# 2017–18 Big East Conference men's basketball season

The 2017–18 Big East Conference men's basketball season began with practices in October 2017, followed by the start of the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season in November. This season marked the 39th year in the conference's history, but the fifth as a non-football conference, which officially formed on July 1, 2013. Conference play began in December 2017. For the first time since the reconfigured Big East formed, Villanova failed to win the regular-season title, with Xavier claiming the crown.
The 2018 Big East men's basketball tournament was held at Madison Square Garden in New York from March 7 through March 10, 2018. Villanova defeated Providence to win the tournament championship and receive the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.
Six Big East schools received bids to the NCAA tournament (Butler, Creighton, Providence, Seton Hall, Villanova, and Xavier). Only Villanova won more than one game in the Tournament, but the Wildcats defeated Michigan to win the NCAA Championship for the second time in three years.
Marquette received a bid to the National Invitation Tournament, where they advanced to the quarterfinals before losing to eventual NIT champions Penn State.
Villanova guard Jalen Brunson was named the Big East Player of the Year and was consensus National Player of the Year. Villanova freshman forward Omari Spellman was named Big East Freshman of the Year. Xavier head coach Chris Mack was named Big East coach of the year.

## Head coaches
### Coaching changes

On March 23, 2017, Georgetown officials announced that John Thompson III had been fired. On April 2, it was reported that Patrick Ewing would replace Thompson as head coach.
On June 9, 2017, Butler head coach Chris Holtmann left to become the head coach at Ohio State. On June 12, the school hired Milwaukee head coach and Bulter alum LaVall Jordan as head coach.

### 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 | 1 | 21–14 | 9–9 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Creighton | Greg McDermott | Iowa State | 8 | 187–94 | 47––43 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| DePaul | Dave Leitao | Tulsa (asst.) | 6 | 87–99 | 39–63 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Georgetown | Patrick Ewing | Charlotte Hornets (asst.) | 1 | 15–15 | 5–13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Marquette | Steve Wojciechowski | Duke (asst.) | 4 | 73–59 | 31–41 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Providence | Ed Cooley | Fairfield | 7 | 144–94 | 64–62 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| Seton Hall | Kevin Willard | Iona | 8 | 150–114 | 62–82 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| St. John's | Chris Mullin | None | 3 | 39–60 | 12–42 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Villanova | Jay Wright | Hofstra | 17 | 422–165 | 191–103 | 6 | 13 | 3 | 2 |
| Xavier | Chris Mack | Xavier (asst.) | 9 | 215–97 | 57–33 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 0 |
Notes:
* Years at school includes 2017–18 season.
* Overall and Big East records are from time at current school and are through the end of the 2017–18 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 (8) |
| 2. | Seton Hall (1) |
| 3. | Xavier (1) |
| 4. | Providence |
| 4. | Creighton |
| 6. | St. John's |
| 7. | Marquette |
| 8. | Butler |
| 9. | Georgetown |
| 10. | DePaul |
| (first place votes) ||

### Preseason All-Big East teams

Source
| Honor | Recipient |
| Preseason Player of the Year | Jalen Brunson, Villanova |
| Preseason All-Big East First Team | Kelan Martin, Butler |
| Preseason All-Big East First Team | Marcus Foster, Creighton |
| Preseason All-Big East First Team | Khadeen Carrington, Seton Hall |
| Preseason All-Big East First Team | Ángel Delgado, Seton Hall |
| Preseason All-Big East First Team | Trevon Bluiett, Xavier |
| Preseason All-Big East Second Team | Markus Howard, Marquette |
| Preseason All-Big East Second Team | Rodney Bullock, Providence |
| Preseason All-Big East Second Team | Kyron Cartwright, Providence |
| Preseason All-Big East Second Team | Marcus LoVett Jr., St. John's |
| Preseason All-Big East Second Team | Shamorie Ponds, St. John's |
| Preseason All-Big East Honorable Mention | Khyri Thomas, Creighton |
| Preseason All-Big East Honorable Mention | Desi Rodriguez, Seton Hall |
| Preseason All-Big East Honorable Mention | J. P. Macura, Xavier |
| Preseason Rookie of the Year | Omari Spellman, Villanova |

