# 2023–24 Big East Conference men's basketball season

The 2023–24 Big East men's basketball season began with practices in October 2023, followed by the start of the 2023–24 NCAA Division I men's basketball season in November 2023. Conference play began in December 2023 and ended in March. The conference champions were the 2023-24 UConn Huskies men's basketball team and the season MVP was Devin Carter.

## Head coaches
### Coaching changes
#### Providence

On March 20, 2023, Ed Cooley left Providence to become the new head coach of the Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team. On March 23, 2023, Kim English was named the head coach of the Friars.

#### Georgetown

On March 9, 2023, Patrick Ewing was fired as the coach of the Georgetown men's basketball team after six years with the team. On March 20, 2023, Ed Cooley was named the new head coach of the Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team.

#### St. John's

St. John's fired men's basketball coach Mike Anderson on March 10, 2023, after his fourth season. On March 20, 2023, Rick Pitino was named the head coach of the team.

### 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 | Thad Matta | Ohio State | 2 | 32–32 | 13–25 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| UConn | Dan Hurley | Rhode Island | 6 | 100–29 | 55–41 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 |
| Creighton | Greg McDermott | Iowa State | 13 | 242–129 | 123–82 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 0 |
| DePaul | Chris Holtmann | Ohio State | 1 | | | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Georgetown | Ed Cooley | Providence | 1 | 9–22 | 2–17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Marquette | Shaka Smart | Texas | 3 | 73–29 | 42–17 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Providence | Kim English | George Mason | 1 | 21–13 | 10–10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Seton Hall | Shaheen Holloway | St. Peter's | 2 | 36–28 | 22–17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| St. John's | Rick Pitino | Iona | 1 | 20–13 | 11–9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Villanova | Kyle Neptune | Fordham | 2 | 35–32 | 20–20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Xavier | Sean Miller | Arizona | 2 | 43–27 | 24–16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Notes:
* Years at school includes 2020–21 season.
* Overall and Big East records are from time at current school and are through week nine of the 2019–20 season.
* McDermott's MVC conference records, Matta's MCC records, Miller's A-10 records, Hurley's AAC records not included since team began play in the Big East.

## Preseason
### Preseason Big East poll

Prior to the conference's annual media day, conference standings were projected by panel of writers.
| Rank | Team |
| 1 | Marquette (7) |
| 2 | Creighton (4) |
| 3 | UConn |
| 4 | Villanova |
| 5 | St. John's |
| 6 | Xavier |
| 7 | Providence |
| 8 | Georgetown |
| 9 | Seton Hall |
| 10 | Butler |
| 11 | DePaul |
| (first place votes) ||

### Preseason All-Big East

A select media panel named a preseason All-Big East team and player of the year.
| Honor | Recipient |
| Preseason Player of the Year | Tyler Kolek, Marquette |
| Preseason All-Big East First Team | Trey Alexander, Creighton |
| Preseason All-Big East First Team | Ryan Kalkbrenner, Creighton |
| Preseason All-Big East First Team | Bryce Hopkins, Providence |
| Preseason All-Big East First Team | Joel Soriano, St. John's, |
| Preseason All-Big East First Team | Justin Moore, Villanova |
| Preseason All-Big East Second Team | Donovan Clingan, UConn |
| Preseason All-Big East Second Team | Baylor Scheierman, Creighton |
| Preseason All-Big East Second Team | Oso Ighodaro, Marquette |
| Preseason All-Big East Second Team | Kam Jones, Marquette |
| Preseason All-Big East Second Team | Eric Dixon, Villanova |

