# 2019–20 Big East Conference men's basketball season

The 2019–20 Big East Conference men's basketball season began with practices in October 2019, followed by the start of the 2019–20 NCAA Division I men's basketball season in November. Conference play began in January 2020.

## Head coaches
### Coaching changes

In April 2019, Chris Mullin resigned as the head coach of St. John's, leaving the program after four seasons. On April 19, Arkansas head coach Mike Anderson was hired by St. John's as Mullin's replacement.

### 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 | LaVall Jordan | Milwaukee | 3 | 50–32 | 17–20 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Creighton | Greg McDermott | Iowa State | 10 | 217–111 | 56–52 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| DePaul | Dave Leitao | Tulsa (asst.) | 8 | 118–117 | 46–74 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Georgetown | Patrick Ewing | Charlotte Hornets (asst.) | 3 | 49–46 | 19–35 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Marquette | Steve Wojciechowski | Duke (asst.) | 6 | 107–72 | 43–48 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Providence | Ed Cooley | Fairfield | 9 | 170–116 | 72–73 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| Seton Hall | Kevin Willard | Iona | 10 | 179–131 | 70–90 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| St. John's | Mike Anderson | Arkansas | 1 | 11–3 | 0–0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Villanova | Jay Wright | Hofstra | 19 | 457–177 | 203–105 | 7 | 14 | 3 | 2 |
| Xavier | Travis Steele | Xavier (asst.) | 2 | 29–18 | 9–9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Notes:
* Years at school includes 2019–20 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 not included since team began play in the 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. | Seton Hall (5) |
| 2. | Villanova (5) |
| 3. | Xavier |
| T-4. | Marquette |
| T-4. | Providence |
| 6. | Georgetown |
| 7. | Creighton |
| 8. | Butler |
| 9. | St. John's |
| 10. | DePaul |
| (first place votes) ||

### Preseason All-Big East teams

| Honor | Recipient |
| Preseason Player of the Year | Myles Powell, Seton Hall |
| Preseason Freshman of the Year | Jeremiah Robinson-Earl, Villanova |
| Preseason All-Big East First Team | Kamar Baldwin, Butler |
| Preseason All-Big East First Team | Ty-Shon Alexander, Creighton |
| Preseason All-Big East First Team | Markus Howard, Marquette |
| Preseason All-Big East First Team | Alpha Diallo, Providence |
| Preseason All-Big East First Team | Naji Marshall, Xavier |
| Preseason All-Big East Second Team | Paul Reed, DePaul |
| Preseason All-Big East Second Team | James Akinjo, Georgetown |
| Preseason All-Big East Second Team | L. J. Figueroa, St. John's |
| Preseason All-Big East Second Team | Mustapha Heron, St. John's |
| Preseason All-Big East Second Team | Collin Gillespie, Villanova |
| Preseason All-Big East Second Team | Jermaine Samuels, Villanova |
| Preseason All-Big East Honorable Mention | Ömer Yurtseven, Georgetown |
| Preseason All-Big East Honorable Mention | Paul Scruggs, Xavier |
*Schedule Source:

## Regular season
### Rankings

Legend :
* Increase in ranking
* Decrease in ranking
* Not ranked previous week
* First place votes
| | | Pre Oct 21 | Wk 2 Nov 11 | Wk 3 Nov 18 | Wk 4 Nov 25 | Wk 5 Dec 2 | Wk 6 Dec 9 | Wk 7 Dec 16 | Wk 8 Dec 23 | Wk 9 Dec 30 | Wk 10 Jan 6 | Wk 11 Jan 13 | Wk 12 Jan 20 | Wk 13 Jan 27 | Wk 14 Feb 3 | Wk 15 Feb 10 | Wk 16 Feb 17 | Wk 17 Feb 24 | Wk 18 Mar 2 | Wk 19 Mar 9 | Final |
| Butler | AP | | | RV | RV | 24 | 18 | 17 | 12 | 11 | 6 | 5 | 13 | 16 | 19 | 19 | 23 | RV | RV | 24 | 23 |
| Butler | C | | RV | RV | RV | 24 | 19 | 16 | 11 | 10 | 6 | 5 | 12 | 17 | 19 | 20 | 23 | RV | 25 | 21 | 21 |
| Creighton | AP | RV | RV | | | | | | RV | RV | RV | 25 | RV | RV | 21 | 23 | 15 | 10 | 11 | 7 | 7 |
| Creighton | C | RV | RV | RV | RV | | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | 22 | 21 | 15 | 11 | 14 | 9 | 9 |
| DePaul | AP | | | | | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | | | | | | | | | | | |
| DePaul | C | | | | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Georgetown | AP | RV | RV | | RV | | RV | RV | RV | RV | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Georgetown | C | RV | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Marquette | AP | RV | RV | RV | | | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | | RV | | RV | 18 | 19 | RV | RV | | |
| Marquette | C | RV | RV | RV | | | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | 22 | 19 | RV | RV | | |
| Providence | AP | RV | RV | RV | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | RV | RV | RV |
| Providence | C | RV | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | RV | RV | RV |
| Seton Hall | AP | 12 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 16 | 22 | RV | RV | RV | RV | 18 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 10 | 16 | 13 | 8 | 16 | 15 |
| Seton Hall | C | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 15 | 22 | RV | RV | RV | 25 | 18 | 10 | 9 | 13 | 10 | 14 | 13 | 7 | 15 | 15 |
| St. John's | AP | | | | | | | | | RV | | | | | | | | | | | |
| St. John's | C | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Villanova | AP | 10 | 10 | 17 | 22 | 23 | 20 | 18 | 10 | 10 | 16 | 14 | 9 | 8 | 12 | 15 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 11 | 10 |
| Villanova | C | 10 | 15 | 15 | 21 | 22 | 20 | 14 | 9 | 9 | 16 | 15 | 11 | 8 | 12 | 16 | 13 | 12 | 12 | 8 | 9 |
| Xavier | AP | 19 | 21 | 18 | 25 | RV | 23 | RV | RV | RV | RV | | | | | | | | | | |
| Xavier | C | 21 | 21 | 21 | 23 | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | | | | | | | | | |

