2024–25 Big East Conference men's basketball season

The 2024–25 Big East men's basketball season began with practices in October 2024, followed by the start of the 2024–25 NCAA Division I men's basketball season which began in November 2024. Conference play began in December 2024 and ended in March 2025.

Head coaches

Coaching changes DePaul Following the end of the 2023–24 season, interim head coach Matt Brady was replaced by Chris Holtmann as the 16th head coach of the Blue Demons.

Coaches Team Head coach Previous job Years at school Overall record Big East record Big East titles NCAA Tournaments NCAA Final Fours NCAA ChampionshipsButlerThad MattaOhio State430–3315–25 0 13 20UConnDan HurleyRhode Island7106–2971–41 1 6 2 2CreightonGreg McDermottIowa State15245–130123–820 13 00DePaulChris HoltmannOhio State10–00–0 0 7 00GeorgetownEd CooleyProvidence29–232–18 0 0 00MarquetteShaka SmartTexas475–3042–17 1 11 10ProvidenceKim EnglishGeorge Mason221–1410–10 0 0 00Seton HallShaheen HollowaySt. Peter's342–2823–17 0 1 00St. John'sRick PitinoIona220–1311–9 0 21 51VillanovaKyle NeptuneFordham335–3320–200 0 00XavierSean MillerArizona843–2824–1601100 Notes: Years at school includes 2020–21 season. Overall and Big East records are from current school. NCAA Tournament appearances, Final Four & Championships include all schools. McDermott's MVC conference records, Matta's MCC records, Miller's A-10 records, Hurley's AAC records not included since team began play in the Big East, Pitino does not include vacated wins.

Preseason Preseason Big East poll Prior to the conference's annual media day, conference standings were projected by panel of writers.

RankTeamPoints1.UConn 100 (10)2.Creighton 843.Xavier 824.Marquette 74 (1)5.St. John's 706.Providence 547.Villanova 448.Butler 369.Georgetown 2510.Seton Hall 2411.DePaul 12(first place votes)

Preseason All-Big East A select media panel named a preseason All-Big East team and player of the year.

Honor RecipientPreseason Player of the YearRyan Kalkbrenner, CreightonPreseason Freshman of the YearLiam McNeeley, UConnPreseason All-Big East First TeamAlex Karaban, UConnKam Jones, MarquetteBryce Hopkins, ProvidenceKadary Richmond, St. John’sEric Dixon, VillanovaPreseason All-Big East Second TeamPierre Brooks, ButlerJahmyl Telfort, ButlerDeivon Smith, St. John’sZach Freemantle, XavierDayvion McKnight, XavierPreseason All-Big East Third TeamAidan Mahaney, UConnSteven Ashworth, CreightonJayden Epps, GeorgetownWooga Poplar, VillanovaRyan Conwell, Xavier

Preseason All-American teams

PlayerAPCBSFox Sports Ryan Kalkbrenner RV 1st team 1st team Alex Karaban RV 2nd team 2nd team Kam Jones RV 3rd team 3rd team Kadary Richmond 2nd team 3rd team

Preseason watchlists Below is a table of notable preseason watch lists.

PlayerWoodenNaismithNaismith DPOY RobertsonCousyWestErvingMaloneAbdul-Jabbar Eric Dixon, Villanova Bryce Hopkins, Providence Samson Johnson, UConn Kam Jones, Marquette Ryan Kalkbrenner, Creighton Alex Karaban, UConn Malik Mack, Georgetown Aidan Mahaney, UConn Liam McNeeley, UConn Kadary Richmond, St. John's

Regular season Rankings

+ Legend     Improvement in ranking   Drop in ranking   Not ranked previous week RV Received votes but were not ranked in Top 25 of poll NV No votes received (Italics) Number of first place votes

