Big East Basketball: Preview and Predictions for 2015-16 Season

This isn't your older brother's Big East Conference.

Though it had six out of the 10 members gain entry to the 2015 NCAA tournament— Villanova, Georgetown, Butler, Xavier, Providence and St. John’s—there was a general feeling of unfulfillment.

This year could be more of the unfortunate same. Villanova looks like it could run away with the league, but how much will that actually impress people? And how much can the Wildcats actually accomplish as the flag bearer in March?

Xavier made the Sweet 16, though the No. 6 seed had a helping hand with a round-of-32 game against a short-term Cinderella, Georgia State.

Nova, Providence and Georgetown—which was the slight seed favorite against Utah in a 4-5 game—were all taken out earlier than expected.

It certainly isn't a feared league like it used to be. Especially when you consider what just happened to St. John's in the exhibition season.

But there is some hope. Villanova lost a fair amount of talent, but gets a stud freshman guard. Georgetown has its own star, D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera, who stayed citing unfinished business.

Xavier and Butler lose some heart-and-soul guys, so we're left to wonder about those teams' national impact.

But there's intrigue, when you consider a first-team All-America could be on an under-the-radar Providence. Also, Marquette could take a significant jump because of its second-year coach's recruiting prowess.

The Big East is generally regarded these days as the weakest of the power conferences. That won't bode well for Villanova's seeding. It could certainly affect the middle of the pack, too.

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

What the league lost isn't exactly going to cause huge, national ripple effects.

But the Big East did lose some soulful talent.

That includes the goggled Matt Stainbrook (above), who led Xavier to the Sweet 16. He's now playing in Germany and his graduation leaves the Musketeers shallow in the frontcourt.

Butler lost Kameron Woods' (nearly) eight points and 10 rebounds per game.

Providence has a superstar-caliber point guard, Kris Dunn, but what's he going to do without three terrific supporting cast mates in LaDontae Henton (19.7 PPG, 6.5 RPG), Tyler Harris (9.9 PPG) and Carson Desrosiers (6.7 PPG)?

The biggest kick in the teeth for the conference was in the mouth of Seton Hall. Sterling Gibbs took his 16.2 points-per-game average to UConn, rather than the NBA.

One-Team Race (Again?)

Last year the Big East race had all the drama of...well, we can't immediately think of something. But let's just say there was zero drama.

Villanova went 16-2 and was four games better than Georgetown. The Wildcats also won the conference tournament, shoring up a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament.

For the second consecutive year, Villanova was picked to run away with the league title. It garnered nine of the 10 first-place votes (Jay Wright couldn't vote for his own team, so he gave it to Georgetown). There's not any disagreement from various media polls, either.

How Many Bids?

Last year, the Big East sent six teams (Villanova, St. John's, Providence, Xavier, Butler, Georgetown) to the NCAA tournament. So getting 60 percent of the league members was a reputation solidifier, even if top-seeded Villanova went home way early (second-game loss to North Carolina State) and it was otherwise a pretty uninspiring end of the season (though Xavier did play its tail off against Arizona in the Sweet 16).

Bleacher Report's Kerry Miller projects three bids this season, with only Nova as a lock.

The Favorite

Laurence Kesterson/Associated Press

The chances of Villanova not being good are equal to Jay Wright showing up to a game in jorts and a tank top.

That's just not happening. The Wildcats will be smooth like their coach.

But just how suave after losing three starters?

A No. 1 seed from a year ago will still have to replace its leading scorer (Darrun Hilliard II), post player JayVaughn Pinkston and combo guard Dylan Ennis, who became a senior-year transfer to Oregon to play point guard (but is injured right now).

Villanova's advantage still comes with some extra talent. Ryan Arcidiacono fared well and Josh Hart was a sixth man, and both will have to elevate their play.

You've got to love anyone who fans call "Chief." The 6'11'' senior, Daniel Ochefu, will chiefly be in charge of staying on the floor on a relatively limited level of interior play. He led the Big East in field-goal accuracy (64 percent) and finished third in the conference in rebounding (8.5) while also being a blocked-shot nuisance.

The real kicker to this team will be the play of freshman Jalen Brunson. He shined in the summer with a U.S. national team and has a first step that will bring some highlights.

The Challengers

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Butler Bulldogs

We keep talking about Villanova, but guess which Big East team has more respect when it comes to top-tier players?

