# 2024–25 Big East Conference men's basketball season

The 2024–25 Big East men's basketball season is the current season for Big East Conference basketball teams that began with practices in October 2023, followed by the start of the 2024–25 NCAA Division I men's basketball season which will begin in November 2024. Conference play will begin in December 2024 and ended in March 2025.

## Head coaches
### Coaching changes
#### DePaul

Following the end of the 2023–24 season, interim head coach Matt Brady was replaced by Chris Holtmann as the 16th head coach of the Blue Demons.

### 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 | 4 | 30–33 | 15–25 | 0 | 13 | 2 | 0 |
| UConn | Dan Hurley | Rhode Island | 7 | 106–29 | 71–41 | 1 | 6 | 2 | 2 |
| Creighton | Greg McDermott | Iowa State | 15 | 245–130 | 123–82 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 0 |
| DePaul | Chris Holtmann | Ohio State | 1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| Georgetown | Ed Cooley | Providence | 2 | 9–23 | 2–18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Marquette | Shaka Smart | Texas | 4 | 75–30 | 42–17 | 1 | 11 | 1 | 0 |
| Providence | Kim English | George Mason | 2 | 21–14 | 10–10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Seton Hall | Shaheen Holloway | St. Peter's | 3 | 42–28 | 23–17 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| St. John's | Rick Pitino | Iona | 2 | 20–13 | 11–9 | 0 | 21 | 5 | 1 |
| Villanova | Kyle Neptune | Fordham | 3 | 35–33 | 20–20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Xavier | Sean Miller | Arizona | 8 | 43–28 | 24–16 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 0 |
Notes:
* Years at school includes 2020–21 season.
* Overall and Big East records are from current school.
* NCAA Tournament appearances, Final Four & Championships include all schools.
* 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, Pitino does not include vacated wins.

## Preseason
### Preseason Big East poll

Prior to the conference's annual media day, conference standings were projected by panel of writers.
| Rank | Team | Points |
| 1. | UConn | 100 (10) |
| 2. | Creighton | 84 |
| 3. | Xavier | 82 |
| 4. | Marquette | 74 (1) |
| 5. | St. John's | 70 |
| 6. | Providence | 54 |
| 7. | Villanova | 44 |
| 8. | Butler | 36 |
| 9. | Georgetown | 25 |
| 10. | Seton Hall | 24 |
| 11. | DePaul | 12 |
| (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 | Ryan Kalkbrenner, Creighton |
| Preseason Freshman of the Year | Liam McNeeley, UConn |
| Preseason All-Big East First Team | Alex Karaban, UConn |
| Preseason All-Big East First Team | Kam Jones, Marquette |
| Preseason All-Big East First Team | Bryce Hopkins, Providence |
| Preseason All-Big East First Team | Kadary Richmond, St. John’s |
| Preseason All-Big East First Team | Eric Dixon, Villanova |
| Preseason All-Big East Second Team | Pierre Brooks, Butler |
| Preseason All-Big East Second Team | Jahmyl Telfort, Butler |
| Preseason All-Big East Second Team | Deivon Smith, St. John’s |
| Preseason All-Big East Second Team | Zach Freemantle, Xavier |
| Preseason All-Big East Second Team | Dayvion McKnight, Xavier |
| Preseason All-Big East Third Team | Aidan Mahaney, UConn |
| Preseason All-Big East Third Team | Steven Ashworth, Creighton |
| Preseason All-Big East Third Team | Jayden Epps, Georgetown |
| Preseason All-Big East Third Team | Wooga Poplar, Villanova |
| Preseason All-Big East Third Team | Ryan Conwell, Xavier |

### Preseason All-American teams

| Player | AP | CBS | Fox Sports |
| Ryan Kalkbrenner | RV | 1st team | 1st team |
| Alex Karaban | RV | 2nd team | 2nd team |
| Kam Jones | RV | 3rd team | 3rd team |
| Kadary Richmond | | 2nd team | 3rd team |

