2017–18 Big East Conference men's basketball season

The 2017–18 Big East Conference men's basketball season began with practices in October 2017, followed by the start of the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season in November. This season marked the 39th year in the conference's history, but the fifth as a non-football conference, which officially formed on July 1, 2013. Conference play began in December 2017. For the first time since the reconfigured Big East formed, Villanova failed to win the regular-season title, with Xavier claiming the crown.

The 2018 Big East men's basketball tournament was held at Madison Square Garden in New York from March 7 through March 10, 2018. Villanova defeated Providence to win the tournament championship and receive the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.

Six Big East schools received bids to the NCAA tournament (Butler, Creighton, Providence, Seton Hall, Villanova, and Xavier). Only Villanova won more than one game in the Tournament, but the Wildcats defeated Michigan to win the NCAA Championship for the second time in three years.

Marquette received a bid to the National Invitation Tournament, where they advanced to the quarterfinals before losing to eventual NIT champions Penn State.

Villanova guard Jalen Brunson was named the Big East Player of the Year and was consensus National Player of the Year. Villanova freshman forward Omari Spellman was named Big East Freshman of the Year. Xavier head coach Chris Mack was named Big East coach of the year.

Head coaches

Coaching changes On March 23, 2017, Georgetown officials announced that John Thompson III had been fired.Santamaria, Paolo B., and Sean Hoffman, "John Thompson III Fired After 2 Consecutive Losing Seasons," thehoya.com, March 23, 2017.Anonymous, "Georgetown fires head coach John Thompson III after 13 years," si.com, March 23, 2017. On April 2, it was reported that Patrick Ewing would replace Thompson as head coach.

On June 9, 2017, Butler head coach Chris Holtmann left to become the head coach at Ohio State. On June 12, the school hired Milwaukee head coach and Bulter alum LaVall Jordan as head coach.

Coaches Team Head coach Previous job Years at school Overall record Big East record Big East titles NCAA tournaments NCAA Final Fours NCAA ChampionshipsButlerLaVall JordanMilwaukee121–149–9 0 1 00CreightonGreg McDermottIowa State8187–9447––430 3 00DePaulDave LeitaoTulsa(asst.)687–9939–63 0 0 00GeorgetownPatrick EwingCharlotte Hornets (asst.)115–155–13 0 0 00MarquetteSteve WojciechowskiDuke(asst.)473–5931–41 0 1 00ProvidenceEd CooleyFairfield7144–9464–62 0 5 00Seton HallKevin Willard Iona8150–11462–82 0 2 00St. John'sChris MullinNone339–6012–42 0 0 00VillanovaJay WrightHofstra17422–165191–1036 13 32XavierChris MackXavier(asst.)9215–9757–331800 Notes: Years at school includes 2017–18 season. Overall and Big East records are from time at current school and are through the end of the 2017–18 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 (8) 2. Seton Hall (1) 3. Xavier (1) 4. Providence 4. Creighton 6. St. John's 7. Marquette 8. Butler 9. Georgetown 10. DePaul(first place votes)

Preseason All-Big East teams Source

Honor Recipient Preseason Player of the YearJalen Brunson, Villanova Preseason All-Big East First TeamKelan Martin, ButlerMarcus Foster, CreightonKhadeen Carrington, Seton HallÁngel Delgado, Seton HallTrevon Bluiett, Xavier Preseason All-Big East Second TeamMarkus Howard, MarquetteRodney Bullock, ProvidenceKyron Cartwright, ProvidenceMarcus LoVett Jr., St. John'sShamorie Ponds, St. John's Preseason All-Big East Honorable MentionKhyri Thomas, CreightonDesi Rodriguez, Seton HallJ. P. Macura, Xavier Preseason Rookie of the YearOmari Spellman, Villanova

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 RV RV RV RV C RVRV RV RV RV RV RV RV RV Creighton AP RV 25RVRV 25 252525 RV RV RV RV RV RV RV C RVRVRV23RV2524232522 RV RV RV RV 25 RV 24 DePaul AP C Georgetown AP C Marquette AP C Providence AP RV RV RV RV RV RV C RVRVRVRVRV Seton Hall AP 23 22 20 RV 19 15 23 232113 19 RV RV RV RV C 23232224191522242115 19 RV RV RV RV RV RV St. John's AP C Villanova AP 6 5 5 4 4 1 (41) 1 (45) 1 (43)3 1 (52) 1 (63) 1 (63) 1 (47) 1 (48) 3 (9) 3 (4) 4 C 665441 (22)1 (26)1 (27)31 (27) 1 (31) 1 (31) 1 (22) 1 (22) 2 (8) 3 (4) 5 Xavier AP 17 15 15 21 13 10 9 6510 11 8 6 5 4 (5) 4 3 C 1717142014985410 12 8 6 5 4 (1) 4 4