  Pre/Wk 1 Wk2 Wk3 Wk4 Wk5 Wk6 Wk7 Wk8 Wk9 Wk10 Wk11 Wk12 Wk13 Wk14 Wk15 Wk16 Wk17 Wk18 Wk19 Wk20 FinalButler APNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVCNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVUConn AP3 (11)3 (7)2 (7)2 (6)2518111111914192519RVRVNVRVRVRVRVC3 (6)3 (3)2 (3)2 (6)RV20131413101318241824RVRVRVRVRVRVCreighton AP15141421RVRVRVNVNVNVNVRVRVRV24RVRVRVRVRVRVC14131319RVRVRVNVNVNVNVRVRVRV21RV25RVRVRV24DePaul APNVNVNVNVRVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVCNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVGeorgetown APNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVRVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVCNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVMarquette AP181515105698877109111816212025RVRVC17151411449886710911161522202325RVProvidence APRVRVRVRVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVCNVRVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVSeton Hall APNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVCNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVSt. John's APRV2222RVRVRVRVRVRVRVRV201512910766511CRV2521RVRVRVRV24RVRVRV21141089765510Villanova APNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVCNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVXavier APRVRVRV22RVNVNVNVNVRVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVRVNVNVCRVRVRV22RVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNV

Early season tournaments All 11 Big East teams participated in early season tournaments.

Team Tournament FinishButlerArizona Tip-Off1stUConnMaui Invitational8thCreightonPlayers Era Festival7thDePaulDePaul Classic1stGeorgetownGeorgetown MTE1stMarquetteMarquette Challenge1stProvidenceBattle 4 Atlantis8thSeton HallCharleston Classic3rdSt. John'sBahamas Championship3rdVillanovaEmpire Classic2ndXavierFort Myers Tip-Off2nd

Big East Players of the Week Throughout the conference regular season, the Big East offices named one or two players of the week and one or two freshmen of the week each Monday. Week Player of the week School Freshman of the week SchoolNovember 11, 2024 Ryan Kalkbrenner Creighton Thomas Sorber Georgetown November 17, 2024 Kam Jones Marquette Liam McNeeley UConn November 25, 2024 Kam Jones (2) Marquette Thomas Sorber (2) Georgetown December 2, 2024 Jahmyl Telfort Butler Thomas Sorber (3) Georgetown December 9, 2024 Pop Isaacs Creighton Liam McNeeley (2) UConn December 16, 2024 Jayden Epps Georgetown Liam McNeeley (3) UConn December 23, 2024 Alex Karaban UConn Liam McNeeley (4) UConn January 6, 2025 Eric Dixon Villanova Thomas Sorber (4) Georgetown January 13, 2025 RJ Luis Jr. St John's Ryan Mela Providence January 20, 2025 Ryan Kalkbrenner (2) Creighton Ryan Mela (2) Providence January 27, 2025 Kam Jones (3) Marquette Thomas Sorber (5) Georgetown February 3, 2025 Solo Ball UConn Thomas Sorber (6) Georgetown February 10, 2025 RJ Luis Jr. (2) St John's Thomas Sorber (7) Georgetown February 17, 2025 Zach Freemantle Xavier Liam McNeeley (5) UConn February 24, 2025 Kadary Richmond St John's Liam McNeeley (6) UConn March 3, 2025 Eric Dixon (2) Villanova Liam McNeeley (7) UConn

Conference matrix This table summarizes the head-to-head results between teams in conference play. Each team is scheduled to play 20 conference games with at least one game against each opponent.

  ButlerUConnCreightonDePaulGeorgetownMarquetteProvidenceSeton HallSt. John'sVillanovaXaviervs. Butler – 0–00–00–00–00–00–00–00–00–00–0vs. UConn0–0 – 0–00–00–00–00–00–00–00–00–0vs. Creighton0–00–0 – 0–00–00–00–00–00–00–00–0vs. DePaul0–00–00–0 – 0–00–00–00–00–00–00–0vs. Georgetown0–00–00–00–0 – 0–00–00–00–00–00–0vs. Marquette0–00–00–00–00–0 – 0–00–00–00–00–0vs. Providence0–00–00–00–00–00–0 – 0–00–00–00–0vs. Seton Hall0–00–00–00–00–00–00–0 – 0–00–00–0vs. St. John's0–00–00–00–00–00–00–00–0 – 0–00–0vs. Villanova0–00–00–00–00–00–00–00–00–0 – 0–0vs. Xavier0–00–00–00–00–00–00–00–00–00–0 –Total0–00–00–00–00–00–00–00–00–00–00–0

