# 2016–17 Big East Conference men's basketball season

The 2016–17 Big East Conference men's basketball season began with practices in October 2016, followed by the start of the 2016–17 NCAA Division I men's basketball season in November. This season marked the 38th year in the conference's history, but the fourth as a non-football conference, which officially formed on July 1, 2013. Conference play began on December 31, 2016.
Villanova clinched the regular season championship, their fourth straight Big East regular season championship, with a win over No. 23-ranked Creighton on February 25. Butler finished second, three games behind Villanova.
Villanova shooting guard Josh Hart was named the conference's Player of the Year. Butler head coach Chris Holtmann was named Big East Coach of the Year.
The Big East Conference tournament at Madison Square Garden in New York from March 8 through March 11, 2017. Villanova also won the Big East Conference tournament beating Creighton in the Tournament championship game. As a result, Villanova received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.
Seven Big East Schools (Villanova, Butler, Creighton, Marquette, Providence, Seton Hall, and Xavier) received bids to the NCAA Tournament. The conference finished with a 5–7 record in the Tournament, highlighted by Butler reaching the Sweet Sixteen and Xavier advancing to the Elite Eight.

## Head coaches
### Coaches

| Team | Head coach | Previous job | Years at school | Overall record | Big East record | Big East titles | NCAA Tournaments | NCAA Final Fours | NCAA Championships |
| Butler | Chris Holtmann | Butler (asst.) | 3 | 70–31 | 34–20 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Creighton | Greg McDermott | Iowa State | 7 | 165–81 | 37––35 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| DePaul | Dave Leitao | Tulsa (asst.) | 5 | 76–79 | 35–49 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Georgetown | John Thompson III | Princeton | 13 | 278–151 | 131–94 | 3 | 8 | 1 | 0 |
| Marquette | Steve Wojciechowski | Duke (asst.) | 3 | 52–45 | 22–32 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Providence | Ed Cooley | Fairfield | 6 | 123–80 | 54–54 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| Seton Hall | Kevin Willard | Iona | 7 | 128–102 | 52–74 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| St. John's | Chris Mullin | None | 2 | 22–43 | 8–28 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Villanova | Jay Wright | Hofstra | 16 | 386–161 | 177–99 | 5 | 12 | 2 | 1 |
| Xavier | Chris Mack | Xavier (asst.) | 8 | 187–91 | 42–30 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 |
Notes:
* Year at school includes 2016–17 season.
* Overall and Big East records are from time at current school and are through the end the 2016–17 season.
* Mack's A-10 and McDermott's MVC conference records not included since teams began play in Big East.

## Preseason
### Preseason poll

Prior to the season, the Big East conducted a poll of Big East coaches, coaches do not place their own team on their ballots.
| Rank | Team |
| 1. | Villanova (9) |
| 2. | Xavier (1) |
| 3. | Creighton |
| T-4. | Georgetown |
| T-4. | Seton Hall |
| 6. | Butler |
| 7. | Marquette |
| 8. | St. John's |
| 9. | Providence |
| 10. | DePaul |
| (first place votes) ||

### Preseason All-Big East teams

Source
| Honor | Recipient |
| Preseason Player of the Year | Josh Hart, Villanova |
| Preseason All-Big East First Team | Kelan Martin, Butler |
| Preseason All-Big East First Team | Maurice Watson, Creighton |
| Preseason All-Big East First Team | Kris Jenkins, Villanova |
| Preseason All-Big East First Team | Trevon Bluiett, Xavier |
| Preseason All-Big East First Team | Edmond Sumner, Xavier |
| Preseason All-Big East Second Team | Billy Garrett, DePaul |
| Preseason All-Big East Second Team | Isaac Copeland, Georgetown |
| Preseason All-Big East Second Team | Luke Fischer, Marquette |
| Preseason All-Big East Second Team | Khadeen Carrington, Seton Hall |
| Preseason All-Big East Second Team | Ángel Delgado, Seton Hall |
| Preseason All-Big East Honorable Mention |
| Preseason All-Big East Honorable Mention | Marcus Foster, Creighton |
| Preseason All-Big East Honorable Mention | L. J. Peak, Georgetown |
| Preseason All-Big East Honorable Mention | Jalen Brunson, Villanova |
| Preseason Rookie of the Year | Shamorie Ponds, St. John's |