### Preseason watchlists

Below is a table of notable preseason watch lists.
| Player | Naismith | Cousy | West | Erving | Malone | Abdul-Jabbar |
| Eric Dixon, Villanova | Y | | | | Y | |
| Bryce Hopkins, Providence | Y | | | | Y | |
| Samson Johnson, UConn | | | | | | Y |
| Kam Jones, Marquette | Y | | Y | | |
| Ryan Kalkbrenner, Creighton | Y | | | | | Y |
| Alex Karaban, UConn | Y | | | | Y | |
| Malik Mack, Georgetown | | Y | | | | |
| Aidan Mahaney, UConn | | | Y | | | |
| Liam McNeeley, UConn | Y | | | Y | | |
| Kadary Richmond, 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 |
| NV | No votes received |
| (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 |
| Butler | AP | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV |
| Butler | C | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV |
| UConn | AP | 3 (11) | 3 (7) | 2 (7) | 2 (6) | 25 | 18 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 9 | 14 | 19 | 25 | 19 | RV | RV | NV | RV |
| UConn | C | 3 (6) | 3 (3) | 2 (3) | 2 (6) | RV | 20 | 13 | 14 | 13 | 10 | 13 | 18 | 24 | 18 | 24 | RV | RV | RV |
| Creighton | AP | 15 | 14 | 14 | 21 | RV | RV | RV | NV | NV | NV | NV | RV | RV | RV | 24 | RV | RV | RV |
| Creighton | C | 14 | 13 | 13 | 19 | RV | RV | RV | NV | NV | NV | NV | RV | RV | RV | 21 | RV | 25 | RV |
| DePaul | AP | NV | NV | NV | NV | RV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV |
| DePaul | C | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV |
| Georgetown | AP | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | RV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV |
| Georgetown | C | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV |
| Marquette | AP | 18 | 15 | 15 | 10 | 5 | 6 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 10 | 9 | 11 | 18 | 16 | 21 | 20 |
| Marquette | C | 17 | 15 | 14 | 11 | 4 | 4 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 7 | 10 | 9 | 11 | 16 | 15 | 22 | 20 |
| Providence | AP | RV | RV | RV | RV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV |
| Providence | C | NV | RV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV |
| Seton Hall | AP | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV |
| Seton Hall | C | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV |
| St. John's | AP | RV | 22 | 22 | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | 20 | 15 | 12 | 9 | 10 | 7 | 6 |
| St. John's | C | RV | 25 | 21 | RV | RV | RV | RV | 24 | RV | RV | RV | 21 | 14 | 10 | 8 | 9 | 7 | 6 |
| Villanova | AP | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV |
| Villanova | C | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV |
| Xavier | AP | RV | RV | RV | 22 | RV | NV | NV | NV | NV | RV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV |
| Xavier | C | RV | RV | RV | 22 | RV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV |

### Early season tournaments

All 11 Big East teams participated in early season tournaments.
| Team | Tournament | Finish |
| Butler | Arizona Tip-Off | 1st |
| UConn | Maui Invitational | 8th |
| Creighton | Players Era Festival | 7th |
| DePaul | DePaul Classic | 1st |
| Georgetown | Georgetown MTE | 1st |
| Marquette | Marquette Challenge | 1st |
| Providence | Battle 4 Atlantis | 8th |
| Seton Hall | Charleston Classic | 3rd |
| St. John's | Bahamas Championship | 3rd |
| Villanova | Empire Classic | 2nd |
| Xavier | Fort Myers Tip-Off | 2nd |

### Big East 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 | School | Freshman of the week | School |
| November 11, 2024 | Ryan Kalkbrenner | Creighton | Thomas Sorber | Georgetown |
| November 17, 2024 | Kam Jones | Marquette | Liam McNeeley | UConn |
| November 25, 2024 | Kam Jones (2) | Marquette | Thomas Sorber (2) | Georgetown |
| December 2, 2024 | Jahmyl Telfort | Butler | Thomas Sorber (3) | Georgetown |
| December 9, 2024 | Pop Isaacs | Creighton | Liam McNeeley (2) | UConn |
| December 16, 2024 | Jayden Epps | Georgetown | Liam McNeeley (3) | UConn |
| December 23, 2024 | Alex Karaban | UConn | Liam McNeeley (4) | UConn |
| January 6, 2025 | Eric Dixon | Villanova | Thomas Sorber (4) | Georgetown |
| January 13, 2025 | RJ Luis Jr. | St John's | Ryan Mela | Providence |
| January 20, 2025 | Ryan Kalkbrenner (2) | Creighton | Ryan Mela (2) | Providence |
| January 27, 2025 | Kam Jones (3) | Marquette | Thomas Sorber (5) | Georgetown |
| February 3, 2025 | Solo Ball | UConn | Thomas Sorber (6) | Georgetown |
| February 10, 2025 | RJ Luis Jr. (2) | St John's | Thomas Sorber (7) | Georgetown |
| February 17, 2025 | Zach Freemantle | Xavier | Liam McNeeley (5) | UConn |
| February 24, 2025 | Kadary Richmond | St John's | Liam McNeeley (6) | UConn |
| March 3, 2025 | Eric Dixon (2) | Villanova | Liam McNeeley (7) | UConn |

### 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 | – | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 |
| vs. UConn | 0–0 | – | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 |
| vs. Creighton | 0–0 | 0–0 | – | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 |
| vs. DePaul | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | – | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 |
| vs. Georgetown | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | – | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 |
| vs. Marquette | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | – | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 |
| vs. Providence | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | – | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 |
| vs. Seton Hall | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | – | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 |
| vs. St. John's | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | – | 0–0 | 0–0 |
| vs. Villanova | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | – | 0–0 |
| vs. Xavier | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | – |
| Total | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 |

