Player of the Week
Denzel Mahoney (Creighton)
Although Creighton lost after their poor performance against Butler, Mahoney still did everything he could to help his team. Marcus Zegarowski was out again for the Blue Jays so this left Mahoney the opportunity yet again to perform at a higher level. He scored career high 29 points in their matchup against Butler. After two straight 20+ point performances, Mahoney is stepping into the spotlight as one of the top players in the Big East. His game has developed a lot since last season, and it will be promising for his draft stock if he continues to produce the numbers he did in the past two games.
Who’s Hot
Marquette
After blowing a big lead in their loss against UConn, Marquette has won two straight games. Their most recent win came against Saint John’s. They only won the game by two points, but they were in control the majority of the game. They also beat a solid Providence team by 10 points. Freshman Justin Lewis and Dawson Garcia continue to impress scoring double figures in their past two games. Marquette now moves to 4-4 in the conference and will play against DePaul in their next game.
Romeo Weems (DePaul)
DePaul won by 19 points in a midseason out of conference game against Valparaiso. Forward Weems led DePaul in scoring with 20 points. Weems has been struggling in his three games before this matchup. He is a solid two-player that can easily make an impact at the next level. He can sometimes be too passive, which is why he’s had several games when he only scores under 10 points. This last game shows his potential if he is aggressive on offense.
Who’s Not
Providence
The Friars have lost three straight games, two of which were lost on the final possession of the game. In their last game against Marquette, it was obvious that these close games were taking a toll of them. They looked tired and they shot poorly from the field. David Duke needs to be more consistent for Providence. In their loss against Creighton, Duke only had 13 points shooting 26% from the field. He then scored 30 points in their loss to Xavier. Most recently against Marquette he had 17 points but shot yet again 26% from the field. When Duke brings his A game, Providence is a hard team to beat.
Julian Champagnie (Saint John’s)
The Big East player of the week last week, Champagnie couldn’t make a shot in their recent game against UConn. He scored 12 points and shot 22% from the field, making only two out of nine shots. In their previous game against Marquette, he shot 33% from the field but he still scored 20 points. There’s no question that he is a scorer. If he wants to help Saint John’s put more numbers in the win column, he’ll have to be more efficient than he has by understanding his role when things aren’t going his way.
Top 5 All Time Big East Programs (Teams currently in Big East)
#5 Butler
Butler makes this list after making the national championship two years in a row. They lost to Duke by two points in 2010, and by eight points to UConn the following year. Butler was a five and an eight seed respectively in those years. Their journeys to the championship both years were impressive since no one expected them to make it that far. Gordon Hayward had a chance to win the game against Duke from a half court heave that went in and out. Butler has been consistently making march madness appearances and continues to be competitive in the Big East.
#4 Saint John’s
The Red Storm have not been performing as well recently as they did 20 years ago. Historically they’ve had a strong presence in March Madness. In 1952 they made it to the national championship game but lost to Kansas. In 1985 they lost to Georgetown in the final four. Some notable players who went to Saint John’s are Mark Jackson, Chris Mullen and Malik Sealy. Saint John’s has won three Big East championships, which ranks 4th in current teams that are still in the Big East.
#3 Georgetown
Currently tied for the most Big East Championships, Georgetown has had several historic teams. Legend Patrick Ewing led Georgetown to three national championships appearances in four years. He helped contribute to the school’s first and only national championship in 1984. They lost in 1985 in a close game to Villanova. Since Patrick Ewing’s era, the Hoyas have made 20 March Madness appearances. Don’t forget about Allen Iverson, who was dominant in college, was the only other player from Georgetown other than Ewing to get selected first overall in the NBA draft. Ewing is now the head coach for Georgetown.
#2 Villanova
Jay Wright has brought Villanova to national recognition winning two championships in three years. Coach Massimino lead the Wildcats to their first national championship in 1985. Villanova recently has been a dominating team in the Big East and has been one of the top teams in the nation for the past five years. They have now won three straight Big East Championships as they look to compete for the 2021 national championship title. There are currently eight players in the NBA who played at Villanova and Jay Wright will continue to produce players who will make it to the league.
#1 UConn
The Huskies have the most national championships out of all the teams in the Big East. Unlike Villanova and Georgetown, UConn’s championship appearances are spread out featuring different coaches and players. Jim Calhoun accounts for three of these championships in 1999, 2004 and 2011. Then Coach Kevin Ollie was able to win another championship in 2014 as a seven seed in March Madness. Big name players from UConn who are currently in the NBA include Kemba Walker, Andre Drummond and Rudy Gay.