## Regular Season
### Rankings

Legend :
* Increase in ranking
* Decrease in ranking
* Not ranked previous week
* First place votes
| | | 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 | RV | RV | RV | 18 | 16 | 18 | 13 | 13 | 18 | 12 | 13 | 11 | 16 | 22 | 24 | 22 | 13 | 18 | 21 | N/A |
| Butler | Coaches | RV | RV | RV | 18 | 15 | 18 | 13 | 13 | 18 | 13 | 14 | 11 | 15 | 21 | 25 | 22 | 11 | 20 | 24 | 19 |
| Creighton | AP | 22 | 22 | 12 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 8 | 7 | 16 | 22 | 23 | 20 | 23 | RV | RV | RV | N/A |
| Creighton | C | 23 | 20 | 18 | 12 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 8 | 7 | 16 | 22 | 23 | 22 | 23 | RV | RV | RV | NR |
| DePaul | AP | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| DePaul | C | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Georgetown | AP | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Georgetown | C | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Marquette | AP | | RV | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Marquette | C | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Providence | AP | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Providence | C | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Seton Hall | AP | RV | RV | RV | | | | RV | RV | RV | | | | | | | | | RV | RV | |
| Seton Hall | C | RV | RV | RV | | | | RV | RV | RV | | | | | | | | | | | |
| St. John's | AP | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| St. John's | C | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Villanova | AP | 4 (4) | 3 (5) | 2 (21) | 2 (20) | 1 (57) | 1 (56) | 1 (56) | 1 (56) | 1 (59) | 3 (1) | 1 (28) | 1 (35) | 4 (4) | 2 (6) | 2 (5) | 2 (5) | 2 (2) | 2 (2) | 1 (59) | N/A |
| Villanova | C | 3 (1) | 3 (2) | 2 (4) | 2 (5) | 1 (28) | 1 (28) | 1 (28) | 1 (27) | 1 (30) | 3 (1) | 2 (4) | 2 (11) | 4 (1) | 2 (4) | 2 (3) | 2 (5) | 2 (2) | 2 (2) | 1 (27) | 8 |
| Xavier | AP | 7 | 11 | 9 | 7 | 13 | 13 | 17 | 17 | 16 | 15 | 22 | 24 | RV | 24 | RV | NR | NR | NR | NR | N/A |
| Xavier | C | 8 | 10 | 8 | 7 | 14 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 15 | 14 | 19 | 22 | RV | 25 | RV | RV | RV | NR | RV | 18 |

### Conference matrix

This table summarizes the head-to-head results between teams in conference play through February 14, 2017.
| | Butler | Creighton | DePaul | Georgetown | Marquette | Providence | Seton Hall | St. John's | Villanova | Xavier |
| vs. Butler | – | 2–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0-2 |
| vs. Creighton | 0–2 | – | 0–2 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 1–1 |
| vs. DePaul | 2–0 | 2–0 | – | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2-0 |
| vs. Georgetown | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | – | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 |
| vs. Marquette | 2–0 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | – | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0-2 |
| vs. Providence | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | – | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1-1 |
| vs. Seton Hall | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | – | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1-1 |
| vs. St. John's | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | – | 2–0 | 2–0 |
| vs. Villanova | 2–0 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 | – | 0–2 |
| vs. Xavier | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 2–0 | – |
| Total | 12–6 | 10–8 | 2–14 | 5–13 | 10–8 | 10–8 | 10–8 | 7–11 | 15–3 | 9-9 |

### Player of the week

Source
| Week | Player of the week | Freshman of the week |
| November 14, 2016 | Rodney Pryor, Georgetown | Sam Hauser, Marquette |
| November 21, 2016 | Josh Hart, Villanova | Myles Powell, Seton Hall |
| November 28, 2016 | Marcus Foster, Creighton | Justin Patton, Creighton |
| December 5, 2016 | Rodney Bullock, Providence | Justin Patton, Creighton |
| December 12, 2016 | Josh Hart, Villanova | Shamorie Ponds, St. John's |
| December 19, 2016 | Kelan Martin, Butler | Kamar Baldwin, Butler |
| December 26, 2016 | Marcus Foster, Creighton | Shamorie Ponds, St. John's |
| January 2, 2017 | Jalen Brunson, Villanova | Shamorie Ponds, St. John's |
| January 9, 2017 | Desi Rodriguez, Seton Hall | Justin Patton, Creighton |
| January 16, 2017 | L. J. Peak, Georgetown | Markus Howard, Marquette |
| January 23, 2017 | Josh Hart, Villanova | Kamar Baldwin, Butler |
| January 30, 2017 | Trevon Bluiett, Xavier | Shamorie Ponds, St. John's |
| February 6, 2017 | Trevon Bluiett, Xavier | Marcus Lovett, St. John's |
| February 13, 2017 | Josh Hart, Villanova | Marcus Lovett, St. John's |
| February 20, 2017 | Khadeen Carrington,Seton Hall | Markus Howard, Marquette |
| February 27, 2017 | Kelan Martin, Butler | Shamorie Ponds, St. John's |
| March 5, 2017 | Angel Delgado, Seton Hall | Markus Howard, Marquette |

