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Weekend Brunch: Why the Big East has a chance to again become the best conference in college basketball

12 years ago, 11 teams from the then 16-team Big East reached the 2011 NCAA Tournament.

It’s a number that hasn’t been threatened on Selection Sunday since and likely, will never be threatened again.

Two years later in 2013, that 16-team version of the Big East disbanded due to realignment and a new rendition was formed.

The 10 years since have provided pockets of national success, highlighted by Villanova’s two national titles in 2016 and 2018 as well as UConn’s dominant run to the national title last March.

There’s never been a feeling during that time though, that this new version of the Big East was ever again going to be labeled as the best conference in the sport.

That may be about to change.

Due to a few key coaching hires —- most notably Rick Pitino at St. John’s and Ed Cooley at Georgetown — the Big East has a chance to get two of its strongest brands back as additions to an already strong tier at the top of its conference with UConn, Marquette, Creighton, Villanova, and Xavier.

Why are the hires at St. John’s and Georgetown so significant?

Since realignment in 2013, these two programs — who were cornerstone pillars to the original fabric of the Big East in the 1980s — are a combined 1-4 in NCAA Tournament games. The Red Storm have not won an NCAA Tournament game since 2000.

This column isn’t a guarantee that both Pitino and Cooley are going to lead their respective programs to a deep run in the 2024 NCAA Tournament, but the combined won/loss record of St. John’s and Georgetown in the NCAA Tournament over the last decade brings up an interesting point: This version of the Big East has never had a consistent winning presence at either St. John’s or Georgetown, let alone both at the same time.

If either became a regular factor nationally, it would augment a product that currently boasts four teams — Marquette, UConn, Creighton, and Villanova — in the Top 16 of the ROTHSTEIN 45. St. John’s meanwhile is 25th while Xavier and Providence check in at 28 and 38 respectively. That’s seven teams in the Top 38 of the ROTHSTEIN 45.

The credentials of the head coaches in the Big East are also impressive.

Two of the league’s head coaches — Pitino and Dan Hurley (UConn) — have won a national title while three — Pitino, Hurley, and Thad Matta (Butler) — have coached in a national title game; Matta lost to Florida in the 2007 national title game when he was the head coach at Ohio State.

Four of the Big East’s head coaches — Pitino, Hurley, Matta, and Shaka Smart (Marquette) — have coached in the Final Four while three others — Sean Miller (Xavier), Shaheen Holloway (Seton Hall), and Greg McDermott (Creighton) — have taken teams to the Elite Eight. Smart led VCU to the Final Four in 2011 while Miller has advanced to the Elite Eight on four separate occasions — once at Xavier in 2008 and at Arizona in 2011, 2014, and 2015. Holloway led St. Peter’s to the Elite Eight in 2022 prior to taking his current post at Seton Hall.

Here’s a look at how the Big East currently stacks up against the other power conferences in college basketball:

ACC
Number of teams currently in the ROTHSTEIN 45: 4
The Skinny: The ACC is a conference in transition. While Duke and Miami are both Final Four contenders in 2024, North Carolina is trying to recalibrate itself after missing the NCAA Tournament last season. Virginia meanwhile, has not won a game in the NCAA Tournament since winning the national title in 2019. The ACC needs to regain the national mileage that it was getting out of both Florida State and Syracuse, who are a combined 59-69 over the past two seasons.

Big 12
Number of teams currently in the ROTHSTEIN 45: 7
The Skinny: The Big 12 has consistently been the best conference in college basketball in recent years and boasts two of the last three national champions in Kansas (2022) and Baylor (2021). Texas Tech almost won the national title in 2019, but lost to Virginia in overtime in the national title game. Last week, the Big 12 welcomed BYU, Cincinnati, Houston, and UCF to the conference as it prepares for Texas and Oklahoma’s departure to the SEC following next season. There’s no doubt that the Big 12 will again be an excellent basketball conference, but the league may miss something by not continuing to play a double round-robin format during league play moving forward. Because of this change, the Big East is now the only power conference in the sport that will play a true, double round-robin format during league play.

Big Ten
Number of teams currently in the ROTHSTEIN 45: 7
The Skinny: The Big Ten has had 26 teams reach the last four NCAA Tournaments and only four of those teams have advanced to the second weekend. Only one of those four teams that advanced to the second weekend — Michigan in 2021 — reached the Elite Eight. None reached the Final Four. For a league that hasn’t produced a national champion since 2000, it’s tough to take the Big Ten seriously as a conference that could be labeled as the best league in college basketball until it starts regularly performing better in the NCAA Tournament.

Pac-12
Number of teams currently in the ROTHSTEIN 45: 6
The Skinny: The final year for the Pac-12 with both UCLA and USC in the conference before they leave for the Big Ten should feature quality representation in the 2024 NCAA Tournament. Both the Trojans and Arizona are currently in the Top 11 of the ROTHSTEIN 45 while Colorado and UCLA are also ranked in the Top 30. While the league’s uncertainty beyond this upcoming season is undeniable, the 2023-24 campaign should be a quality one for the Pac-12.

SEC
Number of teams currently in the ROTHSTEIN 45: 7
The Skinny: Sheer volume may ultimately be the greatest strength of SEC basketball in its current state. Eight teams from this league reached the 2023 NCAA Tournament and a repeat performance seems within reach for 2024. To nobody’s surprise, the vibe of this conference from a national perspective ultimately hinges on the type of season that Kentucky is having. All leagues need their strongest brands to perform at a high level, but that dynamic is augmented when it comes to the Wildcats and their ability to elevate the SEC.

On The Side

  • Alabama grad transfer Jahvon Quinerly told College Hoops Today that he visited Memphis this week. The former top-100 recruit averaged 8.7 points and 3.6 assists last season.
  • The two college players that stood out the most for Team USA during the FIBA U19 World Cup in Hungary? Villanova’s Mark Armstrong and Tennessee’s Tobe Awaka.
  • Don’t be shocked if two freshmen — DeShawn Harris-Smith and Jamie Kaiser — wind up in the starting lineup for Maryland next season.
  • Louisville’s Kenny Payne will be next week’s guest on the College Hoops Today Podcast.
  • The Atlantic 10 finished last season with just two teams — VCU and Dayton — ranked in the Top 77 of the NET.

Leftovers