Honors and awards All-Big East awards and teams

Big East Awards

2025 Big East Men's Basketball Individual Awardshttps://www.bigeast.com/news/2025/3/10/mens-basketball-big-east-announces-individual-mbb-awards.aspxhttps://www.bigeast.com/news/2025/3/12/big-east-announces-mens-basketball-major-award-winners.aspx Award Recipient(s)Player of the Year RJ Luis Jr., St. John'sCoach of the Year Rick Pitino, St. John'sDefensive Player of the Year Ryan Kalkbrenner, CreightonFreshman of the Year Liam McNeeley, ConnecticutMost Improved Player of the Year Zuby Ejiofor, St. John’sSixth Man Award Tarris Reed Jr., ConnecticutSportsmanship Award Jerome Hunter, Xavier

2025 Big East Men's Basketball All-Conference Teams First Team Second Team Third Team Freshman Team†Ryan Kalkbrenner, CreightonMicah Peavy, Georgetown†Kam Jones, MarquetteZuby Ejiofor, St. John’s†RJ Luis Jr., St. John’s†Eric Dixon, VillanovaSolo Ball, ConnecticutAlex Karaban, ConnecticutSteven Ashworth, CreightonKadary Richmond, St. John’sZach Freemantle, XavierJahmyl Telfort, ButlerLiam McNeeley, ConnecticutThomas Sorber, GeorgetownDavid Joplin, MarquetteWooga Poplar, VillanovaRyan Conwell, Xavier†Liam McNeeley, Connecticut Jackson McAndrew, Creighton†Thomas Sorber, GeorgetownRoyce Parham, MarquetteOswin Erhunmwunse, ProvidenceRyan Mela, Providence † - denotes unanimous selection

Postseason Big East tournament

NCAA Tournament

The winner of the Big East Tournament will receive the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.

Seed Region School First Four First round Second round Sweet Sixteen Elite Eight Final Four Championship 2 West St. John's Bye W 83–53 vs. Omaha L 66–75 vs. Arkansas DNP 7 South Marquette Bye L 66–75 vs. New Mexico DNP 8 West UConn Bye W 67–59 vs. Oklahoma L 75–77 vs. Florida DNP 9 South Creighton ByeW 89–75 vs. LouisvilleL 70–82 vs. Auburn DNP 11 Midwest Xavier W 86–80 vs. Texas L 73–86 vs. Illinois DNPW–L (%):Total:

National Invitation Tournament

Villanova, Georgetown, Butler, and Providence were invitated to the National Invitation Tournament, but all schools declined the invite.

College Basketball Crown

The following Big East teams will receive invitations to the inaugural College Basketball Crown tournament.

School First round Second round Semifinals Finals Villanova W 85−64 vs. Colorado W 60−59 vs. USC L 98−104OT vs. UCF DNP Georgetown W 85−82 vs. Washington State L 69−81 vs. Nebraska DNP Butler W 86−84 vs. Utah L 93−100 vs. Boise State DNP DePaul L 61−83 vs. Cincinnati DNPW–L (%):Total:

NBA draft

PG Point guard SG Shooting guard SF Small forward PF Power forward C Center

Player Team Round Pick # Position School Thomas Sorber Oklahoma City Thunder 1 15 C Georgetown Liam McNeeley Phoenix Suns 29 SF UConn Ryan Kalkbrenner Charlotte Hornets 2 34 C Creighton Kam Jones San Antonio Spurs 38 SG Marquette Micah Peavy Washington Wizards 40 SF Georgetown

References