The 2016–17 Big East Conference men's basketball season began with practices in October 2016, followed by the start of the 2016–17 NCAA Division I men's basketball season in November. This season marked the 38th year in the conference's history, but the fourth as a non-football conference, which officially formed on July 1, 2013. Conference play began on December 31, 2016.

Villanova clinched the regular season championship, their fourth straight Big East regular season championship, with a win over No. 23-ranked Creighton on February 25. Butler finished second, three games behind Villanova.

Villanova shooting guard Josh Hart was named the conference's Player of the Year. Butler head coach Chris Holtmann was named Big East Coach of the Year.

The Big East Conference tournament at Madison Square Garden in New York from March 8 through March 11, 2017. Villanova also won the Big East Conference tournament beating Creighton in the Tournament championship game. As a result, Villanova received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.

Seven Big East Schools (Villanova, Butler, Creighton, Marquette, Providence, Seton Hall, and Xavier) received bids to the NCAA Tournament. The conference finished with a 5–7 record in the Tournament, highlighted by Butler reaching the Sweet Sixteen and Xavier advancing to the Elite Eight.

Head coaches

Coaches Team Head coach Previous job Years at school Overall record Big East record Big East titles NCAA Tournaments NCAA Final Fours NCAA ChampionshipsButlerChris HoltmannButler (asst.)370–3134–20 0 3 00CreightonGreg McDermottIowa State7165–8137––350 2 00DePaulDave LeitaoTulsa (asst.)576–7935–49 0 0 00GeorgetownJohn Thompson III Princeton13278–151 131–94 3 8 10MarquetteSteve WojciechowskiDuke (asst.)352–4522–32 0 1 00ProvidenceEd CooleyFairfield6123–8054–54 0 4 00Seton HallKevin Willard Iona7128–10252–74 0 2 00St. John'sChris MullinNone222–438–28 0 0 00VillanovaJay WrightHofstra16386–161177–99 5 12 21XavierChris MackXavier (asst.)8187–9142–300700 Notes: Year at school includes 2016–17 season. Overall and Big East records are from time at current school and are through the end the 2016–17 season. Mack's A-10 and McDermott's MVC conference records not included since teams began play in Big East.

Preseason

Preseason poll Prior to the season, the Big East conducted a poll of Big East coaches, coaches do not place their own team on their ballots. RankTeam 1. Villanova (9) 2. Xavier (1) 3. Creighton T-4. Georgetown T-4. Seton Hall 6. Butler 7. Marquette 8. St. John's 9. Providence 10. DePaul(first place votes)

Preseason All-Big East teams Source

Honor Recipient Preseason Player of the Year Josh Hart, Villanova Preseason All-Big East First TeamKelan Martin, ButlerMaurice Watson, CreightonKris Jenkins, VillanovaTrevon Bluiett, XavierEdmond Sumner, Xavier Preseason All-Big East Second Team Billy Garrett, DePaulIsaac Copeland, GeorgetownLuke Fischer, MarquetteKhadeen Carrington, Seton HallÁngel Delgado, Seton Hall Preseason All-Big East Honorable MentionMarcus Foster, CreightonL. J. Peak, GeorgetownJalen Brunson, Villanova Preseason Rookie of the YearShamorie Ponds, St. John's

Regular season Rankings + Legend   Increase in ranking   Decrease in ranking   Not ranked previous week   () First place votes

  Pre Wk2 Wk3 Wk4 Wk5 Wk6 Wk7 Wk8 Wk9 Wk10 Wk11 Wk12 Wk13 Wk14 Wk15 Wk16 Wk17 Wk18 Wk19 FinalButler AP RV RV RV 18 16 18 13 13 18 121311162224 22 131821 N/A Coaches RV RV RV 18 15 18 13 13 18 131411152125 22 1120 24 19Creighton AP 22 22 12 10 10 10 910108716222320 23 RV RV RV N/AC 23 20 18 12 101099108716222322 23 RV RV RV NRDePaul AP C Georgetown AP C Marquette AP RV C Providence AP C Seton Hall AP RV RV RV RVRVRV RV RV C RV RV RV RVRVRV St. John's AP C Villanova AP 4 (4) 3 (5) 2 (21) 2 (20) 1 (57)1 (56)1 (56)1 (56)1 (59)3 (1)1 (28)1 (35)4 (4)2 (6)2 (5) 2 (5) 2 (2) 2 (2) 1 (59)N/AC 3 (1) 3 (2) 2 (4) 2 (5) 1 (28)1 (28)1 (28)1 (27)1 (30)3 (1)2 (4)2 (11)4 (1)2 (4)2 (3) 2 (5) 2 (2) 2 (2) 1 (27) 8Xavier AP 7 11 9 7 1313171716152224RV24RV NR NR NR NR N/AC 8 10 8 7 1417171715141922RV25RV RV RV NR RV 18

