The 2022-2023 Big East basketball title chase looks to have much more parity than in years past.
Many college basketball reporters love the Creighton Bluejays. Some have trouble shying away from the Villanova Wildcats, even with the departure of some notable players and head coach Jay Wright.
On the opposite side of the coin, the Xavier Musketeers have some upside with the arrival of Sean Miller as head coach.
Either way, fans are primed for an entertaining season in the nation’s most distinguished “basketball-only” conference.
2022-23 Big East Regular Season Futures Odds
| Creighton | +130 |
| Villanova | +220 |
| UConn | +490 |
| Xavier | +650 |
| St. John's | +2200 |
| Seton Hall | +5000 |
| Providence | +6000 |
| Butler | +7000 |
| Marquette | +8500 |
| Georgetown | +25000 |
| DePaul | +25000 |
Big East Title Contenders
Creighton Bluejays
Many talking heads love this team.
The Bluejays return much of their starting rotation. After missing the tail end of last season, Ryan Nembhard returns to campus to potentially lead this team to a Final Four run.
Ryan Kalkbrenner, Arthur Kaluma and Trey Alexander will be huge factors. And so too will the new addition of Baylor Scheierman from South Dakota State.
This is one of the more balanced programs in the country, ranking top-30 in both projected offensive and defensive adjusted efficiency, per KenPom. Keep this in mind when referring to futures bets.
Villanova Wildcats
Nova has remained atop the Big East standings for a while, but this is a tough situation with a brand-new head coach at the helm.
That said, Kyle Neptune has already coached as an assistant for Wright for eight seasons, so he is familiar with the magnitude and setup of the position.
The Wildcats lose Collin Gillespie and Jermaine Samuels, but they add a massive five-star recruit in Cam Whitmore to accompany Justin Moore (currently injured), Caleb Daniels and Eric Dixon in a quest for another Big East title.
They have the talent to earn another chip, especially with some teams taking a step back in the conference this season.
It will be interesting to see how this offense functions under a new coach, but they have the talent to win it.
UConn Huskies
Dan Hurley and Co. lose some key pieces from the 2021-2022 squad. They added multiple transfers, though, in Tristen Newton (ECU), Hassan Diarra (Texas A&M), Nahiem Alleyne (Virginia Tech) and Joey Calcaterra (San Diego).
Adama Sanogo is the story here. With R.J. Cole, Isaiah Whaley and Tyrese Martin departing from the team, he is the lone returning scorer who averaged at least seven points per game last season.
He is the projected Big East Player of the Year, but the Huskies will need contributions from the list above to contend with Creighton and Villanova.
Like Villanova and Creighton, though, the Huskies have a projected top-30 offense and defense, per KenPom. This should give them a well-rounded shot at the conference.
Xavier Musketeers
The final main contender on the list is Xavier.
The Musketeers have an interesting outlook for this season, and should be a future for anyone paying attention to this conference.
For one, Miller is a great coach, so he should get Colby Jones, Jack Nunge and the other returning stars together for a potential shot at the conference crown.
Souley Boum joins the team from UTEP after averaging nearly 20 points and 4.5 rebounds per game last season.
This team will have the offensive firepower, but it may play a bit slower than some other contenders for the conference crown. The Musketeers will need to step up on defense and get better from 3-point range.
If those areas are conquered, there is no reason why they should not be up there with the other three contenders in March.
Long Shots/Wild Cards
St. John's Red Storm
This may be the most interesting team in the Big East this season.
The Red Storm played at an unbelievably fast pace last season (first in Adjusted Tempo on KenPom), and now add Andre Curbelo from Illinois to the mix. He and Posh Alexander should play off of each other well and they could have the highest ceiling in the Big East for a backcourt.
David Jones (a DePaul transfer) is another spark, so they could surprise the rest of the conference.
St. John's loses Julian Champagnie, so Jones and Joel Soriano have big shoes to fill.
Still, the Red Storm have the scoring capabilities from their guards, so keep an eye on them. A small bet on the Storm to win the conference could be wise.
Seton Hall Pirates
Losing Jared Rhoden and Bryce Aiken could do a number on this team, but new head coach Shaheen Holloway worked his magic at St. Peter’s last season.
Who says he cannot do the same here?
Holloway brings a plethora of newcomers into the picture, including Al-Amir Dawes (Clemson), Femi Odukale (Pitt), Dre Davis (Louisville), KC Ndefo (St. Peter’s) and Abdou Ndiaye (Illinois State). Meanwhile, the freshmen are Jaquan Sanders, Jaquan Harris and Tae Davis.
Dawes, Odukale and Ndefo jump off the page more than any as impact players — Odukale and Ndefo both averaged over 10 at their respective spots last season and Dawes was one of Clemson’s best players.
This team does have too much variance to stomach any futures bet, but once conference play starts, the Pirates could make some noise vs. the better teams in the Big East.
The Rest
Providence Friars
This is another team that is hard to predict. Ed Cooley is a great coach, but he loses five of his top six scorers from last season.
He is trying to supplement the pain with transfers.
Jared Bynum is the key returnee, with two three-star freshmen and five transfers joining him. From the portal, Noah Locke (Louisville), Clifton Moore (La Salle) and Devin Carter (South Carolina) will likely see the most playing time.
There are too many question marks to believe they can put it together by the end of the season, though.
Marquette Golden Eagles
Losing Darryl Morsell and Justin Lewis will ding this team. Shaka Smart needs to find a way to replace their production, and that will be incredibly tough.
Ben Gold, Sean Jones and Chase Ross are the incoming freshmen and Zach Wrightsil is an NAIA transfer.
Otherwise, Olivier Maxence-Prosper and Tyler Kolek will see expansive roles, but the Golden Eagles will not replicate their 2021-2022 run to the NCAA tournament.
There are far too many offensive holes to plug.
Butler Bulldogs
Much like Marquette, this team loses far too many starting contributors to factor into the conference title discussion.
The Bulldogs do gain transfers in Eric Hunter Jr. (Purdue), Manny Bates (NC State), Jalen Thomas (Georgia State) and Ali Ali (Akron), and with Thad Matta at the helm, they have a future.
They could overachieve towards the end of conference play and in the conference tournament, but a starting lineup of transfers will be tough to toss a future on.
DePaul Blue Demons
Tony Stubblefield led DePaul to a strong opening in non-conference play last season, but he no longer has Javon Freeman-Liberty and Jones to help him.
This transfer-heavy lineup just does not have the artillery to contend or even manufacture a tournament appearance.
Caleb Murphy (South Florida) and Umoja Gibson (Oklahoma) will lead the scoring for the Blue Demons, but there's too many holes to fill from an already not-so-good 2021-2022 team.
Georgetown Hoyas
This team from top-to-bottom has seen so much turnover.
Patrick Ewing adds Qudus Wahab (Maryland), Jay Heath (Arizona State), Akok Akok (UConn) and Brandon Murray (LSU) via the transfer portal, but it looks like the Hoyas will be cellar dwellers yet again.
