Big East What To Watch: Week Five

Because Villanova men’s and women’s basketball both have a game on Monday (okay, and because Xavier MBB is in there, too), we’ve got to get this Big East What To Watch out to you early on Monday so you’re set to go for the week. Honestly, this is more fun when I have all day Monday to stretch out and figure out what the highlights for the week are. In any case, when you see national rankings below right now, they’re from the November 24th Associated Press polls. Once the new polls are out on Monday, December 1, we’ll update everything as need be.

Feast Week is over, we’ve got a full four weeks of basketball in the books, and as of Sunday afternoon, Big East league action has started with UConn women’s basketball tangling with Xavier. Plus, Monday is December 1st! If you think of the season as November/December/January/February and March is the postseason, we’re at the one-quarter pole mark of the regular season right now. Things aren’t maybe 100% set in stone as to where teams are going this year, but it’s definitely at the point of the year where coaches know what they do and don’t have, and it’s time to start pushing their teams in the directions that they can go. Am I talking about Marquette men’s basketball more than normal right now for the What To Watch? MAYBE, who’s asking?

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Oh, and all of the Big East women’s basketball gets at least one league game on the books this week. That’s pretty great, right? Important basketball in early December!

Let’s get to the highlights of the week, shall we?

Monday, December 1: Villanova Wildcats at #21 West Virginia Mountaineers (6pm Central, ESPN+) — Jasmine Bascoe and the Wildcats have won three straight after starting out the year at 2-2, and at least according to the BartTorvik.com computers, they’ve seized control of the standing as the #2 team in the league. Facing the ranked Mountaineers in a Big East throwback battle won’t be a picnic, especially with WVU coming off getting squeaked at a neutral site by Ohio State.

Tuesday, December 2: Seton Hall Pirates at RV Princeton Tigers (6pm Central, ESPN+) — Is it weird that Tony Bozzella’s Pirates have only played four games so far this season? Feels weird, right? This will be their first game since November 20th, but they are undefeated after needing double overtime to topple a Fordham team that’s sub-200 in the Torvik rankings in that one. Carla Berube’s Tigers already beat Villanova (on the road!) this season, and I’m sure they’d love a second Big East win, especially in an in-state game like this.

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Tuesday, December 2: #5 Connecticut Huskies at RV Kansas Jayhawks (8pm Central, ESPN2) — This matchup is looking a lot better than it was a week ago now that Kansas went out to Players Era and went 3-0 including a win over Tennessee to wrap things up. The Jayhawks may still be without superstar freshman Darryn Peterson, but this is still UConn going to Allen Fieldhouse, and that’s cool stuff right there.

Thursday, December 4: Butler Bulldogs at Seton Hall Pirates (6pm Central, ESPN+) — No, I’m not particularly fired up about the Big East opener for both of these teams, but I did want to point out that Seton Hall has this quick turnaround after that Princeton game on Tuesday. Travel’s not an issue, Princeton’s only 40 miles away, but so much basketball after so much time off!

Thursday, December 4: Villanova Wildcats at Georgetown Hoyas (6pm Central, Peacock) — Hey, remember when I said that Villanova had perhaps established themselves as the #2 in the league behind UConn? Yeah, here’s their Big East opener. Should probably prove their point, right?

Friday, December 5: Xavier Musketeers vs Cincinnati Bearcats (6:30pm Central, TNT) — It’s the Crosstown Shootout! What’s not to like? Xavier showed signs of life in Charleston with a win over West Virginia, and if they want to keep that trend going, then Richard Pitino’s guys should probably win at home against a Bearcats team that lost at home to Eastern Michigan on Thanksgiving Eve, right?

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Saturday, December 6: Marquette Golden Eagles at RV Wisconsin Badgers (1pm Central, FS1) — For a neutral observer, I’m sure there’s a lot to like about this I-94 rivalry renewal. For a Marquette fan? Well, it’s definitely a big spot for the Golden Eagles, isn’t it?

Saturday, December 6: Seton Hall Pirates at Kansas State Wildcats (3pm Central, ESPNU) — Seton Hall went 2-1 in Maui, stunning a ranked NC State team, losing to USC, then wrapping up with a win over Washington State. That jumped them more than 20 spots in the KenPom rankings, and now they go to the Octagon of Doom to face a Wildcats team coming off losses to Nebraska and Indiana.

Saturday, December 6: #14 St. John’s Red Storm vs RV Ole Miss Rebels (7pm Central, Peacock) — St. John’s is looking for answers after going 1-2 in Players Era, and I’m sure Rick Pitino is a bundle of fun to be around after the Johnnies gave up a 13-2 run that essentially cost them the Auburn game. This will be their first game since then, while Mississippi is coming off Feast Week losses to Iowa and Utah and has to host Miami on Tuesday night before making the trip to NYC.

Sunday, December 7: RV Georgetown Hoyas at #16 North Carolina Tar Heels (4pm Central, ESPN) — This game was a much bigger showdown a week ago before the Hoyas went down to Disney World and took losses to Dayton and Miami. The AP votes they were getting last week are going to disappear and UNC is probably going to be looking for someone to pound on at home after 1) losing to Michigan State in their most recent game and 2) visiting Kentucky on Tuesday night.

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Sunday, December 7: RV Creighton Bluejays at RV Nebraska Cornhuskers (4pm Central, FS1) — Going 1-2 in Players Era was not a great sign for the direction of Creighton’s season without Jackson McAndrew in the lineup for the rest of the year, but they did close out with a win over Oregon. They have to get through Nicholls on Tuesday before going to Lincoln, where the Cornhuskers will be waiting with the nation’s longest active winning streak and an 8-0 start to the year.

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!