## 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 |
| Butler | AP | RV | RV | | | | | | | RV | | | | | RV | RV | RV | RV |
| Butler | C | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | | | | | | | | | RV | RV | RV | RV |
| Creighton | AP | | | RV | 25 | RV | RV | 25 | 25 | 25 | 25 | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV |
| Creighton | C | RV | RV | RV | 23 | RV | 25 | 24 | 23 | 25 | 22 | RV | RV | RV | RV | 25 | RV | 24 |
| DePaul | AP | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| DePaul | C | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Georgetown | AP | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Georgetown | C | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Marquette | AP | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Marquette | C | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Providence | AP | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | | | | | | | RV | | | | | |
| Providence | C | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Seton Hall | AP | 23 | 22 | 20 | RV | 19 | 15 | 23 | 23 | 21 | 13 | 19 | RV | RV | RV | | | RV |
| Seton Hall | C | 23 | 23 | 22 | 24 | 19 | 15 | 22 | 24 | 21 | 15 | 19 | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV |
| St. John's | AP | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| St. John's | C | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Villanova | AP | 6 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 1 (41) | 1 (45) | 1 (43) | 3 | 1 (52) | 1 (63) | 1 (63) | 1 (47) | 1 (48) | 3 (9) | 3 (4) | 4 |
| Villanova | C | 6 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 1 (22) | 1 (26) | 1 (27) | 3 | 1 (27) | 1 (31) | 1 (31) | 1 (22) | 1 (22) | 2 (8) | 3 (4) | 5 |
| Xavier | AP | 17 | 15 | 15 | 21 | 13 | 10 | 9 | 6 | 5 | 10 | 11 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 4 (5) | 4 | 3 |
| Xavier | C | 17 | 17 | 14 | 20 | 14 | 9 | 8 | 5 | 4 | 10 | 12 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 4 (1) | 4 | 4 |

### 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 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 |
| vs. Creighton | 1–1 | – | 0–2 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 2–0 |
| vs. DePaul | 2–0 | 2–0 | – | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 |
| vs. Georgetown | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | – | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 2–0 |
| vs. Marquette | 2–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 | – | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 |
| vs. Providence | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | – | 2–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 |
| vs. Seton Hall | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–2 | – | 0–2 | 2–0 | 2–0 |
| vs. St. John's | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | – | 1–1 | 2–0 |
| vs. Villanova | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | – | 0–2 |
| vs. Xavier | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 2–0 | – |
| Total | 9–9 | 10–8 | 4–14 | 5–13 | 9–9 | 10–8 | 10–8 | 4–14 | 14–4 | 15–3 |

### 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 13, 2017 | Kelan Martin, Butler | Omari Spellman, Villanova |
| November 20, 2017 | Trevon Bluiett, Xavier | Ty-Shon Alexander, Creighton |
| November 27, 2017 | Jalen Brunson, Villanova | Mitch Ballock, Creighton |
| December 4, 2017 | Desi Rodriguez, Seton Hall | Omari Spellman (2), Villanova |
| December 11, 2017 | Markus Howard, Marquette | Mitch Ballock (2), Creighton |
| December 18, 2017 | Jalen Brunson (2), Villanova | Omari Spellman (3), Villanova |
| December 26, 2017 | Marcus Foster, Creighton | Mitch Ballock (3), Creighton |
| January 2, 2018 | Kelan Martin (2), Butler | Jamal Cain, Marquette |
| January 8, 2018 | Markus Howard (2), Marquette | Jahvon Blair, Georgetown |
| January 15, 2018 | Kelan Martin (3), Butler | Naji Marshall, Xavier |
| January 22, 2018 | J. P. Macura, Xavier | Omari Spellman (4), Villanova |
| January 29, 2018 | Marcus Foster (2), Creighton | Naji Marshall (2), Xavier |
| February 5, 2018 | Shamorie Ponds, St. John's | Omari Spellman (5), Villanova |
| February 12, 2018 | Shamorie Ponds (2), St. John's | Jamorko Pickett, Georgetown |
| February 19, 2018 | Mikal Bridges, Villanova | Naji Marshall (3), Xavier |
| February 26, 2018 | Khadeen Carrington, Seton Hall | Naji Marshall (4), Xavier |
| March 4, 2018 | Andrew Rowsey, Marquette | Omari Spellman (6), Villanova |

