http://www.coxhub.com/articles/ranking-the-big-east-teams-in-two-sentences-or-less By Daniel James — 12/29/15 2:07 PM The names on the front don't change, but the names on the back certainly do, and with the way things have shaken out in the OOC, there's even more to consider than what was thought in the original preseason predictions. But while anyone could spend eons talking about the in's and out's of each team, how many can do this ranking with a minimalist style? Here's how I'm ranking the Big East teams, in two sentences or less. 1. Xavier:  Way underrated in the preseason , which is scary because they were not that underrated to begin with. Five guys averaging double digits, a deep (DEEP) bench, and a top-level coach has me very scared of the Musketeers. 2. Villanova:  A solid team that, despite a few early losses, is terrifying-good when their game is clicking , and still better than most when it's not. I don't need to go ...

VILLANOVA Villanova used another hot shooting performance from the perimeter to advance and pull closer to some historic achievements. The fourth-ranked Wildcats can establish their longest-ever winning streak and set a single-season school record for victories Friday night against Providence in a Big East Tournament semifinal at Madison Square Garden. Villanova (30-2) opened postseason play with an 84-49 (+35) blowout of Marquette in Thursday's quarterfinal, its biggest Big East Tournament victory ever . Its 30 wins match the school record set by the 2008-09 Final Four team , while the 13-game winning streak is the squad's second this season. The Wildcats are trying to buck a trend of disappointing conference tournament performances . Villanova hasn't won 2 such games since 2004 when it defeated Providence to reach the semifinals , where it lost to Connecticut . In 2009, the Wildcats won 1 game before bowing out early and the 2006 squad that reach...

There was plenty of mourning before last season began over the supposed demise of the “old” Big East, but by the time the conference ended its annual March marquee party at Madison Square Garden, one school could not have enjoyed the new Big East any better . Providence was one of those programs that never recovered when expansion bloated the Big East to a 16-team monster in 2005 . That lineup paraded Top 25 teams into the Dunkin’ Donuts Center on a weekly basis, and the Friars never could gain much traction. The new, streamlined, football-be-damned conference could work quite well for Ed Cooley’s Friars , however. Providence emerged as the first Big East tournament champ of the old/new league after an upset of Doug McDermott and Creighton in the title game . Scoring point guard Bryce Cotton then dropped 36 points and 8 assists on a stunned North Carolina team before the Tar Heels found a way to escape with a 79-77 second-round NCAA tournament victory. The Big East title was ...

By Sean Saint Jacques @SSaintj7 on Mar 11, 2015, 10:00a Many players in the Big East have a case to be the Player of the Year, but Providence’s LaDontae Henton has the strongest. Here are three reasons why the Lansing, Michigan native will win Player of the Year on Wednesday. 1) His scoring is off the charts If you look up the word, "scoring" the dictionary, there is a good chance that a picture of Henton dunking a basketball is waiting for you. Not really, but you get the picture. Henton leads the conference in points per game with 20.1 and also has averaged 6.3 rebounds during his senior season. It is not just recently that Henton has lead the conference in scoring. Henton has done it for almost the entire season and is the wire-to-wire scoring champion in conference play. Henton has played in all 31 of his team’s games to this point of the season. In those game, he has scored in double figures 28 times. In those same contests, Henton has scored 20 points or more 17 t...

di ALESSIO BONAZZI , My NCAA Secondo anno per la nuova Big East che potrebbe terminare, ancora una volta, con la vittoria finale di Villanova. In una conference molto equilibrata, di livello superiore rispetto a quella passata, però non sarebbe una grande sorpresa vedere una fra Georgetown e Xavier battagliare fino all’ultimo per il titolo. Senza dimenticare, ovviamente, Butler e St. John’s, pronte a stupire tutti. Dovranno invece abbandonare i sogni di gloria, almeno per questa stagione, Creighton e Marquette , con De Paul impegnata a non ripetere, per la settima stagione consecutiva, l’ultimo posto in graduatoria.  LA FAVORITA - VILLANOVA WILDCATS   Da campioni in carica, i Wildcats sembrano pronti, almeno sulla carta, a ripetersi . Non c’è più Bell, perdita dura da digerire ma non impossibile da dimenticare, soprattutto con un Josh Hart che, dopo essere stato uno dei migliori sesti uomini dell’intera NCAA, nel corso di quest’annata potrebbe definitivamente es...