# 2015–16 Big East Conference men's basketball season

The 2015–16 Big East Conference men's basketball season began with practices in October 2015, followed by the start of the followed by the start of the 2015–16 NCAA Division I men's basketball season in November. The season marked the 37th year in the conference's history, but the third as a non-football conference, which officially formed on July 1, 2013. Conference play began on December 30, 2015, and concluded in March with the 2016 Big East men's basketball tournament at Madison Square Garden in New York.
Villanova won the regular season championship by two games over Xavier with a 16–2 conference record. However, Seton Hall, who finished in third, won the Big East tournament, defeating Villanova in the championship game. Providence's Kris Dunn was named the conference's player of the year for the second straight year, while Seton Hall coach Kevin Willard and Villanova coach Jay Wright shared coach of the year.
Creighton received a bid to the National Invitation Tournament and lost in the quarterfinals.
Villanova, Xavier, Seton Hall, Providence and Butler all received bids to the NCAA tournament. Only Villanova advanced past the Second Round of the Tournament. On April 4, Villanova defeated North Carolina in the National Championship game to win the school's second NCAA Championship. Ryan Arcidiacono was named the Most Outstanding Player of the tournament.

## Preseason

| | Coaches' |
| 1. | Villanova (9) |
| 2. | Georgetown (1) |
| 3. | Butler |
| 4. | Xavier |
| 5. | Providence |
| 6. | Marquette |
| 7. | Seton Hall |
| 8. | DePaul |
| 9. | Creighton |
| 10. | St. John's |
 first place votes

### Preseason All-Big East teams

2015-16 Preseason All–Big East :
| Preseason Player of the Year | First Team | Second Team | Honorable Mention | Preseason Rookie of the Year |
| Kris Dunn, Jr., G., Providence | Kellen Dunham, Sr., G., Butler Roosevelt Jones, Sr., F., Butler D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera, Sr., G., Georgetown Ryan Arcidiacono, Jr., G., Villanova Jalen Reynolds, Jr., F., Xavier | Billy Garrett Jr., So., G., DePaul Henry Ellenson, Fr., F., Marquette Angel Delgado, So., F., Seton Hall Isaiah Whitehead, So., G., Seton Hall Daniel Ochefu, Sr., F., Villanova | Isaac Copeland, So., F., Georgetown Luke Fischer, Jr., F., Marquette Jalen Brunson, Fr., G., Villanova Trevon Bluiett, So., F., Xavier | Jalen Brunson, Fr., G., Villanova |

## Rankings

Legend :
* Increase in ranking
* Decrease in ranking
* Not ranked previous week
| | | Pre | Wk 2 | Wk 3 | Wk 4 | Wk 5 | Wk 6 | Wk 7 | Wk 8 | Wk 9 | Wk 10 | Wk 11 | Wk 12 | Wk 13 | Wk 14 | Wk 15 | Wk 16 | Wk 17 | Wk 18 | Wk 19 | Final |
| Butler | AP | 24 | 22 | RV | RV | 18 | 17 | 9 | 9 | 18 | 23 | 18 | RV | | | | | | RV | RV | N/A |
| Butler | Coaches | 22 | 20 | RV | 25 | 21 | 18 | 12 | 10 | 19 | 23 | 24 | RV | RV | | | | | RV | RV | RV |
| Creighton | AP | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | N/A |
| Creighton | C | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| DePaul | AP | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | N/A |
| DePaul | C | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Georgetown | AP | RV | | RV | RV | RV | RV | | | | | | | | | | | | | | N/A |
| Georgetown | C | RV | RV | RV | | RV | RV | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Marquette | AP | | | | | | RV | | | | | | | | | | | | | | N/A |
| Marquette | C | RV | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Providence | AP | RV | RV | RV | 23 | 15 | 14 | 10 | 12 | 8 | 12 | 16 | 10 | 11 | 20 | 23 | RV | | RV | RV | N/A |
| Providence | C | RV | RV | | 24 | 18 | 14 | 14 | 13 | 9 | 12 | 17 | 10 | 11 | 17 | 20 | 24 | RV | RV | RV | RV |
| Seton Hall | AP | | | | | | | | | RV | | | | | RV | | | RV | RV | 20 | N/A |
| Seton Hall | C | | | | | | | | | | | RV | | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | 21 | RV |
| St. John's | AP | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | N/A |
| St. John's | C | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Villanova | AP | 11 | 11 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 12 | 17 | 16 | 11 | 6 | 4 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 6 | N/A |
| Villanova | C | 9 | 8 | 9 | 7 | 6 | 13 | 17 | 16 | 13 | 7 | 4 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 1 |
| Xavier | AP | RV | RV | 23 | 12 | 12 | 10 | 6 | 6 | 10 | 7 | 5 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 8 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 9 | N/A |
| Xavier | C | RV | RV | RV | 18 | 13 | 10 | 6 | 6 | 12 | 8 | 6 | 8 | 5 | 4 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 9 | 11 |

