Player of the Week
Jermaine Samuels (Villanova)
Jermaine Samuels had himself a day in Villanova game against Georgetown dropping a career high 32 points. He typically is a role player for Villanova, especially on the defensive end, having only two points in their previous game. He shot 85.7% from the three and brought in 6 rebounds, 3 steals and 5 assists. By far his best game all year, this is the boost of confidence Samuels needed to help get Villanova going after their loss to Saint John’s.
Who’s Hot
Bryce Nze (Butler)
In his last three games, Nze has been providing for the Bulldogs averaging 17 points. His last game against DePaul he scored his career high at Butler leading his team in scoring with 22 points. He has been shooting the ball well behind the arc at 44% this season. Overall, he has been efficient recently shooting 65% from the field.
Julian Champagnie (Saint John’s)
Saint John’s is the hottest team in the Big East right now with five straight wins thanks to the talent of Champagnie. He has already made our list several times this season and he continues to shoot the lights out from the three. He has now recorded two straight double-doubles in their most recent wins over Providence and Villanova. He’s such hard player to guard considering he has the best three point shot in the league and he can easily drive right past you to the bucket.
Who’s Not
Providence
What’s the biggest reason why Providence has lost their last three games? David Duke scored a combined 20 points in those three games. There’s been multiple instances this season when Duke scored more than 20 in a single game. When he can’t get himself going the entire providence offense suffers. Typically, the defense focuses on him, but if he struggles that allows other teams to shut down Providence’s other offensive threats such as Nate Watson and A.J. Reeves.
DePaul
They are continuing to fall back in the Big East and are probably the worst team in the conference. They are on a three-game losing streak and it seems they don’t have a leader on this team since their leading scorer is changing every game. In their last three games they have shot 37% from the field. Standing currently last in the Big East with one conference win, DePaul will look to grab some wins to get a better seed in the Big East tournament.
Top 5 6th man
#5 Cole Swider (Villanova)
Villanova’s most recent 6th man wonder was Donte DiVincenzo, who won the 6th man of the year award in the Big East back in the 2017-2018 season. Swider is not at the level of talent that DiVincenzo was at, but he still provides solid minutes off the bench for the Wildcats. He’s a big body that can hit the three from deep. His biggest weakness right now is his lateral quickness.
#4 Adam Kunkel (Xavier)
The transfer from Belmont was granted immediate eligibility for the 2020-2021 season. He’s averaging 7.5 points per game for the Musketeers. Kunkel has been clutch for Xavier this season with a huge game winner over Marquette. He also recorded 22 points in that game.
#3 Donald Carey (Georgetown)
Carey is a consistent role player that is essential in a conference like this. He has had a pair of back-to-back 19-point games this season. He also understands his role and can get stops on defense. He averages 9.3 points per game and he does it efficiently shooting 50% from the field.
#2 Chuck Harris (Butler)
Another freshman who is beginning to shine in the Big East, Harris is averaging 11.1 points per game this season. He’s coming off a 22-point performance over DePaul. It’s impressive to see him come off the bench, only playing around 25 minutes a game, and have several double-digit games.
#1 Justin Lewis (Marquette)
Lewis is probably one of the best freshmen in the Big East behind his teammate Dawson Garcia He hasn’t played recently due to a leg injury, but he has been electric this season when healthy. He can shine on offense with his biggest game being 18 points this season over No. 4 Wisconsin where he had a game winner. He does provide a solid body for Marquette off the bench and is a great defender.