Player of the Week

Nate Johnson (Xavier)

This week’s player of the week was a tough decision after several players had sensational performances. The biggest eye catcher had to be Johnson’s 30-point domination in Xavier’s win over Virginia Tech. The Musketeers were without starters Colby Jones, Jerome Hunter and Dieonte Miles. This meant someone had to step it up without key players. Johnson was LOCKED IN. He shot 7 for 11 from beyond the arc including a game winning three. His 10 field goals were his career high alongside 30 points being a career high. The Gardner-Webb transfer, Johnson now leads the team at 13 ppg. Huge win for Xavier without three starters, keep in mind they are still without leading scorer from last season; Zach Freemantle.

Who’s Hot?

DePaul

6-0. The Blue Demons are rolling. It is not like they are playing close games. They have been blowing out the opposition. DePaul sits at third in the Big East in scoring averaging 86 points per game, which is just one point shy of the leaders (UConn and Saint John’s). They have two players, Javon Freeman-Liberty and David Jones, who are inside the top 6 for leading scorers in the Big East. First year head coach Tony Stubblefield is doing something right as the Blue Demons are coming off a commanding victory by 38 points over Eastern Michigan.

Jared Rhoden (Seton Hall)

It was a toss-up between Rhoden and Nate Johnson for the player of the week, but it went to Johnson since Xavier was dealing with illness. Rhoden will easily make the player of the week later this season with the way he has been playing. After the loss to Ohio State, Seton Hall bounced back and won their next two games. If it wasn’t for Rhoden, they wouldn’t have been in a close game against Ohio State. He finished the game with 29 points on 53% shooting from the field. He also was money from the charity stripe making 11 free throws.

Noah Horchler (Providence)

Another guy who was underrated coming in the season, Horchler is proving to be a top scoring option for the Friars. He had a huge game in their win over Saint Peter’s. He shot 9 for 10 from the field, getting a double-double with 25 points, his career high at Providence, and 11 rebounds. The game before he also led the team in scoring in their loss to Virginia. He now is third on the team averaging 11.9 points per game. Vast improvement after averaging only 6.7 last year.

Who’s Not?

Georgetown

The Hoyas are looking like the worst team in the Big East to start this season. They are on a two-game losing streak losing to both San Diego State and Saint Joe’s. To be fair, San Diego State is a solid squad who is a March Madness team, but the loss to Saint Joe’s was detrimental. The Hawks were 2-3 coming into the matchup with losses to Drexel, Monmouth, and USC. This is now the second time Georgetown has made the Who’s Not list. They better turn things around before Big East play starts or else, they could be getting a new head coach for the next season. Disappointing for a team who won the Big East tournament last year.

Saint John’s

Yes, Saint John’s is 5-1 with one tough loss to Indiana, but they looked a little stagnant in their last two games. They won a close game to St. Francis Brooklyn and to NJIT in an overtime thriller. Both of those teams are ranked outside the top 250 teams in the nation according to KenPom. Considering that, they should have easily blown out these opponents. Star player Julian Champagnie struggled against NJIT shooting 35% from the field, but he was still able to score 14 points, his season low. This should be a wakeup call for the Red Storm before Big East play comes around.

Top five-point guards

#5 Dante Harris (Georgetown)

Despite Georgetown’s slow start, Harris is still playing the way he did last year. He seems to be the only reliable and consistent player, averaging 16.6 points in his last three games. He is currently 5th in the Big East averaging 4.4 assists per game. He also is a scrappy defender tied for first in the Big East in steals per game.

#4 Posh Alexander (Saint John’s)

Alexander is continuing his defensive presence from last season, being the guy who is tied with Harris for first in steals per game in the Big East. He is another young guy who does a lot for the Red Storm. He brings the clamps, and he provides for his teammates on offense. He leads the Big East with 6.6 assists per game. He also has not scored below double digits this season.

#3 RJ Cole (UConn)

After being on our who’s not last week, Cole played out of his mind in the Battle 4 Atlantis. In the three games the Huskies played in Atlantis, he averaged 20 points per game. He stepped up big in both overtime games against Auburn and VCU. He is such a clutch player. He buried a contested corner three against Auburn to put them up four until Auburn came down and tied it up forcing overtime after a poor UConn turnover. With James Bouknight gone, Cole will be the go-to guy in the late game situations.

#2 Collin Gillespie (Villanova)

Gillespie remains as the leading guard on Villanova after missing out on the end of the season last year with a MCL injury. Villanova has a history of talented guards, some of which are in the NBA. Gillespie is looking to have a breakout year after the abrupt end to last season. He is averaging 15.5 points per game on a talented Villanova team and is shooting 43% from the three.

#1 Javon Freeman-Liberty (DePaul)

Our player of the week last week earned this spot by leading the Big East in scoring to start the season. He is averaging 23.5 points per game, which sits at 4th in the nation. Contributing to DePaul’s 6-0 start, Freeman-Liberty is going to continue his elite scoring throughout the season. He must be playing with a chip on his shoulder after not even being selected to the Preseason All-Big East first or second team. With the way he is playing, he is one of the early favorites to win Big East player of the year.

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