That's right, Butler: Kellen Dunham and Roosevelt Jones made the "starting five" and no peer could claim that.

Then watch out for Tyler Lewis, who will be eligible after transferring from North Carolina State. He's a former McDonald's All-American who will replace fan favorite (and one-time walk-on) Alex Barlow, who did a little bit of everything in Indianapolis (namely steals).

Kelan Martin had a solid rookie season. Combine his interior presence with 6'7'' Andrew Chrabascz and Butler have the makings of another solid NCAA tournament choice and a chance to stay within striking distance of front-runner Villanova.

Georgetown Hoyas

That Georgetown was picked to finish second in the Big East, despite losing so much experience, is a testament to how good coaches think D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera will be this year.

It seems to be laying it on a little thick, though.

It's asking a lot to have the senior guard around seven freshmen and sophomores and not miss a beat. A big part of the equation will be how Smith-Rivera can create space getting to the rim and create opportunities for himself when it seems easy for opponents to key on him.

Freshmen big men Marcus Derrickson and Jessie Govan must develop fast. Both had standout prep careers and will get chances to find strengths and weaknesses in a early-season run that includes games against Maryland, Wisconsin and possibly Duke.

The Bottom Dwellers

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St. John's

St. John's could crash and burn like the New York Mets in the World Series. Only difference is, at least the New York baseball team finished second. The Red Storm will be nowhere near that level in first-year coach Chris Mullin's grand experiment.

He returned home to take over his alma mater. It's very similar to Fred Hoiberg going from an NBA player and executive back to Iowa State, where he thrived for five years.

Mullin was a former teammate of Hoiberg with the Indiana Pacers and they've talked about this new challenge. Mullin even hired a former Hoiberg aide (and St. John's alumnus, Matt Abdelmassih).

But this isn't going to be an easy project. It'll be more like building a New York City skyscraper.

The Red Storm already lost to a Division II outfit. A roster that features 10 newcomers isn't near ready for prime time, no matter how much Mullin can help them adapt to NYC.

Creighton Bluejays

Greg McDermott's team made this list last year, too. It appears the coach needed to have more kids like Doug.

It's a "by committee" team that had 10 players average double-digit minutes last year, and lost five.

Seton Hall Pirates

Georgetown was grateful to have a player find himself not quite NBA-ready. But at least D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera decided to return to the same school.

The Pirates had Sterling Gibbs look at the pros, decide it wasn't good timing, then opt to play his final year at UConn. There go those 16 points a game.

Isaiah Whitehead (12.0 PPG) will get his bigger chance. It'll be fascinating to see what kind of season Derrick Gordon can produce. The UMass transfer, the first openly gay player in college basketball, averaged nearly 10 points and five boards last year but felt like he needed a fresh start.

DePaul Blue Demons

The Chicago school seems to have run out of ideas on how to become relevant again. So it brought back Dave Leitao, who was 58-34 in three seasons (2002-05) before jumping to do a mediocre job at Virginia pre-Tony Bennett.

Leitao at least went to an NCAA tournament (2004) with DePaul. But this is a limited group and even in a watered-down Big East won't make much noise.

Best Rivalry

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Georgetown/Villanova

As good as Villanova was last year, compared to the rest of the Big East, one of its two losses in league play came at Georgetown—and it was the only butt kicking (78-58 on Jan. 19) the Wildcats took all year.

Well, until the NCAA tournament against North Carolina State, that is.

But Georgetown gets fired up for that game, and there's still the mystique from the 1985 national title game.

Plus these two are pegged by coaches as the top two teams in the standings for 2015-16.

Coach Under the Most Pressure

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Kevin Willard, Seton Hall

Four of the five B/R CBB experts chose the Big East as the country's weakest power conference.

But this isn't exactly a season to be looking for coaching changes.

The Villanova, Georgetown, Butler and Xavier coaches are obviously beyond safe. You could throw the Marquette and Providence coaches in that category, too. Chris Mullin at St. John's will have as long of a grace period as any coach could ever ask for. DePaul has a first-year coach, too, and Creighton's Greg McDermott probably isn't going anywhere unless it's his own call.

So the hottest seat of all clearly belongs to Seton Hall's Kevin Willard. He's an uninspiring 82-80. One player (Jaren Sina) left during conference play and Sterling Gibbs was a powder keg who wound up leaving, too.

Local media were calling for a canning last year.