Conference matrix This table summarizes the head-to-head results between teams in conference play through February 14, 2017.   ButlerCreightonDePaulGeorgetownMarquetteProvidenceSeton HallSt. John'sVillanovaXaviervs. Butler – 2–00–21–10–21–11–11–10–20-2vs. Creighton0–2 – 0–20–22–01–11–10–22–01–1vs. DePaul2–02–0 – 1–12–01–12–02–02–02-0vs. Georgetown1–11–11–1 – 1–12–02–01–12–02–0vs. Marquette2–00–20–21–1 – 2–01–11–11–10-2vs. Providence1–11–11–10–20–2 – 1–11–12–01-1vs. Seton Hall1–11–10–20–21–11–1 – 1–12–01-1vs. St. John's1–12–00–21–11–11–11–1 – 2–02–0vs. Villanova2–00–20–20–21–10–20–20–2 – 0–2vs. Xavier2–01–10–20–22–01–11–10–22–0 – Total12–610–82–145–1310–810–810–87–1115–39-9 Player of the week Source Week Player of the week Freshman of the week November 14, 2016Rodney Pryor, GeorgetownSam Hauser, Marquette November 21, 2016Josh Hart, VillanovaMyles Powell, Seton Hall November 28, 2016Marcus Foster, CreightonJustin Patton, Creighton December 5, 2016Rodney Bullock, ProvidenceJustin Patton, Creighton December 12, 2016Josh Hart, VillanovaShamorie Ponds, St. John's December 19, 2016Kelan Martin, ButlerKamar Baldwin, Butler December 26, 2016Marcus Foster, CreightonShamorie Ponds, St. John's January 2, 2017Jalen Brunson, VillanovaShamorie Ponds, St. John's January 9, 2017Desi Rodriguez, Seton HallJustin Patton, Creighton January 16, 2017L. J. Peak, GeorgetownMarkus Howard, Marquette January 23, 2017Josh Hart, VillanovaKamar Baldwin, Butler January 30, 2017Trevon Bluiett, XavierShamorie Ponds, St. John'sFebruary 6, 2017Trevon Bluiett, XavierMarcus Lovett, St. John'sFebruary 13, 2017Josh Hart, VillanovaMarcus Lovett, St. John'sFebruary 20, 2017Khadeen Carrington,Seton HallMarkus Howard, MarquetteFebruary 27, 2017Kelan Martin, ButlerShamorie Ponds, St. John'sMarch 5, 2017Angel Delgado, Seton HallMarkus Howard, Marquette

Honors and awards

All-Big East Awards and Teams

2017 Big East Men's Basketball Individual Awards Award Recipient(s)Player of the YearJosh Hart, G./F., VillanovaCoach of the YearChris Holtmann, ButlerDefensive Player of the YearKhyri Thomas, G., CreightonMikal Bridges, F., VillanovaJosh Hart, G./F., VillanovaFreshman of the YearJustin Patton, C., CreightonMost Improved Player of the YearKyron Cartwright, G., ProvidenceScholar-Athlete of the YearBilly Garrett Jr., G., DePaulSixth Man AwardAndrew Rowsey, G., MarquetteSportsmanship AwardBilly Garrett Jr., G., DePaul

2017 Big East Men's Basketball All-Conference Teams First Team Second Team Honorable Mention All-Freshman TeamAndrew Chrabascz, Butler Marcus Foster*, Creighton Ángel Delgado*, Seton Hall Jalen Brunson*, Villanova Josh Hart*, Villanova Trevon Bluiett, XavierKelan Martin, Butler Justin Patton, Creighton Rodney Bullock, Providence Kyron Cartwright, Providence Khadeen Carrington, Seton HallRodney Pryor, Georgetown Kris Jenkins, VillanovaKamar Baldwin*, Butler Justin Patton*, Creighton Markus Howard, Marquette Marcus LoVett Jr.*, St. John’s Shamorie Ponds*, St. John's Donte DiVincenzo, Villanova* unanimous selectionSources

Postseason

2017 Big East tournament

GameTime*MatchupScoreTelevisionAttendance First round – Wednesday, March 817:00 pmNo. 9 Georgetown vs. No. 8 St. John's73–74FS114,83029:30 pmNo. 10 DePaul vs. No. 7 Xavier64–75 Quarterfinals – Thursday, March 9312:00 pmNo. 8 St. John's vs. No. 1 Villanova 67–108FS117,32442:30 pmNo. 5 Seton Hall vs. No. 4 Marquette 82–7657:00 pmNo. 7 Xavier vs. No. 2 Butler62–5716,00369:30 pmNo. 6 Creighton vs. No. 3 Providence70–58 Semifinals – Friday, March 1076:30 pmNo. 5 Seton Hall vs. No. 1 Villanova 53–55FS119,81289:30 pmNo. 7 Xavier vs. No. 6 Creighton72–75 Championship – Saturday, March 1195:30 pmNo. 1 Villanova vs. No. 6 Creighton74–60FOX19,812 *Game times in Eastern Time. Tournament seed in parentheses. Rankings denote Associated Press Poll ranking.

NCAA tournament

The winner of the Big East tournament received an automatic bid to the 2017 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament. Seed Region School First Four Round of 64 Round of 32 Sweet 16 Elite Eight Final Four Championship 1 East Villanova  (16) Mount St. Mary's - W, 76–56 (8) Wisconsin - L, 62–65 4 South Butler  (13) Winthrop - W, 76–64 (12) Middle Tennessee - W, 74–65 (1) North Carolina - L, 80–92 6 Midwest Creighton  (11) Rhode Island - L, 84–72 9 South Seton Hall  (8) Arkansas - L, 71–77 10 East Marquette  (7) South Carolina - L, 73–93 11 West Xavier  (6) Maryland - W, 76–65 (3) Florida State - W, 91–66 (2) Arizona - W, 73–71 (1) Gonzaga - L, 59–83 11 East Providence (11) USC - L, 71–75 W–L (%):0–1 ()3–3 ()2–1 ()1–1 ()0–1 ()0–0 ()0–0 () Total: 6–7 ()

References

External links Big East website