### Preseason All-American teams

| Player | AP |
| Tyler Kolek | 1st |

### Preseason watchlists

Below is a table of notable preseason watch lists.
| Player | Wooden | Naismith | Cousy | West | Erving | Malone | Abdul-Jabbar |
| Trey Alexander, Creighton | Y | Y | | Y | | | |
| Steven Ashworth, Creighton | | | Y | | | | |
| Stephon Castle, UConn | | | | Y | | | |
| Donovan Clingan, UConn | Y | Y | | | | | Y |
| Jordan Dingle, St. John's | | | | Y | | | |
| Bryce Hopkins, Providence | Y | Y | | | | | |
| Oso Ighodaro, Marquette | | | | | | Y | |
| Kam Jones, Marquette | Y | Y | | Y | | | |
| Ryan Kalkbrenner, Creighton | Y | Y | | | | | Y |
| Alex Karaban, UConn | | | | | | Y | |
| Tyler Kolek, Marquette | Y | Y | Y | | | | |
| Justin Moore, Villanova | Y | Y | | Y | | | |
| Tristen Newton, UConn | Y | | Y | | | | |
| Baylor Scheierman, Creighton | Y | | | | Y | | |
| Joel Soriano, St. John's | Y | | | | | | Y |

## Regular season
### Rankings

Legend :
| | Improvement in ranking |
| | Drop in ranking |
| | Not ranked previous week |
| RV | Received votes but were not ranked in Top 25 of poll |
| (Italics) | Number of first place votes |
| | | Pre/ Wk 1 | 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 | Wk 20 | Final |
| Butler | AP | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | * |
| Butler | C | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| UConn | AP | 6 (2) | 5 (1) | 5 (1) | 4 (2) | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 1 (39) | 1 (44) | 1 (48) | 1 (45) | 1 (45) | 1 (62) | 3 (5) | 2 (6) | 2 (6) | 1 (61) | * |
| UConn | C | 5 (1) | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 1 (20) | 1 (24) | 1 (23) | 1 (25) | 1 (24) | 1 (32) | 2 (3) | 2 (3) | 2 | 1 (32) | |
| Creighton | AP | 8 | 8 | 8 | 15 | 10 | 8 | 12 | 22 | RV | 22 | 18 | 17 | 13 | 19 | 17 | 15 | 12 | 10 | 8 | 11 | * |
| Creighton | C | 8 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 11 | 8 | 14 | 20 | RV | 20 | 15 | 16 | 13 | 18 | 16 | 15 | 12 | 10 | 6 | 11 | |
| DePaul | AP | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | * |
| DePaul | C | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Georgetown | AP | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | * |
| Georgetown | C | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Marquette | AP | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 10 | 7 | 11т | 17 | 14 | 9 | 7 | 4 | 7 | 5 | 8 | 10 | 8 | * |
| Marquette | C | 7 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 8 | 7 | 12 | 18 | 15 | 10 | 7 | 4 | 8 | 5 | 9 | 10 | 8 | |
| Providence | AP | | | | | RV | RV | RV | 25 | 23 | RV | | | | | | | | | | | * |
| Providence | C | | | | | | | | 25 | 23 | RV | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Seton Hall | AP | | | | | | | | | | | RV | RV | | | | | | | | | * |
| Seton Hall | C | | | | | | | | | | | RV | RV | | | | | RV | | | | |
| St. John's | AP | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | * |
| St. John's | C | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Villanova | AP | 22 | 21 | RV | 18 | RV | | | RV | RV | | RV | | | | | | | RV | | | * |
| Villanova | C | 20 | 21 | RV | 15 | RV | | | RV | RV | RV | RV | | | | | | | | | | |
| Xavier | AP | RV | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | * |
| Xavier | C | RV | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
* AP does not release a post-tournament poll.

### Early season tournaments

All 11 Big East teams participated in early season tournaments. Eight teams participated in the Gavitt Tipoff Games.
| Team | Tournament | Finish |
| Butler | ESPN Events Invitational | 5th |
| Creighton | Hall of Fame Classic | 2nd |
| DePaul | Arizona Tip-Off | 4th |
| Georgetown | Georgetown MTE | 1st |
| Marquette | Maui Invitational | 2nd |
| Providence | Baha Mar Hoops Bahamas Championship | 3rd |
| Seton Hall | Rady Children's Invitational | 4th |
| St. John's | Charleston Classic | 3rd |
| UConn | Empire Classic | 1st |
| Villanova | Battle 4 Atlantis | 1st |
| Xavier | Continental Tire Main Event | 3rd |

