As part of its 2024–25 men’s basketball preseason coverage, Sports Illustrated is rolling out previews for the five high-major conferences, plus the top mid-majors nationally. Previously: ACC. Next up is the Big East.
Four of the last eight national championships belong to the Big East, with two each for UConn and Villanova. And with a new TV deal locked in and UConn going nowhere after interest from the Big 12, there are plenty of reasons to be optimistic about the league’s future. In the present, the focus is upping last season’s NCAA tournament bid total, which settled at just three after Selection Sunday snubs for Providence, Seton Hall and St. John’s. Much of that can be explained by the bid-stealer chaos of last season’s championship week, but a repeat of a number even close to that would be a bad sign for the league moving forward. The good news: On paper, this is a conference that should send at least five and possibly more teams to the Big Dance this season. Here’s how Sports Illustrated breaks down the league in the preseason.