## Honors and awards
### Big East Awards

2018 Big East Men's Basketball Individual Awards :
| Award | Recipient(s) |
| Player of the Year | Jalen Brunson, G., Villanova |
| Coach of the Year | Chris Mack, Xavier |
| Defensive Player of the Year | Khyri Thomas, G., Creighton |
| Freshman of the Year | Omari Spellman, G., Villanova |
| Most Improved Player of the Year | Myles Powell, F., Seton. Hall |
| Scholar-Athlete of the Year | Jalen Brunson, G., Butler |
| Sixth Man Award | Donte DiVincenzo, G., Villanova |
| Sportsmanship Award | Tyler Wideman, F., Butler |
2018 Big East Men's Basketball All-Conference Teams :
| First Team | Second Team | Honorable Mention | All-Freshman Team |
| Trevon Bluiett†, Xavier Jalen Brunson†, Villanova Mikal Bridges, Villanova Marcus Foster, Creighton Kelan Martin†, Butler Shamorie Ponds, St. John's | Ángel Delgado, Seton Hall Marcus Derrickson, Georgetown Markus Howard, Marquette Desi Rodriguez, Seton Hall Khyri Thomas, Creighton | Andrew Rowsey, Marquette Kyron Cartwright, Providence | Mitch Ballock, Creighton Jahvon Blair, Georgetown Naji Marshall†, Xavier Jamorko Pickett†, Georgetown Omari Spellman†, Villanova Nate Watson, Providence |
| †unanimous selection Sources ||||||

## Postseason
### 2018 Big East tournament

| First round March 7 | First round March 7 | First round March 7 | Quarterfinals March 8 | Quarterfinals March 8 | Quarterfinals March 8 | Semifinals March 9 | Semifinals March 9 | Semifinals March 9 | Championship March 10 | Championship March 10 | Championship March 10 |
| | | | 1 | Xavier | 88 | | | | | | |
| | | | 9 | St. John's | 60 | | | | | | |
| 8 | Georgetown | 77 | 9 | St. John's | 60 | | | | | | |
| 9 | St. John's | 88 | | | | | | | | | |
| 9 | St. John's | 88 | | | | 1 | Xavier | 72 | | | |
| | | | | | | 5 | Providence | 75* | | | |
| | | | 4 | Creighton | 68 | | | | | | |
| | | | 5 | Providence | 72* | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | 5 | Providence | 66 |
| | | | | | | | | | 2 | Villanova | 76* |
| | | | 2 | Villanova | 94 | | | | | | |
| | | | 7 | Marquette | 70 | | | | | | |
| 7 | Marquette | 72 | 7 | Marquette | 70 | | | | | | |
| 10 | DePaul | 69 | | | | | | | | | |
| 10 | DePaul | 69 | | | | 2 | Villanova | 87 | | | |
| | | | | | | 6 | Butler | 68 | | | |
| | | | 3 | Seton Hall | 74 | | | | | | |
| | | | 6 | Butler | 75 | | | | | | |

### NCAA tournament

The winner of the Big East tournament, Villanova, received the conference's automatic bid to the 2018 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament.
| Seed | Region | School | First Four | First round | Second round | Sweet Sixteen | Elite Eight | Final Four | Championship |
| 1 | East | Villanova | N/A | defeated (16) Radford 87–61 | defeated (9) Alabama 81–58 | defeated (5) West Virginia 90–78 | defeated (3) Texas Tech 71–59 | defeated (1) Kansas 95–79 | defeated (3) Michigan 79–62 |
| 1 | West | Xavier | N/A | defeated (16) Texas Southern 103–82 | eliminated by (9) Florida State 70–75 | | | | |
| 8 | South | Creighton | N/A | eliminated by (9) Kansas State 59–69 | | | | | |
| 8 | Midwest | Seton Hall | N/A | defeated (9) NC State 94–83 | eliminated by (1) Kansas 79–83 | | | | |
| 10 | East | Butler | N/A | defeated (7) Arkansas 79–62 | eliminated by (2) Purdue 73–76 | | | | |
| 10 | West | Providence | N/A | eliminated by (7) Texas A&M 69–73 | | | | | |
| | | W–L (%): | 0–0 (–) | 4–2 (.667) | 1–3 (.250) | 1–0 (1.000) | 1–0 (1.000) | 1–0 (1.000) | 1–0 (1.000) Total: 9–5 (.643) |

### National Invitation tournament

Marquette received an invitation to the National Invitation Tournament.
| Seed | Bracket | School | First round | Second round | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Finals |
| 2 | Notre Dame | Marquette | defeated (7) Harvard 67–60 | defeated (3) Oregon 101–92 | eliminated by (4) Penn State | | |
| | | W–L (%): | 1–0 (1.000) | 1–0 (1.000) | 0–1 (.000) | 0–0 (–) | 0–0 (–) Total: 2–1 (.667) |