The many questions surrounding the Big East with conference play tipping off
The Big East season starts in earnest this week and The Post’s Zach Braziller takes a look at the storylines to watch as league play begins.Creighton has already lost key guard Pop Isaacs to season-ending hip surgery.On Monday, Xavier announced that forward Zach Freemantle will be out indefinitely due to a knee injury.
It already lost its projected starting center, Long Beach State transfer Lassina Traore, in the summer to a season-ending knee injury.And Providence has only had the services of star forward Bryce Hopkins, coming off a torn ACL, for three of its 12 games.
All three teams had their struggles during the non-conference, particularly Providence, which is 0-3 against the Atlantic 10.Of the three, Creighton is the best bet to reach the NCAA Tournament, particularly if highly-regarded European sharpshooter Fedor Žugić gets cleared.
The Bluejays are still waiting to hear about his status.Despite Saturday’s loss at Dayton, Marquette should be favored to win the regular season.It has the Big East’s best player in senior point guard Kam Jones and by far the most continuity with six of its top eight leading scorers back from a year ago.
The Golden Eagles own wins over Wisconsin, Purdue, Georgia and Maryland and have a shot at a No.1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
While Connecticut bounced back after the nightmarish 0-3 trip to Hawaii with wins over Baylor, Texas and Gonzaga, I’m not sold that the Huskies repeat as regular season champions.There are still defensive issues – UConn is 69th in defensive efficiency – and questions at point guard.
St.John’s is capable of challenging these two if Kadary Richmond can find his game and the recent version of Zuby Ejiofor is here to stay.
A third-place finish for Rick Pitino’s squad, however, is more likely.A year ago, Georgetown and DePaul were two of the worst power-conference teams in the country.They went a combined 2-38 in league play.
Both appear improved, with just three non-conference losses ...