## Regular season
### Conference matrix

This table summarizes the head-to-head results between teams in conference play.
| | Butler | Creighton | DePaul | Georgetown | Marquette | Providence | Seton Hall | St. John's | Villanova | Xavier |
| vs. Butler | – | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 2–0 |
| vs. Creighton | 1–1 | – | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 1–1 |
| vs. DePaul | 2–0 | 2–0 | – | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 |
| vs. Georgetown | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–2 | – | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 1–1 |
| vs. Marquette | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | – | 0–2 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 2–0 |
| vs. Providence | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 2–0 | – | 2–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 |
| vs. Seton Hall | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 | – | 0–2 | 2–0 | 1–1 |
| vs. St. John's | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | – | 2–0 | 2–0 |
| vs. Villanova | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | – | 1-1 |
| vs. Xavier | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | – |
| Total | 10–8 | 9–9 | 3–15 | 7–11 | 8–10 | 10–8 | 12–6 | 1–17 | 16-2 | 14-4 |

## Honors and awards
### All-Big East awards and teams

2016 Big East Men's Basketball Individual Awards :
| Award | Recipient(s) |
| Player of the Year | Kris Dunn, G., Providence |
| Coach of the Year | Kevin Willard, Seton Hall Jay Wright, Villanova |
| Defensive Player of the Year | Kris Dunn, G., Providence |
| Freshman of the Year | Henry Ellenson, F., Marquette |
| Most Improved Player of the Year | Ben Bentil, F., Providence |
| Scholar-Athlete of the Year | Kellen Dunham, G., Butler |
| Sixth Man Award | J. P. Macura, G., Xavier |
| Sportsmanship Award | Kellen Dunham, G., Butler |
2016 Big East Men's Basketball All–Conference Teams :
| First Team | Second Team | Honorable Mention | All–Rookie Team |
| Henry Ellenson, Marquette †Ben Bentil, Providence †Kris Dunn, Providence †Isaiah Whitehead, Seton Hall †Josh Hart, Villanova Trevon Bluiett, Xavier | Roosevelt Jones, Butler Kelan Martin, Butler Maurice Watson, Creighton D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera, Georgetown Ryan Arcidiacono, Villanova | Kellen Dunham, Butler Ángel Delgado, Seton Hall Daniel Ochefu, Villanova | Eli Cain, DePaul Jessie Govan, Georgetown Haanif Cheatham, Marquette †Henry Ellenson, Marquette Kassoum Yakwe, St. John's †Jalen Brunson, Villanova †Edmond Sumner, Xavier |
| † – Denotes unanimous selection. ^Due to a tie in the voting, additional positions were named. |||||||

## Postseason
### Big East tournament

* March 9–12, 2016 Big East Conference Basketball Tournament, Madison Square Garden, New York City.

#### Seeds

All 10 Big East schools participated in the tournament. Teams were seeded by the 2015–16 Big East Conference season record. The top six teams received a first round bye. Seeding for the tournament was determined at the close of the regular conference season.
| Seed | School | Conference | Tiebreaker |
| 1 | Villanova | 16–2 | |
| 2 | Xavier | 14–4 | |
| 3 | Seton Hall | 12–6 | |
| 4 | Providence | 10–8 | 2–0 vs. Butler |
| 5 | Butler | 10–8 | 0–2 vs. Providence |
| 6 | Creighton | 9–9 | |
| 7 | Marquette | 8–10 | |
| 8 | Georgetown | 7–11 | |
| 9 | DePaul | 3–15 | |
| 10 | St. John's | 1–17 | |