### Players of the week

Throughout the conference regular season, the Big East offices named one or two players of the week and one or two freshmen of the week each Monday.
| Week | Player of the week | Freshman of the week |
| November 13, 2023 | Kam Jones, Marquette | Stephon Castle, UConn |
| November 20, 2023 | Trey Alexander, Creighton | Isaiah Coleman, Seton Hall |
| November 27, 2023 | Eric Dixon, Villanova | Lazar Djokovic, Xavier |
| December 4, 2023 | Baylor Scheierman, Creighton | Isaiah Coleman, Seton Hall (2) |
| December 11, 2023 | Tyler Kolek, Marquette | Solomon Ball, UConn |
| December 18, 2023 | Al-Amir Dawes, Seton Hall | Rowan Brumbaugh, Georgetown |
| December 27, 2023 | Devin Carter, Providence | Stephon Castle, UConn (2) |
| January 8, 2024 | Kadary Richmond, Seton Hall | Stephon Castle, UConn (3) |
| January 15, 2024 | Kadary Richmond, Seton Hall (2) | Stephon Castle, UConn (4) |
| January 22, 2024 | Tristen Newton, UConn | Rich Barron, Providence |
| January 29, 2024 | Trey Alexander, Creighton (2) | Stephon Castle, UConn (5) |
| February 5, 2024 | Quincy Olivari, Xavier | Stephon Castle, UConn (6) |
| February 12, 2024 | Tyler Kolek, Marquette (2) | Stephon Castle, UConn (7) |
| February 19, 2024 | Devin Carter, Providence (2) | Stephon Castle, UConn (8) |
| February 26, 2024 | Kam Jones, Marquette (2) | Stephon Castle, UConn (9) |
| March 4, 2024 | Baylor Scheierman, Creighton (2) | Stephon Castle, UConn (10) |
| March 10, 2024 | Dre Davis, Seton Hall | Stephon Castle, UConn (11) |

### Conference matrix

This table summarizes the head-to-head results between teams in conference play. Each team is scheduled to play 20 conference games with at least one game against each opponent.
| | Butler | UConn | Creighton | DePaul | Georgetown | Marquette | Providence | Seton Hall | St. John's | Villanova | Xavier |
| vs. Butler | – | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 |
| vs. UConn | 0–2 | – | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 |
| vs. Creighton | 1–1 | 1–1 | – | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 |
| vs. DePaul | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | – | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 |
| vs. Georgetown | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 0–2 | – | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 |
| vs. Marquette | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | – | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 |
| vs. Providence | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | – | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 |
| vs. Seton Hall | 0–2 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | – | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 |
| vs. St. John's | 0–2 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | – | 0–2 | 1–1 |
| vs. Villanova | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 2–0 | – | 1–1 |
| vs. Xavier | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | – |
| Total | 9–11 | 18-2 | 14–6 | 0–20 | 2–18 | 14–6 | 10–10 | 13–7 | 11–9 | 10–10 | 9–11 |

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

On March 13, 2024, the Big East announced most of its conference awards.

### Big East Awards

2024 Big East Men's Basketball Individual Awards :
| Award | Recipient(s) |
| Player of the Year | Devin Carter, Providence |
| Coach of the Year | Dan Hurley, UConn |
| Defensive Player of the Year | Ryan Kalkbrenner, Creighton |
| Freshman of the Year | Stephon Castle, UConn |
| Most Improved Player of the Year | Desmond Claude, Xavier |
| Sixth Man Award | Hassan Diarra, UConn |
2024 Big East Men's Basketball All-Conference Teams :
| First Team | Second Team | Honorable Mention | All-Freshman Team |
| Tristen Newton† – UConn Cam Spencer - UConn Baylor Scheierman† – Creighton Tyler Kolek† – Marquette Devin Carter† – Providence Kadary Richmond – Seton Hall | Trey Alexander – Creighton Ryan Kalkbrenner – Creighton Oso Ighodaro – Marquette Daniss Jenkins – St. Johns Eric Dixon – Villanova | Donovan Clingan - UConn Josh Oduro - Providence Quincy Olivari – Xavier | Finley Bizjack – Butler Stephon Castle† – UConn Rich Barron – Providence Isaiah Coleman – Seton Hall Trey Green – Xavier Dailyn Swain – Xavier |
| † - denotes unanimous selection |||||

