The preseason hype has so far been met. The sky-high expectations? Check.
The Big East was pegged in October as one of the best men’s college basketball leagues in the country, and that seems to be an accurate projection. There are multiple national championship contenders. There is high-level depth. The top nine teams are ranked in the top 63 of KenPom.com’s rankings and four are in the top 18 of the Associated Press top-25 poll.
It feels very much like the old Big East, especially when you factor in the coaching star power of names such as Dan Hurley, Shaka Smart, Sean Miller, Rick Pitino, Thad Matta and Greg McDermott, among others.
The lone downside through the first few weeks of the season has been the soft underbelly of Georgetown and DePaul, two programs that are going to live at the bottom of the conference unless something drastically unforeseen takes place.
The league has shined during non-conference play.
Defending national champion Connecticut won the 2K Sports Classic, beating Indiana and Texas by a combined 30 points. Villanova claimed the Battle 4 Atlantis crown by toppling Texas Tech, North Carolina and Memphis, routing the first and third opponent and getting past the other foe in overtime. Marquette, last year’s regular-season and conference tournament champ, waxed Kansas in the semifinals of the prestigious Maui Invitational and came up just three points short in the title game against Purdue, the No. 1 team in the AP poll.
Overall, the Big East’s top eight is 13-6 against power-conference opponents. Seton Hall, DePaul and Georgetown have yet to carry their weight, going 0-4 against similar foes.
The next nine days provide more tests, in the form of the Big 12 vs. Big East Battle, a matchup of the two premier leagues in the country. Surprising Butler takes on Texas Tech on Thursday. Xavier hosts No. 6 Houston on Friday, and UConn visits Kansas in a showdown of top-five teams the same night. And Marquette hosts Texas next Wednesday.
With that in mind, let’s assess the Big East tiers early this season.
Tier 1: Marquette, UConn
Title contenders. Teams that can beat anyone. Experienced groups that have experienced success together. Both have already won big games. Marquette may have the best point guard in the country in Tyler Kolek, last year’s Big East Player of the Year, and Connecticut hasn’t lost much since March’s dominant run despite the departures of Andre Jackson Jr., Jordan Hawkins and Adama Sanogo. On Monday, the Huskies set an NCAA record with their 24th straight non-conference double-digit win with a 20-point victory over New Hampshire.
Connecticut is one of four teams ranked in the top 10 in both offensive and defensive efficiency — Arizona, Purdue and Houston are the others. Marquette may be better this season, if the exceptional early-season play of big man Oso Ighodaro (15.0 points, 7.3 rebounds, 1.3 assists) is an indication of the leap the senior has taken.
Tier 2: Creighton, Villanova
Remember the knee-jerk reactions to Villanova’s loss at Penn? The silly suggestion that second-year coach Kyle Neptune was already in trouble? You’re not hearing any of that now after the Wildcats reeled off wins over Maryland, Texas Tech, North Carolina and Memphis. Nor should you. It was ridiculous then, too. This is a Final Four contender, a team with scoring depth, positional versatility and a clear superstar in senior guard Justin Moore.
Like the big two in this conference, Creighton has returning standouts in Trey Alexander, Baylor Scheierman and Ryan Kalkbrenner to lead it in tough times, and I fully expect them to respond after a stunning 21-point loss to Colorado State. Road games against Oklahoma State and undefeated Nebraska over the next week will be fun early tests of this group’s ability to handle adversity.
Tier 3: Butler, St. John’s, Xavier
Forget the NCAA Tournament. Butler wasn’t even a top-100 team the past two season. This group looks different. The Bulldogs already have top-100 wins over Boise State and Penn State, a narrow loss to No. 13 Florida Atlantic and the balance at both ends of the floor they used to be known for. Michigan State transfer Pierre Brooks, shooting 41 percent from 3-point land, has been an early star.
St. John’s started slow under Rick Pitino, perhaps not surprising given a completely new roster. But it has come on of late, blasting Utah to finish third in the Charleston Classic and following that up with a 46-point pasting of Holy Cross. Now highly regarded UMass transfer RJ Luis is back after missing two months with a fractured left hand, giving the Johnnies a much-needed shot creator on the wing. A trip to West Virginia on Friday looms.
Xavier took a hit with offseason injuries to projected starting forwards Zach Freemantle and Jerome Hunter, lowering its ceiling. It still has the look of a tournament team early on, though, buoyed by immediate-impact transfer guard Quincy Olivari (Rice) and impressive sophomore wing Desmond Claude. Most noteworthy has been the Musketeers’ defense, ranked 30th in efficiency, which keyed a strong neutral-site victory over Saint Mary’s, the preseason pick to win the West Coast Conference. They did suffer a bad loss on Monday, however, dropping a home contest to mid-major Oakland of the Horizon League.
