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2017–18 Big East Conference men's basketball season

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2017–18 Big East Conference men's basketball season
LeagueNCAA Division I
SportBasketball
Number of teams10
TV partner(s)CBS, CBSSN, FOX, FS1, FSN
Regular season
2018 Big East ChampionsXavier
Season MVPJalen Brunson, Villanova
Tournament
ChampionsVillanova
  Runners-upProvidence
Finals MVPMikal Bridges, Villanova
Basketball seasons
2017–18 Big East men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 3 Xavier 15 3   .833 29 6   .829
No. 2 Villanova 14 4   .778 36 4   .900
Seton Hall 10 8   .556 22 12   .647
Creighton 10 8   .556 21 12   .636
Providence 10 8   .556 21 14   .600
Butler 9 9   .500 21 14   .600
Marquette 9 9   .500 21 14   .600
Georgetown 5 13   .278 15 15   .500
St. John's 4 14   .222 16 17   .485
DePaul 4 14   .222 11 20   .355
2018 Big East tournament winner
Rankings from AP poll

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

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Coaching changes

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On March 23, 2017, Georgetown officials announced that John Thompson III had been fired.[1][2][3] On April 2, it was reported that Patrick Ewing would replace Thompson as head coach.[4]

On June 9, 2017, Butler head coach Chris Holtmann left to become the head coach at Ohio State.[5] On June 12, the school hired Milwaukee head coach and Bulter alum LaVall Jordan as head coach.[6]

Coaches

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Team Head coach Previous job Years at school Overall record Big East record Big East titles NCAA tournaments NCAA Final Fours NCAA Championships
Butler LaVall Jordan Milwaukee 1 21–14 9–9 0 1 0 0
Creighton Greg McDermott Iowa State 8 187–94 47––43 0 3 0 0
DePaul Dave Leitao Tulsa
(asst.)
6 87–99 39–63 0 0 0 0
Georgetown Patrick Ewing Charlotte Hornets (asst.) 1 15–15 5–13 0 0 0 0
Marquette Steve Wojciechowski Duke
(asst.)
4 73–59 31–41 0 1 0 0
Providence Ed Cooley Fairfield 7 144–94 64–62 0 5 0 0
Seton Hall Kevin Willard Iona 8 150–114 62–82 0 2 0 0
St. John's Chris Mullin None 3 39–60 12–42 0 0 0 0
Villanova Jay Wright Hofstra 17 422–165 191–103 6 13 3 2
Xavier Chris Mack Xavier
(asst.)
9 215–97 57–33 1 8 0 0

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

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Preseason poll

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Prior to the season, the Big East conducted a poll of Big East coaches, coaches do not place their own team on their ballots.[7]

Rank Team
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

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Source[8]

Honor Recipient
Preseason Player of the Year Jalen Brunson, Villanova
Preseason All-Big East First Team Kelan Martin, Butler
Marcus Foster, Creighton
Khadeen Carrington, Seton Hall
Ángel Delgado, Seton Hall
Trevon Bluiett, Xavier
Preseason All-Big East Second Team Markus Howard, Marquette
Rodney Bullock, Providence
Kyron Cartwright, Providence
Marcus LoVett Jr., St. John's
Shamorie Ponds, St. John's
Preseason All-Big East Honorable Mention Khyri Thomas, Creighton
Desi Rodriguez, Seton Hall
J. P. Macura, Xavier
Preseason Rookie of the Year Omari Spellman, Villanova

