Big East What To Watch: Week 5

The new AP top 25 polls are out, so let’s jump right into the highlights of the coming week of college basketball in the Big East!

Wednesday, December 7: DePaul Blue Demons at St. John’s Red Storm (5:30pm Central, FS1) — Holy crap, it’s the start of league play for men’s basketball! My brain presumed that no one was starting until roughly around when MU is starting up, but that’s still 11 days away from today!

Wednesday, December 7: #5 Connecticut Huskies at Florida Gators (8pm Central, ESPN2) — This isn’t a super fancy game with the Gators coming in at 6-3 on the year and no top 100 KenPom victories. But, it is still UConn’s first official road game of the season after their 9-0 start, and one does not merely walk into the O-Dome and expect to win.

Thursday, December 8: #6 Connecticut Huskies vs Princeton Tigers (6pm Central, SNY) — Azzi Fudd and the Huskies have this game to follow up their 14 point loss at Notre Dame on Sunday. The Tigers are 1-1 against the Big East this season with a home loss to Villanova and a road win over Seton Hall, so while UConn might be heavily favored, this is a team that they have to take seriously, especially coming off a loss.

Friday, December 9: Georgetown Hoyas at Fairleigh Dickinson Knights (6pm Central, NEC Front Row) — So, I don’t know why the Hoyas are going on the road against FDU, but I do know that FDU is 7-2 on the year, #82 in the first NET ratings of the year, and undefeated at home. James Howard’s team is going to be in for trouble here.

Saturday, December 10: #25 Villanova Wildcats vs Saint Joseph’s Hawks (1pm Central, FloSports) — St. Joe’s is 8-0. They only have one top 100 game so far by way of the NET ratings, and this figures to be their toughest game of the entire season. BUT STILL, and also Maddy Siegrist and the Wildcats are probably going to still be annoyed about their 21 point loss to Creighton back on Friday.

Saturday, December 10: RV Xavier Musketeers at Cincinnati Bearcats (2pm Central, ESPN2) — It’s my favorite non-conference rivalry series in the Big East! Always has been, and the fact that I actually get to cheer against Cincinnati makes it even better.

Saturday, December 10: #18 Creighton Bluejays vs Drake Bulldogs (6pm Central, FloSports) — Drake is undefeated in regulation this year, with their two losses coming in overtime to Iowa and UMass. Then again, they did lose by 17 to UMass in overtime. Still, if “pushed Caitlin Clark and the Hawkeyes to overtime” Drake shows up here, then Creighton is in for some trouble, not to mention that this will be the Bluejays’ first game since falling to St. John’s on Sunday.

Saturday, December 10: #21 Creighton Bluejays vs BYU Cougars (9pm Central, FS1) — The Bluejays have lost three straight right now, and they don’t play again until this game in Las Vegas. The first two losses? Not a problem: A nailbiter finish against a great Arizona team on their third game in three days in Maui and then a narrow defeat on the road against a great Texas team. The third? An awful offensive performance at home against in-state rival Nebraska. The Cougars are not just going to roll over here, and by the way: This is the easier of the two games in Vegas for Creighton.

Sunday, December 11: Butler Bulldogs vs Illinois Fighting Illini (1pm Central, FloSports) — Illinois took their first loss of the year this weekend, falling to Big East title contender Indiana. Butler has yet to beat a top 275 NET team so far in Austin Parkinson’s first season in charge as they have started out 4-4, but this is a fantastic chance for them to take advantage of home court and grab a great victory.

Sunday, December 11: #6 Connecticut Huskies at #20 Maryland Terrapins (2pm Central, ABC) — Two big games for Geno Auriemma’s team this week, and this one’s the biggest game in the whole league this week since it’s the only one with two ranked squads. The Terps are a confusing team so far, taking lopsided losses to South Carolina and Nebraska as well as losing on a neutral floor to a completely confusing DePaul squad, but also they beat Notre Dame and Baylor, both on the road. Beating Notre Dame means Maryland has a transitive win over UConn already, and I’m sure they’d love to get an actual one.

Sunday, December 11: RV Marquette Golden Eagles at Notre Dame Fighting Irish (3pm Central, ESPN2) — Can I interest you in the first meeting between the two teams since the Irish bolted for the financial comfort of the ACC? I knew I could. Notre Dame has won three of the last four meetings in the series dating back to 2011, and Marquette kiiiiiind of needs a win to shore up the non-conference record at this point.

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

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