison Square Garden.

Coaches Under the Most Pressure

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Steve Lavin, St. John's

Always seeming to be a player or a win away from getting over the hump, St. John's last made the NCAA tournament in 2011. Lavin has been slowly building the Red Storm back since then, and with his health issues in the past, he's putting together a good team.

But getting to the NIT won't be enough for this program, which hasn't finished better than third in the Big East since 1998.

Oliver Purnell, DePaul

He's won 436 games at the Division I level and reached the NCAA tournament six times, but since coming to DePaul prior to the 2010 season, there's been nothing but failure on his resume.

The Blue Demons have gone 42-84 during his tenure, including just 9-63 in Big East play. His most notable accomplishment with DePaul came last season, when it upset Georgetown in the first round of the conference tournament.

John Thompson III, Georgetown

Entering his 11th season, Thompson—the son of the legendary former Hoyas coach (of the same name) who piloted the school to the 1984 NCAA title—has seen his teams do very little since making the Final Four in 2007.

Since then, he's had just two NCAA tourney wins to go with several notable flameouts, and he's coming off his second-worst record with the program.

Best Frontcourt

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Providence Friars

With Bryce Cotton scoring all over the place and never leaving the court last season, so much attention was focused on Providence's backcourt.

But the Friars return some of the more accomplished frontcourt players in the country, a group that began to stand out during the run to the Big East tournament title last season, and one that will be the focus of this year's team.

LaDontae Henton, a 6'6" senior forward, averaged 14 points and 7.9 rebounds last season. Joining him is 6'9" junior Tyler Harris and defensive-minded 7'0" senior center Carson Desrosiers.

Best Backcourt

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St. John's Red Storm

If you want to see some good guard play, make sure to bookmark the Red Storm's schedule.

Seniors Jamal Branch, Phil Greene IV, D'Angelo Harrison, Sir'Dominic Pointer and sophomore Rysheed Jordan will play together in a variety of three-guard rotations, and opponents will struggle to find a consistent group of defenders to try and rein them in.

The best of the lot is Harrison, who led the Red Storm in scoring with 17.5 points per game last season. Jordan had a great freshman year, leading the team in assists while shooting 45.5 percent during conference play.

Freshmen to Watch

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Trevon Bluiett, Xavier

The 6'6" small forward was rated by 247Sports as the No. 40 player in the 2014 recruiting class, picking Xavier over Memphis, Michigan State and UCLA. As a high school senior in Indianapolis, Bluiett averaged more than 35 points and 11 rebounds per game.

Isaac Copeland, Georgetown

Long and lean at 6'9" and 220 pounds, Copeland is the crown jewel of Georgetown's talented recruiting class. He can run the floor and has great leaping ability, which will make him very valuable on both ends of the court.

Isaiah Whitehead, Seton Hall

The only 5-star recruit landed by a Big East school during the 2014 recruiting season, Whitehead is being looked at as a savior for a Seton Hall program that hasn't made the NCAA tournament since 2006.

All-Conference Teams

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FIRST TEAM

Darrun Hilliard, G, Villanova

An all-around contributor from the wing, the 6'6" senior is the Wildcats' top returning scorer and shot 48.6 percent from the field a year ago.

D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera, G, Georgetown

Chosen by the league's coaches as the preseason player of the year, the 6'3" junior was a do-everything player last season. He led the Hoyas in scoring, made 39 percent of his three-pointers and shot 87.3 percent from the free-throw line.

LaDontae Henton, F, Providence

Entering his senior year, the 6'7" Henton has a chance to lead the Friars in scoring for the fourth consecutive season.

JayVaughn Pinkston, F, Villanova

Though undersized at 6'7", the 235-pound senior makes up for it with physicality. Pinkston shot 52.1 percent from the field last year and led the team in offensive rebounds.

Matt Stainbrook, C, Xavier

The 6'10" senior was a dependable scorer and rebounder for the Musketeers last season and figures to be much more involved in the offense this winter.

SECOND TEAM

Kellen Dunham, G, Butler

D'Angelo Harrison, G, St. John's

Rysheed Jordan, G, St. John's

Isaiah Whitehead, G, Seton Hall

Chris Obekpa, C, St. John's

Regular-Season Standings

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

Follow Brian J. Pedersen on Twitter at @realBJP.