Regular season

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Rankings

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Legend
  Increase in ranking
  Decrease in ranking
  Not ranked previous week
  () First place votes
  Pre Wk
2
Wk
3
Wk
4
Wk
5
Wk
6
Wk
7
Wk
8
Wk
9
Wk
10
Wk
11
Wk
12
Wk
13
Wk
14
Wk
15
Wk
16
Wk
17
Wk
18
Wk
19
Final
Butler AP RV RV RV RV RV RV RV
C RV RV RV RV RV RV RV RV RV
Creighton AP RV 25 RV RV 25 25 25 25 RV RV RV RV RV RV RV
C RV RV RV 23 RV 25 24 23 25 22 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 RV RV RV RV RV
Seton Hall AP 23 22 20 RV 19 15 23 23 21 13 19 RV RV RV RV
C 23 23 22 24 19 15 22 24 21 15 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 6 6 5 4 4 1 (22) 1 (26) 1 (27) 3 1 (27) 1 (31) 1 (31) 1 (22) 1 (22) 2 (8) 3 (4) 5
Xavier AP 17 15 15 21 13 10 9 6 5 10 11 8 6 5 4 (5) 4 3
C 17 17 14 20 14 9 8 5 4 10 12 8 6 5 4 (1) 4 4

Conference matrix

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This table summarizes the head-to-head results between teams in conference play.

  Butler Creighton DePaul Georgetown Marquette Providence Seton Hall St. John's Villanova Xavier
vs. Butler 1–1 0–2 1–1 0–2 1–1 2–0 1–1 1–1 2–0
vs. Creighton 1–1 0–2 0–2 2–0 1–1 1–1 0–2 1–1 2–0
vs. DePaul 2–0 2–0 1–1 1–1 1–1 2–0 1–1 2–0 2–0
vs. Georgetown 1–1 2–0 1–1 2–0 2–0 1–1 0–2 2–0 2–0
vs. Marquette 2–0 0–2 1–1 0–2 1–1 0–2 1–1 2–0 2–0
vs. Providence 1–1 1–1 1–1 0–2 1–1 2–0 0–2 1–1 1–1
vs. Seton Hall 0–2 1–1 0–2 1–1 2–0 0–2 0–2 2–0 2–0
vs. St. John's 1–1 2–0 1–1 2–0 1–1 2–0 2–0 1–1 2–0
vs. Villanova 1–1 1–1 0–2 0–2 0–2 1–1 0–2 1–1 0–2
vs. Xavier 0–2 0–2 0–2 0–2 0–2 1–1 0–2 0–2 2–0
Total 9–9 10–8 4–14 5–13 9–9 10–8 10–8 4–14 14–4 15–3

Player of the week

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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, 2017[9] Kelan Martin, Butler Omari Spellman, Villanova
November 20, 2017[10] Trevon Bluiett, Xavier Ty-Shon Alexander, Creighton
November 27, 2017[11] Jalen Brunson, Villanova Mitch Ballock, Creighton
December 4, 2017[12] Desi Rodriguez, Seton Hall Omari Spellman (2), Villanova
December 11, 2017[13] Markus Howard, Marquette Mitch Ballock (2), Creighton
December 18, 2017[14] Jalen Brunson (2), Villanova Omari Spellman (3), Villanova
December 26, 2017[15] Marcus Foster, Creighton Mitch Ballock (3), Creighton
January 2, 2018[16] Kelan Martin (2), Butler Jamal Cain, Marquette
January 8, 2018[17] Markus Howard (2), Marquette Jahvon Blair, Georgetown
January 15, 2018[18] Kelan Martin (3), Butler Naji Marshall, Xavier
January 22, 2018[19] J. P. Macura, Xavier Omari Spellman (4), Villanova
January 29, 2018[20] Marcus Foster (2), Creighton Naji Marshall (2), Xavier
February 5, 2018[21] Shamorie Ponds, St. John's Omari Spellman (5), Villanova
February 12, 2018[22] Shamorie Ponds (2), St. John's Jamorko Pickett, Georgetown
February 19, 2018[23] Mikal Bridges, Villanova Naji Marshall (3), Xavier
February 26, 2018[24] Khadeen Carrington, Seton Hall Naji Marshall (4), Xavier
March 4, 2018[25] Andrew Rowsey, Marquette Omari Spellman (6), Villanova