📱 Join the Inside St. John’s text-message conversation to keep up with all the behind-the-scenes buzz around Rick Pitino’s Red Storm and to get your Johnnies questions answered by reporter Zach Braziller.
Tier 4: Seton Hall
After cruising to four easy wins against inferior competition to start the season, the Pirates were given a reality check in San Diego, starting poorly in a pair of losses to USC and Iowa. The preseason pick of No. 9 in the league feels right for a team with very little frontcourt depth and limited high-end talent. One major bright spot: Freshman wing Isaiah Coleman, averaging 6.7 points and 1.2 steals in 18.3 minutes, looks like a player.
Tier 5: DePaul, Georgetown
I’m still stunned Georgetown lost at home to Holy Cross after seeing the Patriot League school get demolished by St. John’s. Ed Cooley will get it going eventually with the Hoyas, but this isn’t the season. Rebuilds can take time, even in the transfer portal era.
As for DePaul, well, the Blue Demons are 1-5 and their next five games are Iowa State, Texas A&M, Louisville, Northwestern and Villanova. This team has already dropped home contests to Purdue Fort Wayne and Northern Illinois. Tony Stubblefield’s seat is already hot after a 10-win season last winter.
Today’s back page
Mock draft season
Cheer up, Jets fans. There is a bright side to this season going sideways: a high draft pick.
The Jets, now sitting at 4-7, are just one game out of picking as high as No. 4 overall.
Though the frustration is obviously warranted and fans may be tired of talking about the draft before January, it is worth thinking about.
The Jets still have road games against the Dolphins and Browns, which are likely losses. Their best chances for wins come in home dates with the Falcons on Sunday and the Commanders on Christmas Eve along with a trip to face the Patriots to close out the season.
Barring a trade down, it seems likely the Jets would look to beef up their woeful offensive line, and there could be very good options available in offensive tackles such as Olu Fashanu of Penn State and Joe Alt of Notre Dame.
I also wonder if the Jets would consider a skill-position player such as wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. of Ohio State (likely off the board in the top three) or tight end Brock Bowers of Georgia.
The offense clearly needs a lot of help, and there are enticing possibilities out there.
Cat scratched
Now more than ever, one position dictates everything in the NFL.
You either have a quarterback or you don’t. It costs jobs. It makes or breaks seasons.
The Panthers drafted the wrong player, and Frank Reich was fired on Monday after 11 games.
Had the Panthers selected C.J. Stroud and not Bryce Young, is Reich on the unemployment line? Probably not.
Bill Belichick hasn’t looked like a genius since Tom Brady left New England, going 27-34 over the past four seasons.
The Jets went from a Super Bowl contender with Aaron Rodgers to playing out the string by Thanksgiving yet again. The Bengals have become an afterthought since Joe Burrow was lost for the season.
Look at the best teams in the league — Eagles, Dolphins, Chiefs, Ravens, Jaguars and 49ers — and almost all of them have quality quarterbacks. Only the 49ers probably don’t fit into the category.
The same can be said for the past several Super Bowl champions. Having a quality quarterback doesn’t make you an instant contender, but it sure is hard to get there without one.
What we’re reading 👀
⚾ The nine-figure bidding for Japanese hurler Yoshinobu Yamamoto could rekindle the rivalry between the Yankees and Mets, writes The Post’s Mike Vaccaro.
🏈 Giants GM Joe Schoen carefully said his “expectation” is Daniel Jones will be the starting quarterback next year. The Post’s Steve Serby makes the case the Giants shouldn’t hesitate to take a QB in the draft.
🏒 Kaapo Kakko’s ugly-looking leg injury cast a pall over the Rangers’ 5-1 loss to the Sabres.
🏒 More Rangers: The Post’s Larry Brooks checks in on Jacob Trouba, the throwback who has become the NHL’s biggest villain. “Who cares about being polite? The Blueshirts have been too damn polite for too many damn years,” Brooks writes.
⚾ The Mets added to their front office with the hiring of Scott Havens, the former Bloomberg Media CEO, to run business operations.
🏀 Josh Hart has struggled from the 3-point line, and curiously said he doesn’t “feel included” in the Knicks’ offense.
🏀 The worst loss of LeBron James’ NBA career. “A lot” needs to change for the Lakers, he said afterward.
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