Conference matrix This table summarizes the head-to-head results between teams in conference play.   ButlerCreightonDePaulGeorgetownMarquetteProvidenceSeton HallSt. John'sVillanovaXaviervs. Butler – 1–10–21–10–21–12–01–11–12–0vs. Creighton1–1 – 0–20–22–01–11–10–21–12–0vs. DePaul2–02–0 – 1–11–11–12–01–12–02–0vs. Georgetown1–12–01–1 – 2–02–01–10–22–02–0vs. Marquette2–00–21–10–2 – 1–10–21–12–02–0vs. Providence1–11–11–10–21–1 – 2–00–21–11–1vs. Seton Hall0–21–10–21–12–00–2 – 0–22–02–0vs. St. John's1–12–01–12–01–12–02–0 – 1–12–0vs. Villanova1–11–10–20–20–21–10–21–1 – 0–2vs. Xavier0–20–20–20–20–21–10–20–22–0 – Total9–910–84–145–139–910–810–84–1414–415–3

Player of the week Throughout the season, the Big East Conference named a player of the week and a freshman of the week each Monday. Week Player of the week Freshman of the week November 13, 2017Kelan Martin, ButlerOmari Spellman, Villanova November 20, 2017Trevon Bluiett, XavierTy-Shon Alexander, Creighton November 27, 2017Jalen Brunson, VillanovaMitch Ballock, Creighton December 4, 2017Desi Rodriguez, Seton HallOmari Spellman (2), Villanova December 11, 2017Markus Howard, MarquetteMitch Ballock (2), Creighton December 18, 2017Jalen Brunson (2), VillanovaOmari Spellman (3), Villanova December 26, 2017Marcus Foster, CreightonMitch Ballock (3), Creighton January 2, 2018Kelan Martin (2), ButlerJamal Cain, MarquetteJanuary 8, 2018Markus Howard (2), MarquetteJahvon Blair, GeorgetownJanuary 15, 2018Kelan Martin (3), ButlerNaji Marshall, XavierJanuary 22, 2018J. P. Macura, XavierOmari Spellman (4), VillanovaJanuary 29, 2018Marcus Foster (2), CreightonNaji Marshall (2), XavierFebruary 5, 2018Shamorie Ponds, St. John'sOmari Spellman (5), VillanovaFebruary 12, 2018Shamorie Ponds (2), St. John'sJamorko Pickett, GeorgetownFebruary 19, 2018Mikal Bridges, VillanovaNaji Marshall (3), XavierFebruary 26, 2018Khadeen Carrington, Seton HallNaji Marshall (4), XavierMarch 4, 2018Andrew Rowsey, MarquetteOmari Spellman (6), Villanova

Honors and awards

Big East Awards

2018 Big East Men's Basketball Individual Awards Award Recipient(s)Player of the YearJalen Brunson, G., VillanovaCoach of the YearChris Mack, XavierDefensive Player of the YearKhyri Thomas, G., CreightonFreshman of the YearOmari Spellman, G., VillanovaMost Improved Player of the YearMyles Powell, F., Seton. HallScholar-Athlete of the YearJalen Brunson, G., ButlerSixth Man AwardDonte DiVincenzo, G., VillanovaSportsmanship AwardTyler Wideman, F., Butler

2018 Big East Men's Basketball All-Conference Teams First Team Second Team Honorable Mention All-Freshman TeamTrevon Bluiett†, Xavier Jalen Brunson†, Villanova Mikal Bridges, Villanova Marcus Foster, Creighton Kelan Martin†, Butler Shamorie Ponds, St. John'sÁngel Delgado, Seton Hall Marcus Derrickson, Georgetown Markus Howard, Marquette Desi Rodriguez, Seton Hall Khyri Thomas, CreightonAndrew Rowsey, Marquette Kyron Cartwright, ProvidenceMitch Ballock, Creighton Jahvon Blair, Georgetown Naji Marshall†, Xavier Jamorko Pickett†, Georgetown Omari Spellman†, Villanova Nate Watson, Providence†unanimous selectionSources

Postseason

2018 Big East tournament

NCAA tournament

The winner of the Big East tournament, Villanova, received the conference's automatic bid to the 2018 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament. Seed Region School First Four First round Second round Sweet Sixteen Elite Eight Final Four Championship1EastVillanovaN/Adefeated (16) Radford 87–61defeated (9) Alabama 81–58defeated (5) West Virginia 90–78defeated (3) Texas Tech 71–59defeated (1) Kansas 95–79defeated (3) Michigan 79–621WestXavierN/Adefeated (16) Texas Southern 103–82eliminated by (9) Florida State 70–758SouthCreightonN/Aeliminated by (9) Kansas State 59–698MidwestSeton HallN/Adefeated (9) NC State 94–83eliminated by (1) Kansas 79–8310EastButlerN/Adefeated (7) Arkansas 79–62eliminated by (2) Purdue 73–7610WestProvidenceN/Aeliminated by (7) Texas A&M 69–73W–L (%): Total:

National Invitation tournament

Marquette received an invitation to the National Invitation Tournament. Seed Bracket School First round Second round Quarterfinals Semifinals Finals2Notre DameMarquettedefeated (7) Harvard 67–60defeated (3) Oregon 101–92eliminated by (4) Penn StateW–L (%): Total:

References

External links Big East website