Honors and awards

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Big East Awards

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2018 Big East Men's Basketball Individual Awards[26]
Award Recipient(s)
Player of the Year Jalen Brunson, G., Villanova
Coach of the Year Chris Mack, Xavier
Defensive Player of the Year Khyri Thomas, G., Creighton
Freshman of the Year Omari Spellman, G., Villanova
Most Improved Player of the Year Myles Powell, F., Seton. Hall
Scholar-Athlete of the Year Jalen Brunson, G., Butler
Sixth Man Award Donte DiVincenzo, G., Villanova
Sportsmanship Award Tyler Wideman, F., Butler
2018 Big East Men's Basketball All-Conference Teams[26]
First Team Second Team Honorable Mention All-Freshman Team

Trevon Bluiett†, Xavier
Jalen Brunson†, Villanova
Mikal Bridges, Villanova
Marcus Foster, Creighton
Kelan Martin†, Butler
Shamorie Ponds, St. John's

Ángel Delgado, Seton Hall
Marcus Derrickson, Georgetown
Markus Howard, Marquette
Desi Rodriguez, Seton Hall
Khyri Thomas, Creighton

Andrew Rowsey, Marquette
Kyron Cartwright, Providence

Mitch Ballock, Creighton
Jahvon Blair, Georgetown
Naji Marshall†, Xavier
Jamorko Pickett†, Georgetown
Omari Spellman†, Villanova
Nate Watson, Providence

†unanimous selection
Sources[27][28][29]

Postseason

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2018 Big East tournament

[edit]
First round
March 7
Quarterfinals
March 8
Semifinals
March 9
Championship
March 10
            
1 Xavier 88
9 St. John's 60
8 Georgetown 77
9 St. John's 88
1 Xavier 72
5 Providence 75*
4 Creighton 68
5 Providence 72*
5 Providence 66
2 Villanova 76*
2 Villanova 94
7 Marquette 70
7 Marquette 72
10 DePaul 69
2 Villanova 87
6 Butler 68
3 Seton Hall 74
6 Butler 75

NCAA tournament

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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 Championship
1 East Villanova N/A defeated (16) Radford 87–61 defeated (9) Alabama 81–58 defeated (5) West Virginia 90–78 defeated (3) Texas Tech 71–59 defeated (1) Kansas 95–79 defeated (3) Michigan 79–62
1 West Xavier N/A defeated (16) Texas Southern 103–82 eliminated by (9) Florida State 70–75
8 South Creighton N/A eliminated by (9) Kansas State 59–69
8 Midwest Seton Hall N/A defeated (9) NC State 94–83 eliminated by (1) Kansas 79–83
10 East Butler N/A defeated (7) Arkansas 79–62 eliminated by (2) Purdue 73–76
10 West Providence N/A eliminated by (7) Texas A&M 69–73
W–L (%): 0–0 (–) 4–2 (.667) 1–3 (.250) 1–0 (1.000) 1–0 (1.000) 1–0 (1.000) 1–0 (1.000) Total: 9–5 (.643)

National Invitation tournament

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Marquette received an invitation to the National Invitation Tournament.

Seed Bracket School First round Second round Quarterfinals Semifinals Finals
2 Notre Dame Marquette defeated (7) Harvard 67–60 defeated (3) Oregon 101–92 eliminated by (4) Penn State
W–L (%): 1–0 (1.000) 1–0 (1.000) 0–1 (.000) 0–0 (–) 0–0 (–) Total: 2–1 (.667)