## Honors and awards
### Big East Awards

2025 Big East Men's Basketball Individual Awards :
| Award | Recipient(s) |
| Player of the Year | RJ Luis Jr., St. John's |
| Coach of the Year | Rick Pitino, St. John's |
| Defensive Player of the Year | Ryan Kalkbrenner, Creighton |
| Freshman of the Year | Liam McNeeley, Connecticut |
| Most Improved Player of the Year | Zuby Ejiofor, St. John’s |
| Sixth Man Award | Tarris Reed Jr., Connecticut |
| Sportsmanship Award | Jerome Hunter, Xavier |
2025 Big East Men's Basketball All-Conference Teams :
| First Team | Second Team | Third Team | Freshman Team |
| †Ryan Kalkbrenner, Creighton Micah Peavy, Georgetown †Kam Jones, Marquette Zuby Ejiofor, St. John’s †RJ Luis Jr., St. John’s †Eric Dixon, Villanova | Solo Ball, Connecticut Alex Karaban, Connecticut Steven Ashworth, Creighton Kadary Richmond, St. John’s Zach Freemantle, Xavier | Jahmyl Telfort, Butler Liam McNeeley, Connecticut Thomas Sorber, Georgetown David Joplin, Marquette Wooga Poplar, Villanova Ryan Conwell, Xavier | †Liam McNeeley, Connecticut Jackson McAndrew, Creighton †Thomas Sorber, Georgetown Royce Parham, Marquette Oswin Erhunmwunse, Providence Ryan Mela, Providence |
| † - denotes unanimous selection |||||||

## Postseason
### Big East tournament

| First round Wednesday, March 12 Peacock | First round Wednesday, March 12 Peacock | First round Wednesday, March 12 Peacock | Quarterfinals Thursday, March 13 Peacock/FS1 | Quarterfinals Thursday, March 13 Peacock/FS1 | Quarterfinals Thursday, March 13 Peacock/FS1 | Semifinals Friday, March 14 FOX | Semifinals Friday, March 14 FOX | Semifinals Friday, March 14 FOX | Championship Saturday, March 15 FOX | Championship Saturday, March 15 FOX | Championship Saturday, March 15 FOX |
| | | | 1 | 6 St. John's | 78 | | | | | | |
| | | | 9 | Butler | 57 | | | | | | |
| 8 | Providence | 69 | 9 | Butler | 57 | | | | | | |
| 9 | Butler | 75 | | | | | | | | | |
| 9 | Butler | 75 | | | | 1 | 6 St. John's | 79 | | | |
| | | | | | | 5 | 25 Marquette | 63 | | | |
| | | | 4 | Xavier | 87 | | | | | | |
| | | | 5 | 25 Marquette | 89 | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | 1 | 6 St. John's | 82 |
| | | | | | | | | | 2 | Creighton | 66 |
| | | | 2 | Creighton | 85$^{2OT}$ | | | | | | |
| | | | 10 | DePaul | 81 | | | | | | |
| 7 | Georgetown | 67 | 10 | DePaul | 81 | | | | | | |
| 10 | DePaul | 71 | | | | | | | | | |
| 10 | DePaul | 71 | | | | 2 | Creighton | 71 | | | |
| | | | | | | 3 | UConn | 62 | | | |
| | | | 3 | UConn | 73 | | | | | | |
| | | | 6 | Villanova | 56 | | | | | | |
| 6 | Villanova | 67 | 6 | Villanova | 56 | | | | | | |
| 11 | Seton Hall | 55 | | | | | | | | | |
Source:

### NCAA Tournament

The winner of the Big East Tournament will receive the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.
| Seed | Region | School | First Four | First round | Second round | Sweet Sixteen | Elite Eight | Final Four | Championship |
| 2 | West | St. John's | Bye | vs. (15) Omaha | | | | | |
| 7 | South | Marquette | Bye | vs. (10) New Mexico | | | | | |
| 8 | West | UConn | Bye | vs. (9) Oklahoma | | | | | |
| 9 | South | Creighton | Bye | vs. (8) Louisville | | | | | |
| 11 | Midwest | Xavier | vs. (11) Texas | | | | | | |
| | | W–L (%): | 0–0 (–) | 0–0 (–) | 0–0 (–) | 0–0 (–) | 0–0 (–) | 0–0 (–) | 0–0 (–) |
| Total: 0–0 (–) ||||||||||

### National Invitation Tournament

Villanova, Georgetown, Butler, and Providence were invitated to the National Invitation Tournament, but all schools declined the invite.

### College Basketball Crown

The following Big East teams will receive invitations to the inaugural College Basketball Crown tournament.
| Seed | School | First round | Second round | Semifinals | Finals |
| 3 | Villanova | vs. (12) Colorado | | | |
| 5 | Georgetown | vs. (14) Washington State | | | |
| 9 | Butler | vs. (8) Utah | | | |
| 15 | DePaul | vs. (2) Cincinnati | | | |
| | W–L (%): | 0–0 (–) | 0–0 (–) | 0–0 (–) | 0–0 (–) Total: 0–0 (–) |