Big East league play tipped off this past week in a big way with Butler defending its home floor against Providence in a double-overtime thriller. However, there was far more to digest around the league as well. UConn continued its winning ways against high-major competition; Xavier’s Filip Borovicanin nearly recorded a triple double; DePaul added a big road win; and Marquette finished nonconference under-.500.

As such, there is a lot to discuss in the latest Big East Round-Up. Let’s get into it.

Butler/Providence start Big East play with a thriller.

Butler and Providence wasted no time starting the Big East season with a bang. While it was snowing outside Hinkle Fieldhouse, the Bulldogs and Friars made it rain inside the hallowed venue. The two squads put up a combined 213 points on 24 made 3-pointers, and featured some elite star play before Butler took the victory after two extra periods.

Michael Ajayi led Butler with 28 points and 15 rebounds, earning Big East Player of the Week honors. Finley Bizjack netted 26, overcoming a poor start by posting 12 points across the two overtime periods on 4-for-6 shooting. When the Bulldogs needed him, he came up with two big 3-pointers in extra time to out-duel superb outings from Providence's Jason Edwards (32 points, 6 assists) and Jaylin Sellers (26 points, 6 rebounds).

When it comes down to Butler's final go-ahead basket, the unsung heroes did what they have done throughout the team's strong early start. Super-glue guy Jamie Kaiser made the quick touch-pass out to sharpshooter Evan Haywood, who buried his fourth 3-pointer of the game:

Bizjack and Ajayi are the stars, but Kaiser and Haywood have been vital. Kaiser has seemingly always been in the right place at the right time this season, and the Bulldogs have performed 14.9 adjusted points per 100 possessions better with him on the floor versus without as a result. Haywood is one of just nine players nationwide shooting >47% from three on 10+ 3-point attempts per 40 minutes.

Butler loses point guard Jalen Jackson for the season.

The need to lean on players like Kaiser and Haywood more moving forward, though, stems from the news that followed Butler's win over Providence. While starting point guard Jalen Jackson had already missed four games, it was not until Dec. 14 that he was ruled out for the rest of the season. Jackson had hoped to overcome dislocating his ankle in Butler's second summer workout and still play this season, but continued issues amid and after playing the first six games led to surgery becoming the recommendation.

Jackson plans to use a medical redshirt and return to Butler next season, but the blow to this campaign remains significant. Top-100 freshman Stink Robinson is stepping into the starting role, but the larger question mark might be the trickle-down impact. With Robinson now starting, reserve duties fall to freshman Efeosa Oliogu-Elabor, Drexel transfer Yame Butler, or a committee of secondary ball-handlers stepping up as they did late against Providence.

Butler had been performing better with Jackson on (+23.4 adjusted net rating) versus off (+17.5), but the trickle-down impact is perhaps better understood via the team's net rating since his injury. The Bulldogs had been performing at the level of the 39th-best team in the country when Jackson was available, per Hoop-Explorer, but that has dipped to just 57th-best over the four games without him.

The victory over Providence was a great step in terms of continuing their quest for an NCAA Tournament bid after losing Jackson, though.

Metrics are starting to catch up for Seton Hall.

Early in the season, beating five straight sub-230 opponents by only moderate margins led to very little analytic movement for Seton Hall. The Pirates were largely impressive via the eye test, but it was reasonable to question the degree to which a low strength of schedule contributed. Margins such as beating Wagner by only seven and Monmouth by only 12 meant only moving up one spot on KenPom amid a 5-0 start. 

Fast-forward a month, though, and the hype is starting to gather steam. The Pirates performed very well at the Maui Invitational, picking up wins over NC State and Washington State sandwiched around a close loss to USC. More recently, they went on the road to beat Kansas State before returning home and earning bragging rights in a win over rival Rutgers. The questions of how Seton Hall would look against power conference teams? The Pirates have raised their adjusted efficiency margin after all five such opportunities:

  • 14-spot jump for beating NC State by 11
  • 7-spot jump for losing to USC by 2
  • 2-spot jump for beating Washington State by 14
  • 9-spot jump for beating Kansas State by 11
  • 7-spot jump for beating Rutgers by 22

Seton Hall has now improved its KenPom rank by 37 spots since Nov. 24, the most among all high-major programs. Only eight teams in the country have improved their adjusted efficiency margin by more (+6.37) since then. The Pirates are now fourth on KP among Big East teams and their quantity of high-major wins sets a solid at-large starting point for league play. They are one of the nation’s best surprises.

DePaul enters Big East play on a winning streak.

Starting from a lower point than the rest of the league contributes, but DePaul improved its adjusted efficiency margin on KenPom by more than any Big East team this past week. First, the Blue Demons bounced back from only beating Arkansas Pine Bluff by four with a 43-point demolition of Morgan State. Then, they added a KenPom top 100 road win over Wichita State. As a result, DePaul jumped from No. 137 on KP to No. 121 in the span of two games.

While the first two wins of a now three-game streak were over sub-300 KenPom opponents, win streaks are still win streaks. As for changes from the Blue Demons during this stretch, they moved Colorado transfer RJ Smith into the starting lineup for CJ Gunn. Gunn has seemingly thrived off the bench, with both his usage rate (25.5% to 26.5%) and effective field goal percentage (49.5% to 60.0%) jumping over the last three games. He scored a team-high 18 points in the win over Wichita State.

Additionally, Fabian Flores put together a solid 7-point, 3-assist statline in a season-high 20 minutes against Wichita State. For the season, the Blue Demons are performing 34.6 adjusted points per 100 possessions with Flores on the floor versus without, per Hoop-Explorer. It is in only a small sample size of 146 possessions, but his role and impact moving forward are worth monitoring.

Villanova's final nonconference game looms large.

There are a lot of good games for Big East teams this week, but none are more important than Villanova facing Wisconsin. Villanova has been the Big East's third-best performing team this season, but it lacks the meaningful wins of other teams. While UConn, St. John's, Seton Hall, and Butler each have 2+ KenPom top 100 victories, the Wildcats are without a single win over any of the upper three quadrants; they are 8-0 in Quadrant 4.

The Wildcats still have one last opportunity for a quality nonconference win, though, playing a "neutral site" game against Wisconsin in Milwaukee. The Badgers have fallen from preseason top-25 status, but they have still largely been solid; they are 7-3 with a 3-3 record against the KenPom top 100. Wisconsin is only ranked at No. 70 in the early NET, making this a Q2 game that will likely rise in value over the coming months — and Villanova needs it.

When it comes to possible bubble conversations down the road, limiting reasons to be left out of the field is vital. As it stands, Villanova’s lack of a nonconference win of substance could be a reason for exclusion if it gets to that. Beating Wisconsin would help shore up that too-early-but-not-way-too-early weakness in Villanova’s last opportunity to do so.

The matchup pits two offenses who both rank in the top 40 nationally for percentage of total points scored via the 3-ball against two defenses ranked sub-250 in 3P% allowed.

Games to watch in the coming week

  • Dec. 20: St. John's vs. Kentucky (Thrill Score: 83.9)
    • Neutral-site matchup in Atlanta, GA (State Farm Arena)
  • Dec. 19: Villanova vs. Wisconsin (Thrill Score: 76.5)
    • "Neutral-site" matchup in Milwaukee, WI (Fiserv Forum)
  • Dec. 20: Butler vs. Northwestern (Thrill Score: 68.3)
    • "Neutral-site" matchup in Indianapolis, IN (Gainbridge Fieldhouse)
  • Dec. 19: Seton Hall at Providence (Thrill Score: 68.1)
  • Dec. 17: Creighton at Xavier (Thrill Score: 58.9)