Big East What To Watch: Week 2

We’re coming at you on Monday morning because we’ve got three men’s basketball games and one women’s basketball game today in the Big East! I can’t wait until after the first in-season Associated Press polls of the year come out later today to publish our weekly look at what’s going on in the league as a result of that. As such, what you’re seeing below is the PRESEASON rankings. Once the new poll is out, we’ll update and this paragraph will MAGICALLY disappear!

One week of the college basketball season is already over! We’ve learned a little bit about everybody in the Big East, but not a lot, and full season outcomes and destinations are far from being written in stone. We’ll learn a little bit more as Week #2 rolls along, and you’re going to need that ESPN+ subscription to keep an eye on a lot of things over the next seven days.

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Let’s take a peek at the highlights of what’s in store for us, shall we?

Tuesday, November 11: Marquette Golden Eagles at RV Minnesota Golden Gophers (6pm Central, B1G+) — If Wisconsin provided a game plan for how teams that are better than the Badgers can stop Skylar Forbes this season, then the Golden Eagles might be in a bit of trouble in their first road game of the season. Flip side: Minnesota hasn’t come close to being tested in their first two games, so we’ll see if they can live up to their preseason AP votes.

Tuesday, November 11: #23 Creighton Bluejays at #21 Gonzaga Bulldogs (9pm Central, ESPN) — Who doesn’t enjoy a late night ranked on ranked game? With both teams in the 20s, you could make an argument that this game could have an impact on whether or not they stay ranked next week. Gonzaga came away with a 15 point win over Oklahoma on Saturday, so they’ve already been tested more than Creighton’s 16 point home opener win over South Dakota.

Wednesday, November 12: Villanova Wildcats vs RV Princeton Tigers (6pm Central, ESPN+) — I warned you last week that VU’s home game against a top 50 Fairfield game was worth keeping an eye on, and the Wildcats fell behind double digits almost immediately, rallied for a third quarter lead, then lost by eight. Now they host a Princeton team that was earning preseason top 25 votes. Remember this for a second…..

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Wednesday, November 12: Creighton Bluejays at RV Nebraska Cornhuskers (8pm Central, FS1) — Creighton has won three straight against the Huskers and eight of the last nine. But Nebraska was earning preseason top 25 votes and is 2-0, while Creighton lost by 16 at home to a South Dakota State team that was also earning votes and then beat Drake on the road by nine on Sunday. BartTorvik.com likes the Huskers by a whole bunch, but that’s why they play the games…..

Friday, November 14: Xavier Musketeers at RV Iowa Hawkeyes (7pm Central, FS1) — Four point win over Marist. Five point win over Le Moyne. A Monday home game against a Santa Clara team that is not a pushover. And then this trip to Iowa City. I’m not saying it’s crucial for Richard Pitino’s team to find themselves by Friday, buuuuuut………

Friday, November 14: DePaul Blue Demons vs Northwestern Wildcats (7:30pm Central, truTV) — DePaul blew a 30-5 lead against Stonehill last Friday night and were trailing 55-53 with less than six minutes to play. They figured it out, but proving themselves as the best team in Chicago would be an important step for CJ Gunn and friends.

Friday, November 14: Providence Friars at Colorado Buffaloes (8pm Central, ESPN+) — Providence was #48 at KenPom.com on Opening Day. As I look at this on Sunday morning? The Friars are 1-1 after 1) letting a 20 point lead against Holy Cross get down to six with a minute left and 2) getting forced to overtime by Virginia Tech and losing, and now they’re #70. I don’t like what Tuesday’s game against Penn means for them, and if you follow that logic point out, hoooooooooboy this Colorado game just got real important and also real dangerous for Kim English.

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Saturday, November 15: Georgetown Hoyas vs Clemson Tigers (11am Central, Peacock) — Okay, you went on the road and beat Maryland, Hoyas. Follow it up with a home game against a Clemson team that projects as a tournament team. Let’s see what you got.

Saturday, November 15: Butler Bulldogs at SMU Mustangs (1pm Central, The CW) — This is the first test of Butler’s season by the numbers after three buy games to open things up. You want to be somebody in Thad Matta’s fourth season? Go into Dallas and prove it.

Saturday, November 15: Providence Friars vs Boston College Eagles (1pm Central, ESPN+) — 1) Erin Batth’s Friars started the year with a 12 point home loss to Howard, which started the year just south of #200 in the BartTorvik.com rankings. Boston College isn’t supposed to be good this year, but they’re supposed to be a lot better than Howard. Either PC pulls out of their funk or it’s going to be a loooooong season in Friartown.

Saturday, November 15: Marquette Golden Eagles vs Maryland Terrapins (1pm Central, Peacock) — Fun news: Jerel McNeal is getting a banner in the rafters at this game. Basketball News: Georgetown beat Maryland on the road last Friday, so this is a measuring stick for where Marquette is relative to the Hoyas. Clean, Old Fashioned Hate: This is Buzz Williams’ first time back to a Marquette game.

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Saturday, November 15: #4 Connecticut Huskies vs #8 BYU Cougars (6pm Central, Fox) — This is only the second ranked on ranked game of the week on either side of the Big East aisle, so that’s obviously important on face value. It’s also a neutral-adjacent game, as it’s in the Boston Celtics’ arena, not in either of UConn’s two homes. It’s not like Boston is a remote outpost for the Huskies, though.

Sunday, November 16: #1 Connecticut Huskies vs RV Ohio State Buckeyes (11am Central, Peacock) — It’s an opportunity to see Sarah Strong in action against a tournament caliber team, what’s not to like?

Sunday, November 16: Villanova Wildcats at James Madison Dukes (1pm Central, ESPN+) — Hey, remember when I told you to keep Villanova’s loss to Fairfield and home game against Princeton in mind? This is why. Marquette fans remember losing at JMU in the WBIT last season, no reason to think that the Dukes — currently a top 60 Torvik team — can’t do it again to a Big East team. Is it safe to say that Jasmine Bascoe’s chances of guiding the Wildcats to the NCAA tournament are riding on how this week goes for her team?

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

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

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