#### Schedule

| Game | Time* | Matchup$^#$ | Television | Attendance |
| First round – Wednesday, March 9 |||||
| 1 | 7:00 pm | #9 DePaul 53 vs. #8 Georgetown 70 | FS1 | 12,604 |
| 2 | 9:30 pm | #10 St. John's 93 vs. #7 Marquette 101 | FS1 | 12,604 |
| Quarterfinals – Thursday, March 10 |||||
| 3 | 12:00 pm | #8 Georgetown 67 vs. #1 Villanova 81 | FS1 | 14,863 |
| 4 | 2:30 pm | #5 Butler 60 vs. #4 Providence 74 | FS1 | 14,863 |
| 5 | 7:00 pm | #7 Marquette 72 vs. #2 Xavier 90 | FS1 | 13,813 |
| 6 | 9:30 pm | #6 Creighton 73 vs. #3 Seton Hall 81 | FS1 | 13,813 |
| Semifinals – Friday, March 11 |||||
| 7 | 7:00 pm | #4 Providence 68 vs. #1 Villanova 76 | FS1 | 17,130 |
| 8 | 9:30 pm | #3 Seton Hall 87 vs. #2 Xavier 83 | FS1 | 17,130 |
| Championship – Saturday, March 12 |||||
| 9 | 5:30 pm | #3 Seton Hall 69 vs. #1 Villanova 67 | FOX | 19,812 |
| *Game times in Eastern Time. Tournament seed in parentheses. #-Rankings denote Associated Press Poll ranking. |||||

#### Bracket

| First round March 9 | First round March 9 | First round March 9 | Quarterfinals March 10 | Quarterfinals March 10 | Quarterfinals March 10 | Semifinals March 11 | Semifinals March 11 | Semifinals March 11 | Championship March 12 | Championship March 12 | Championship March 12 |
| | | | 1 | Villanova | 81 | | | | | | |
| | | | 8 | Georgetown | 67 | | | | | | |
| 8 | Georgetown | 70 | 8 | Georgetown | 67 | | | | | | |
| 9 | DePaul | 53 | | | | | | | | | |
| 9 | DePaul | 53 | | | | 1 | Villanova | 76 | | | |
| | | | | | | 4 | Providence | 68 | | | |
| | | | 4 | Providence | 74 | | | | | | |
| | | | 5 | Butler | 60 | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | 1 | Villanova | 67 |
| | | | | | | | | | 3 | Seton Hall | 69 |
| | | | 2 | Xavier | 90 | | | | | | |
| | | | 7 | Marquette | 72 | | | | | | |
| 7 | Marquette | 101 | 7 | Marquette | 72 | | | | | | |
| 10 | St. John's | 93 | | | | | | | | | |
| 10 | St. John's | 93 | | | | 2 | Xavier | 83 | | | |
| | | | | | | 3 | Seton Hall | 87 | | | |
| | | | 3 | Seton Hall | 81 | | | | | | |
| | | | 6 | Creighton | 73 | | | | | | |

### NCAA tournament

The Big East Conference had five bids to the 2016 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament.
| Seed | Region | School | First Four | Round of 64 | Round of 32 | Sweet 16 | Elite Eight | Final Four | Championship |
| 2 | South | Villanova | | (15) UNC Asheville - W, 86–56 | (7) Iowa - W, 87–68 | (3) Miami (FL) - W, 92–69 | (1) Kansas - W, 64–59 | (2) Oklahoma - W, 95–51 | (1) North Carolina - W, 77–74 |
| 2 | East | Xavier | | (15) Weber State - W, 71–53 | (7) Wisconsin - L, 63–66 | | | | |
| 6 | Midwest | Seton Hall | | (11) Gonzaga - L, 52–68 | | | | | |
| 9 | Midwest | Butler | | (8) Texas Tech - W, 71–61 | (1) Virginia - L, 69–77 | | | | |
| 9 | Midwest | Providence | | (8) USC - W, 70–69 | (1) North Carolina - L, 66–85 | | | | |
| | | W–L (%): | 0–0 (–) | 4–1 (.800) | 1–3 (.250) | 1-0 (1.000) | 1–0 (1.000) | 1–0 (1.000) | 1–0 (1.000) Total: 9-4 (.692) |

### National Invitational tournament

Creighton earned the sole NIT bid for the conference.
| Seed | Bracket | School | First round | Second round | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Finals |
| 4 | St. Bonaventure | Creighton | (5) Alabama - W, 72–54 | (8) Wagner - W, 87–54 | (2) BYU - L, 82–88 | | |
| | | W–L (%): | 1–0 (1.000) | 1–0 (1.000) | 0–1 (.000) | 0–0 (–) | 0–0 (–) Total: 2–1 (.667) |