### 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 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 |
| vs. Creighton | 1–1 | – | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 |
| vs. DePaul | 1–1 | 2–0 | – | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 |
| vs. Georgetown | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | – | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 2–0 |
| vs. Marquette | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–2 | – | 2–0 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 |
| vs. Providence | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | – | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 |
| vs. Seton Hall | 0–2 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | – | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 |
| vs. St. John's | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | – | 2–0 | 2–0 |
| vs. Villanova | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | – | 0–2 |
| vs. Xavier | 1–0 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 2–0 | – |
| Total | 9-8 | 12-5 | 3-14 | 5-12 | 8-9 | 11-6 | 13-4 | 4-13 | 12-5 | 8-10 |

### Player of the week

Throughout the season, the Big East Conference named a player of the week and a freshman of the week each Monday.
| Week | Player of the week | Freshman of the week |
| November 11, 2019 | Markus Howard, Marquette | Jeremiah Robinson-Earl, Villanova |
| November 18, 2019 | Myles Powell, Seton Hall | Romeo Weems, DePaul |
| November 25, 2019 | Collin Gillespie, Villanova | Romeo Weems (2), DePaul |
| December 2, 2019 | Markus Howard (2), Marquette | Justin Moore, Villanova |
| December 9, 2019 | Mac McClung, Georgetown | Justin Moore (2), Villanova |
| December 16, 2019 | Mac McClung (2), Georgetown | Justin Moore (3), Villanova |
| December 23, 2019 | Markus Howard (3), Marquette | Zach Freemantle, Xavier |
| January 6, 2020 | Myles Powell (2), Seton Hall | Justin Moore (4), Villanova |
| January 13, 2020 | Myles Powell (3), Seton Hall | Jeremiah Robinson-Earl (2), Villanova |
| January 20, 2020 | Markus Howard (4), Marquette | Jeremiah Robinson-Earl (3), Villanova |
| January 27, 2020 | Kamar Baldwin, Butler | Jeremiah Robinson-Earl (4), Villanova |
| February 3, 2020 | Tyrique Jones, Xavier | Jeremiah Robinson-Earl (5), Villanova |
| February 10, 2020 | Myles Powell (4), Seton Hall | KyKy Tandy, Xavier |
| February 17, 2020 | Alpha Diallo, Providence | Jeremiah Robinson-Earl (6), Villanova |
| February 24, 2020 | Marcus Zegarowski, Creighton | Justin Moore (5), Villanova |
| March 2, 2020 | Markus Howard (5), Marquette | Julian Champagnie, St. John's |
| March 8, 2020 | Kamar Baldwin (2), Butler | Julian Champagnie (2), St. John's |

## Honors and awards
### Big East Awards

2020 Big East Men's Basketball Individual Awards :
| Award | Recipient(s) |
| Player of the Year | Myles Powell, G., Seton Hall |
| Coach of the Year | Greg McDermott, Creighton |
| Defensive Player of the Year | Romaro Gill, C., Seton Hall |
| Freshman of the Year | Jeremiah Robinson-Earl, F., Villanova |
| Most Improved Player of the Year | Romaro Gill, C., Seton Hall |
| Scholar-Athlete of the Year | Kamar Baldwin, G., Butler |
| Sixth Man Award | Denzel Mahoney, G., Creighton |
| Sportsmanship Award | Kamar Baldwin, G., Butler Jagan Mosely, G., Georgetown Emmitt Holt, F., Providence |
2020 Big East Men's Basketball All-Conference Teams :
| First Team | Second Team | Honorable Mention | All-Freshman Team |
| Markus Howard* – Marquette Myles Powell* – Seton Hall Saddiq Bey* – Villanova Kamar Baldwin – Butler Ty-Shon Alexander – Creighton Naji Marshall – Xavier | Marcus Zegarowski* – Creighton Paul Reed – DePaul Collin Gillespie – Villanova Alpha Diallo – Providence Tyrique Jones – Xavier | Ömer Yurtseven - Georgetown Quincy McKnight - Seton Hall | Jeremiah Robinson-Earl* – Villanova Justin Moore* – Villanova Romeo Weems – DePaul Julian Champagnie – St. John's Zach Freemantle – Xavier KyKy Tandy – Xavier |
| * - denotes unanimous selection † - Due to a tie in the voting, an additional position was added |||||