## Honors and awards
### All-Big East Awards and Teams

2017 Big East Men's Basketball Individual Awards :
| Award | Recipient(s) |
| Player of the Year | Josh Hart, G./F., Villanova |
| Coach of the Year | Chris Holtmann, Butler |
| Defensive Player of the Year | Khyri Thomas, G., Creighton Mikal Bridges, F., Villanova Josh Hart, G./F., Villanova |
| Freshman of the Year | Justin Patton, C., Creighton |
| Most Improved Player of the Year | Kyron Cartwright, G., Providence |
| Scholar-Athlete of the Year | Billy Garrett Jr., G., DePaul |
| Sixth Man Award | Andrew Rowsey, G., Marquette |
| Sportsmanship Award | Billy Garrett Jr., G., DePaul |
2017 Big East Men's Basketball All-Conference Teams :
| First Team | Second Team | Honorable Mention | All-Freshman Team |
| Andrew Chrabascz, Butler Marcus Foster*, Creighton Ángel Delgado*, Seton Hall Jalen Brunson*, Villanova Josh Hart*, Villanova Trevon Bluiett, Xavier | Kelan Martin, Butler Justin Patton, Creighton Rodney Bullock, Providence Kyron Cartwright, Providence Khadeen Carrington, Seton Hall | Rodney Pryor, Georgetown Kris Jenkins, Villanova | Kamar Baldwin*, Butler Justin Patton*, Creighton Markus Howard, Marquette Marcus LoVett Jr.*, St. John’s Shamorie Ponds*, St. John's Donte DiVincenzo, Villanova |
| * unanimous selection Sources ||||||

## Postseason
### 2017 Big East tournament

| Game | Time* | Matchup | Score | Television | Attendance |
| First round – Wednesday, March 8 ||||||
| 1 | 7:00 pm | No. 9 Georgetown vs. No. 8 St. John's | 73–74 | FS1 | 14,830 |
| 2 | 9:30 pm | No. 10 DePaul vs. No. 7 Xavier | 64–75 | FS1 | 14,830 |
| Quarterfinals – Thursday, March 9 ||||||
| 3 | 12:00 pm | No. 8 St. John's vs. No. 1 Villanova | 67–108 | FS1 | 17,324 |
| 4 | 2:30 pm | No. 5 Seton Hall vs. No. 4 Marquette | 82–76 | FS1 | 17,324 |
| 5 | 7:00 pm | No. 7 Xavier vs. No. 2 Butler | 62–57 | FS1 | 16,003 |
| 6 | 9:30 pm | No. 6 Creighton vs. No. 3 Providence | 70–58 | FS1 | 16,003 |
| Semifinals – Friday, March 10 ||||||
| 7 | 6:30 pm | No. 5 Seton Hall vs. No. 1 Villanova | 53–55 | FS1 | 19,812 |
| 8 | 9:30 pm | No. 7 Xavier vs. No. 6 Creighton | 72–75 | FS1 | 19,812 |
| Championship – Saturday, March 11 ||||||
| 9 | 5:30 pm | No. 1 Villanova vs. No. 6 Creighton | 74–60 | FOX | 19,812 |
| *Game times in Eastern Time. Tournament seed in parentheses. Rankings denote Associated Press Poll ranking. ||||||

### NCAA tournament

The winner of the Big East tournament received an automatic bid to the 2017 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 |
| 1 | East | Villanova | | (16) Mount St. Mary's - W, 76–56 | (8) Wisconsin - L, 62–65 | | | | |
| 4 | South | Butler | | (13) Winthrop - W, 76–64 | (12) Middle Tennessee - W, 74–65 | (1) North Carolina - L, 80–92 | | | |
| 6 | Midwest | Creighton | | (11) Rhode Island - L, 84–72 | | | | | |
| 9 | South | Seton Hall | | (8) Arkansas - L, 71–77 | | | | | |
| 10 | East | Marquette | | (7) South Carolina - L, 73–93 | | | | | |
| 11 | West | Xavier | | (6) Maryland - W, 76–65 | (3) Florida State - W, 91–66 | (2) Arizona - W, 73–71 | (1) Gonzaga - L, 59–83 | | |
| 11 | East | Providence | (11) USC - L, 71–75 | | | | | | |
| | | W–L (%): | 0–1 (.000) | 3–3 (.500) | 2–1 (.667) | 1–1 (.500) | 0–1 (.000) | 0–0 (–) | 0–0 (–) Total: 6–7 (.462) |