Big East What To Watch: Week Four

Did y’all make it through Feast Week safely?

Well, hopefully you did, and you’re ready for another week of hoops in the Big East. It’s a big week, as the men’s division will be going through their yearly tilt with the Big 12 in a series of games up and down the league and the women will be bolting headlong into league play after Creighton & Xavier officially got it started last week.

There’s a lot of highlights on the schedule, so let’s just get right to it!

Tuesday, November 29: Marquette Golden Eagles vs #6 Baylor Bears (7:30pm Central, FS1) — If you get a highly ranked team at home like this, it goes on the highlights for the week. It’s a big opportunity for Marquette to get their first statement win of the season, and it will be the first game in nearly a week for the Bears. How much will Saturday’s rough patch against Chicago State benefit the Golden Eagles in this one?

Wednesday, November 30: Providence Friars at RV TCU Horned Frogs (7pm Central, ESPN+) — I’m putting this together on Sunday morning and then holding it until after the new polls come out because of the lack of games on Monday this week. Whether TCU gets into the top 25 this week or not, this is clearly a big spot for Providence after they went oh-fer against their only top 200 opponents in their multi-team event. Going on the road to Fort Worth just adds to the level of difficulty here, and I’m not convinced that the Friars are ready for Prime Time yet.

Thursday, December 1: #7 Creighton Bluejays at #2 Texas Longhorns (6pm Central, ESPN) — I don’t have to explain my art to you.

Thursday, December 1: Seton Hall Pirates at #9 Kansas Jayhawks (8pm Central, ESPN) — Let’s be honest about what we saw over the weekend: Seton Hall got lucky to beat Memphis and then fell apart against Oklahoma and kept right on falling apart against Siena. Then new head coach Shaheen Holloway decided to yell about how none of his players want to play, and he’s 100% having a normal one. Congrats, Pirates, your reward for losing to Siena is a trip to luxurious Allen Fieldhouse, I hope you survive the experience.

Friday, December 2: #24 Marquette Golden Eagles at Georgetown Hoyas (10am Central, FloSports) — I’m not highlighting this because I think it’s a very good game that everyone should pay attention to, nor am I highlighting it because it is Marquette’s first defense of their brand new shiny top 25 ranking. I’m highlighting this because this is the first women’s basketball game of the week in the Big East. What the H, everyone? I get that there’s 5 conference contests on Friday, so everyone except for DePaul is in action here.... but NO ONE is playing between Sunday evening and Friday morning? COME ON.

Friday, December 2: #13 Creighton Bluejays at #25 Villanova Wildcats (6pm Central, FloSports) — Two ranked teams with great starts to the season butting heads, what’s not to like? It’s only the league opener for Villanova, as the Bluejays moved to 1-0 and top of the table with a 57-51 win over Xavier back on Friday to remain undefeated so far this season.

Saturday, December 3: Marquette Golden Eagles vs RV Wisconsin Badgers (3:30pm Central, FS1) — If Marquette beats Baylor, they have to follow it up with a win here. If Marquette loses to Baylor, they can not let this game slide past them without a win. Oh, and it’s also one of the best non-conference rivalry series that the league has to offer, which is neat.

Saturday, December 3: Xavier Musketeers at RV West Virginia Mountaineers (5:30pm Central, FS1) — Both of these squads went through a lot last weekend in their multi-team event which they were in the same field but did not face each other, and now they both need wins. Xavier has a mid-week game against Southeastern Louisiana at home before they get to Morgantown, while the ‘Eers are taking the whole week off to prepare for the X-Men. The Big Question for this one: Which team will learn the most from their respective game tape of both teams playing Florida in Portland last weekend?

Sunday, December 4: #24 Marquette Golden Eagles at Seton Hall Pirates (Noon Central, FloSports) — It’s a clash of two teams coming off strong WNIT runs last season with an eye on the NCAA tournament this season.... but one team (Marquette) is now nationally ranked and clearly on track for that NCAA bid, while the other (Seton Hall) has taken three losses already and can’t afford to let home chances against quality foes slide past them.

Sunday, December 4: RV St. John’s Red Storm at #23 Iowa State Cyclones (2pm Central, ESPN2) — Barring a disaster against LIU, the Johnnies are going to Ames with a perfect record this season and one 25th place AP vote in their back pocket. Iowa State is coming off a weekend where they played both Villanova and Connecticut to jump into the AP top 25. Will St. John’s be able to take advantage of watching film of the Cyclones against teams that they’re familiar with, or will they falter in their first official road game of the season?

Sunday, December 4: #3 Connecticut Huskies at #7 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (2pm Central, ABC) — It’s a big national showdown, what’s not to like? The Irish do have a mid-week home date with a very good Maryland squad in the middle of this, while the Azzi Fudd and the Huskies are coming off their showdown with Iowa on Sunday and a Friday home date with Providence.

Sunday, December 4: #7 Creighton Bluejays vs Nebraska Cornhuskers (3:30pm Central, FS1) — I just like pointing out that Marquette and Creighton, two Big East teams that like wearing blue on a regular basis, both have in-state rivalries against Big Ten opponents in red. There is no logic attached to this, nor is there a prize.

Here’s the full men’s basketball schedule for the week!

Here’s the full women’s basketball schedule for the week!