Hey, it's one way Seton Hall can actually stand out. 

Best Frontcourt

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Marquette Golden Eagles

We're going with a pretty cool blend of experience and potential on a team that could be the biggest surprise/dark horse in the Big East.

Henry Ellenson is a 6'10'' freshman who just became the first first-year player to earn preseason All-Big East first- or second-team honors since 1992-93.

His partner in frontcourt playing time is Luke Fischer, who at 6'11'' averaged 11 points and nearly five rebounds (along with two blocks) last year after transferring from Indiana and being eligible midseason.

Best Backcourt

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Villanova Wildcats

Coach Wright can easily play four guards at the same time.

And it's a wickedly talented group that must make for some amazing practice settings.

Jalen Brunson could certainly follow in the lineage of Randy Foye, Kyle Lowry and Scottie Reynolds. Combine him with Ryan Arcidiacono—a Big East co-POY last season—and that's a handful for any opponent. Throw in Josh Hart, and Wright has a ton of options.

But where Wright will earn his money is finding a balancing act. Brunson and Arcidiacono each want the ball in their hands.

Freshmen to Watch

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Jalen Brunson, Villanova

CBSSports.com's Jeff Borzello pointed out in September 2014 that the Illinois-raised Brunson played it coy with his recruiting process.

He added: "The lefty is adept in the half court, initiating offense for himself and others. He is also capable of knocking down shots from the perimeter so defenses can't sag off consistently, and he has also improved his mid-range and pull-up arsenal...He controls tempo, changes speed and has great vision, especially when pushing the ball."

Yup, sounds like a Villanova guard. One that won't be so coy in actual games.

Henry Ellenson, Marquette

If you're passing up Kentucky, odds are you can still play. That's surely what Marquette feels after getting a top-flight Wisconsin high school player to stay close to home. He may just be a one-and-done, but it should be memorable for the Golden Eagles and the Ellensons—Henry's older brother, Wally, transferred from Minnesota to play with him this year.

Jessie Govan, Georgetown

Whoever says tradition doesn't matter never met Govan, a 6'10'' center who chose the Hoyas in large part on heritage.

“It’s a big-man university,” Govan told the New York Daily News' Johnathan Corbett in May 2014. “They play through their big men and they have a great history.”

The New York City-area product averaged 22.7 points, 12.7 rebounds and 3.2 blocks as a senior.

Nate Fowler, Butler

The Ohio-raised big man went to the same high school, Cincinnati Moeller, as Butler senior point guard Alex Barlow and former Bulldog Mike Monserez. He will be under the radar as he missed his senior year (foot injury) after shooting about 65 percent from the field as a junior.

All-Conference Teams

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First Team

Kellen Dunham, G, Butler 

Dunham was a first-team selection after last season. He averaged a Big East-best 16.5 points and the 6'6'' guard shot better than 40 percent from three-point range.

Kris Dunn, G, Providence

Easy choice for preseason POY. Averaged 15.6 points and 5.5 rebounds, while his 7.5 assists and nearly 3.0 steals were tops in the league and third and fifth, respectively, nationally. He won't have an easier year because of all Providence lost, but he is a special talent who will be a high NBA draft pick if he can show good health.

D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera, G, Georgetown

NBA wasn't good timing yet. But that's his gain—and the Hoyas' gain. He had nine games with at least 20 points and three 29-point performances: Against Wisconsin in the Battle 4 Atlantis, as well as against Indiana and at St. John’s.

Roosevelt Jones, F, Butler

Crafty senior led the Bulldogs in assists and finished second in scoring and rebounding. He showed what he's capable of with a 12-8-5 against North Carolina.

Jalen Reynolds, F, Xavier

Propelled the Musketeers to the Sweet 16 last year with a career-high 21 points and six rebounds in the win over Georgia State on March 21. He averaged 9.9 PPG. (fourth on the team), but raised that to 12 during the conference and NCAA tournament run.  

Second Team

Ryan Arcidiacono, G, Villanova

Henry Ellenson, F, Marquette

Isaiah Whitehead, G, Seton Hall

Daniel Ochefu, F, Villanova

Jalen Brunson, G, Villanova

Regular-Season Standings

Stew Milne/Associated Press

1. Villanova

2. Georgetown

3. Butler

4. Xavier

5. Marquette

6. Providence

7. DePaul

8. Seton Hall

9. Creighton

10. St. John's