## Postseason
### Big East tournament

| First round Wednesday, March 13 FS1 | First round Wednesday, March 13 FS1 | First round Wednesday, March 13 FS1 | Quarterfinals Thursday, March 14 FS1 | Quarterfinals Thursday, March 14 FS1 | Quarterfinals Thursday, March 14 FS1 | Semifinals Friday, March 15 FOX/FS1 | Semifinals Friday, March 15 FOX/FS1 | Semifinals Friday, March 15 FOX/FS1 | Championship Saturday, March 16 FOX | Championship Saturday, March 16 FOX | Championship Saturday, March 16 FOX |
| | | | 1 | #2 UConn | 87 | | | | | | |
| | | | 9 | Xavier | 60 | | | | | | |
| 8 | Butler | 72 | 9 | Xavier | 60 | | | | | | |
| 9 | Xavier | 76 | | | | | | | | | |
| 9 | Xavier | 76 | | | | 1 | #2 UConn | 95 | | | |
| | | | | | | 5 | St. John's | 90 | | | |
| | | | 4 | Seton Hall | 72 | | | | | | |
| | | | 5 | St. John's | 91 | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | 1 | #2 UConn | 73 |
| | | | | | | | | | 3 | #10 Marquette | 57 |
| | | | 2 | #8 Creighton | 73 | | | | | | |
| | | | 7 | Providence | 78 | | | | | | |
| 7 | Providence | 74 | 7 | Providence | 78 | | | | | | |
| 10 | Georgetown | 56 | | | | | | | | | |
| 10 | Georgetown | 56 | | | | 7 | Providence | 68 | | | |
| | | | | | | 3 | #10 Marquette | 79 | | | |
| | | | 3 | #10 Marquette | 71* | | | | | | |
| | | | 6 | Villanova | 65 | | | | | | |
| 6 | Villanova | 58 | 6 | Villanova | 65 | | | | | | |
| 11 | DePaul | 57 | | | | | | | | | |
Source: * denotes overtime period

### NCAA Tournament

The winner of the Big East Tournament will receive the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.
| Seed | Region | School | First round | Second round | Sweet Sixteen | Elite Eight | Final Four | Championship |
| 1 | East | UConn | Defeated (16) Stetson, 91–52 | Defeated (9) Northwestern, 75–58 | Defeated (5) San Diego State, 82–52 | Defeated (3) Illinois, 77–52 | Defeated (W4) Alabama, 86–72 | Defeated (MW1) Purdue, 75-60 |
| 2 | South | Marquette | Defeated (15) Western Kentucky, 87–69 | Defeated (10) Colorado, 81–77 | Lost to (11) NC State, 58–67 | DNP | DNP | DNP |
| 3 | Midwest | Creighton | Defeated (14) Longwood, 77–60 | Defeated (11) Oregon, 86–73 (2OT) | Lost to (2) Tennessee, 75–82 | DNP | DNP | DNP |
| | | W–L (%): | 3–0 (1.000) | 3–0 (1.000) | 1–2 (.333) | 1–0 (1.000) | 1–0 (1.000) | 1–0 (1.000) Total: 10–2 (.833) |

### National Invitation Tournament

The following Big East teams will receive invitations to the National Invitation Tournament.
| Seed | School | First round | Second round | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Finals |
| 1 | Seton Hall | Defeated Saint Joseph's, 75–72 (OT) | Defeated North Texas, 72–58 | Defeated UNLV, 91–68 | Defeated (4) Georgia, 84–67 | Defeated (1) Indiana State, 79–77 |
| 1 | Villanova | Lost to VCU, 61–70 | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP |
| 3 | Providence | Lost to Boston College, 57–62 | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP |
| 4 | Butler | Lost to Minnesota, 72–73 | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP |
| – | Xavier | Lost to (4) Georgia, 76–78 | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP |
| | W–L (%): | 1–4 (.200) | 1–0 (1.000) | 1–0 (1.000) | 1–0 (1.000) | 1–0 (1.000) Total: 5–4 (.556) |