References

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  1. ^ Jeff Goodman and Jeff Borzello (March 23, 2017). "Hoyas dismiss coach John Thompson III after 13 seasons". espn.com. Retrieved March 23, 2017.
  2. ^ Santamaria, Paolo B., and Sean Hoffman, "John Thompson III Fired After 2 Consecutive Losing Seasons," thehoya.com, March 23, 2017.
  3. ^ Anonymous, "Georgetown fires head coach John Thompson III after 13 years," si.com, March 23, 2017.[permanent dead link]
  4. ^ "Patrick Ewing hired as coach of Georgetown". USA TODAY. Retrieved April 3, 2017.
  5. ^ "Butler's Chris Holtmann hired as Ohio State coach". USA TODAY. Retrieved June 9, 2017.
  6. ^ "Butler stays in the family: New coach is LaVall Jordan". Indianapolis Star. Retrieved June 13, 2017.
  7. ^ "Villanova Sits Atop Coaches' Preseason Poll Again". Big East Conference. Retrieved October 18, 2017.
  8. ^ "Villanova's Jalen Brunson Selected Preseason Player of the Year". BigEast.com. Big East Conference. October 18, 2017. Retrieved October 18, 2017.
  9. ^ "Butler's Martin, Villanova's Spellman Earn MBB Weekly Honors". Big East Conference. Retrieved January 8, 2018.
  10. ^ "Xavier's Bluiett, Creighton's Alexander Take MBB Weekly Honors". Big East Conference. Retrieved January 8, 2018.
  11. ^ "Villanova's Brunson, Creighton's Ballock Earn MBB Weekly Honors". Big East Conference. Retrieved January 8, 2018.
  12. ^ "Seton Hall's Rodriguez, Villanova's Spellman Take MBB Weekly Honors". Big East Conference. Retrieved January 8, 2018.
  13. ^ "Marquette's Howard, Creighton's Ballock Earn MBB Weekly Honors". Big East Conference. Retrieved January 8, 2018.
  14. ^ "Villanova's Brunson, Spellman Take MBB Weekly Honors". Big East Conference. Retrieved January 8, 2018.
  15. ^ "Creighton's Foster, Ballock Earn MBB Weekly Honors". Big East Conference. Retrieved January 8, 2018.
  16. ^ "Butler's Martin, Marquette's Cain Take MBB Weekly Honors". Big East Conference. Retrieved January 8, 2018.
  17. ^ "Big East Conference – Marquette's Howard, Georgetown's Blair Earn Weekly MBB Honors". www.bigeast.com. Retrieved January 8, 2018.
  18. ^ "Butler's Martin, Xavier's Marshall Take Weekly MBB Honors". www.bigeast.com. Retrieved January 15, 2018.
  19. ^ "Xavier's Macura, Villanova's Spellman Earn Weekly MBB Honors". Big East Conference. Retrieved January 30, 2018.
  20. ^ "Big East Conference – Creighton's Foster, Xavier's Marshall Take Weekly MBB Honors". www.bigeast.com. Retrieved January 30, 2018.
  21. ^ "St. John's Ponds, Villanova's Spellman Earn Weekly MBB Honors". www.bigeast.com. Retrieved February 23, 2018.
  22. ^ "St. John's Ponds, Georgetown's Pickett Take Weekly MBB Honors". www.bigeast.com. Retrieved February 23, 2018.
  23. ^ "Villanova's Bridges, Xavier's Marshall Earn Weekly MBB Honors". www.bigeast.com. Retrieved February 23, 2018.
  24. ^ "Seton Hall's Carrington, Xavier's Marshall Take Weekly MBB Honors". www.bigeast.com. Retrieved March 3, 2018.
  25. ^ "Marquette's Rowsey, Villanova's Spellman Take Weekly MBB Honors". www.bigeast.com. Retrieved March 3, 2018.
  26. ^ a b "2018 Men's Basketball Award Winners Announced". Big East Conference. March 11, 2019. Retrieved March 11, 2019.
  27. ^ "Villanova's Brunson Named BIG EAST Player of the Year" (Press release). Big East Conference. March 7, 2018. Retrieved March 9, 2018.
  28. ^ "Creighton's Thomas Repeats as Defensive Player of the Year" (Press release). Big East Conference. March 5, 2018. Retrieved March 9, 2018.
  29. ^ "Xavier's Bluiett, Villanova's Brunson, Butler's Martin Unanimously Named All-BIG EAST" (Press release). Big East Conference. March 4, 2018. Retrieved March 9, 2018.
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