College Basketball

College basketball roundtable: Big East Player of the Year, Coach of the Year and more

Published Feb. 22, 2024 2:24 p.m. ET

share

facebookxredditlink

John Fanta

College Basketball Broadcaster and Reporter

Michael Cohen

College Football and College Basketball Writer

Before we dive into this week's college basketball roundtable, which will focus heavily on the Big East Conference, let's take a minute to review exactly what has transpired in the conference over the past couple of days.

The Connecticut Huskies, ranked No. 1 in the nation, welcomed No. 4 Marquette into the XL Center this past Saturday for a top-five showdown. Dan Hurley's team put together a near-perfect performance in a dominant 81-53 victory over the Golden Eagles, in which 7-foot-2 big man Donovan Clingan was simply unstoppable on both ends of the floor.

Three days later, fresh off that impressive showing against Marquette, the Huskies traveled to Omaha and suffered a disheartening 85-66 loss to No. 15 Creighton. The Bluejays locked down the Huskies, holding the top-ranked team in the nation to just 3-of-16 shooting from beyond the arc.

In between those two jaw-dropping results, Seton Hall went to St. John's and beat the Johnnie's on their home court, Villanova earned a hard-fought victory over a Butler team that is currently sitting on the NCAA Tournament bubble, and Providence notched a 79-75 win over Xavier to improve to 9-7 in Big East play.

So, with that said, what do we make of this wild, fun-filled, unpredictable conference as the month of February comes to a close?

Fortunately, FOX Sports college basketball experts John Fanta and Michael Cohen are here to break it all down and hand out some awards ahead of another jam-packed weekend of Big East basketball.

With just over two weeks remaining in the regular season, who gets your vote for Big East Player of the Year?

John Fanta: In the time that I’ve covered the Big East Conference, I’ve never had a tougher time picking a single person for the player of the year award. I absolutely believe the league’s coaches could be split up on this, resulting in a potential co-player of the year situation, something we had when three different players won the honor in 2021 – including two guys from Villanova (Jeremiah Robinson-Earl and Collin Gillespie). Honestly, with Tristen Newton and Cam Spencer, UConn could have that situation play out because I think they have multiple candidates. Marquette’s Tyler Kolek also has a great chance to repeat, with his program-record 18 assists on Wednesday night in a rout of DePaul, lifting his season total to 180. Creighton’s Baylor Scheierman (18.4 PPG, 8.7 RPG, 4.1 APG) certainly has an argument too.

But, I’m going to go against my rule and be a little bit different, because when a player is quite literally putting his team on his back to get them to the NCAA Tournament, when everybody counted his team out when they lost one of the best players, I recognize it. 

My vote would go to Providence’s Devin Carter, the son of Grizzlies assistant and 14-year pro Anthony Carter. Carter was already having a strong year in November and December. What he’s done since Bryce Hopkins tore his ACL on Jan. 3 has been nothing short of incredible. The 6-foot-3 guard has willed the Friars to wins over Creighton, Marquette, at Seton Hall and now, most recently, at Xavier on Wednesday night. He is averaging 22.4 points, 8.6 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game over the last 24 contests. Kolek would be my second choice, but if you took Carter off Kim English’s team right now, they would not be close to being an NCAA Tournament team and the season would be over. Carter’s impact can’t fully be measured. He epitomizes winning, and I’m giving him the nod in a rare move where a player outside the top-three teams catapults himself to the top.

Michael Cohen: Connecticut point guard Tristen Newton. An argument can be made that power forward Alex Karaban is actually UConn's most valuable player, given how influential he is on both ends of the floor — and even head coach Dan Hurley referred to Karaban as the team's "brain center" earlier this month — but Newton remains the standout performer. He leads the top-ranked Huskies in scoring (15.4 points per game), rebounding (6.9 per game) and assists (5.7 per game), with all three averages representing increases from last season, his first with the program after transferring from East Carolina. The fifth-year senior has also made nearly twice as many free throws (124-of-156, 79.5%) as anyone else on the roster, a reflection of his importance when trying to preserve close games. 

It's Newton who has stepped forward to lead Connecticut in marquee moments this season: 23 points, 11 rebounds, six assists in a win over Indiana at Madison Square Garden; 31 points and six rebounds in a four-point loss at Kansas; 16 points, six rebounds, 11 assists in a five-point win at Xavier; 25 points and six rebounds in a one-point win at Villanova; 18 points, 10 rebounds, six assists in a win at St. John's; 15 points, eight rebounds, eight assists in a blowout win over Marquette. And on a night when almost nobody played well during a lopsided loss to Creighton earlier this week, Newton still poured in 27 points and grabbed 12 rebounds despite a raucous road environment. He's the best player on the league's best team.

Tristen Newton finds Stephon Castle for an electrifying alley-oop to extend UConn's lead over Xavier

Who gets your vote for Big East Coach of the Year?

Michael: This feels like a two-man race between UConn's Dan Hurley and Seton Hall's Shaheen Holloway. The former bid farewell to the three best players from his national championship-winning team in center Adama Sanogo (17.2 points per game), shooting guard Jordan Hawkins (16.2 points per game) and do-it-all small forward Andre Jackson Jr. (6.7 points, 6.2 rebounds, 4.2 assists per game), and still retooled his roster in a way that has positioned the Huskies among the favorites to win the title again in 2023-24. That's a difficult résumé to beat.

But if anyone has a chance to do so, it's Holloway, the second-year man at Seton Hall. Holloway launched himself into the national conversation by leading diminutive Saint Peter's to the Elite Eight in 2021-22, scoring upsets of Kentucky, Murray State and Purdue along the way. The Peacocks' magical run transported Holloway back to Seton Hall, his alma mater, and gave him control of a program with just a single NCAA Tournament win since reaching the Sweet 16 in 1999-2000. After finishing 17-16 overall and 10-10 in the Big East during his first year with the Pirates, Holloway entered the 2023-24 campaign picked ninth in an 11-team league. All he's done since then is guide Seton Hall, which had the 71st-best recruiting class a season ago and the 50th-best class earlier this year, to a 17-9 overall record and a 10-5 mark in conference play, good enough for fourth place as of Wednesday afternoon. His team scored arguably the biggest league result of the season by beating Connecticut, 75-60, in late December, and now the Pirates have a strong chance of reaching the NCAA Tournament for just the second time in the last five years. Holloway is a rising star. 

John: Holloway is absolutely a rising star, and what he’s done in Year 2 at Seton Hall is really special. It’s not an easy place to win as they have limited resources, and he didn’t hit some transfer portal home run as Michael notes with the class rankings above. But what he did do was hold roster continuity with Kadary Richmond, Al-Amir Dawes and Dre Davis all back in the fold. The transfer portal pieces that he did get in Jaden Bediako and Dylan Addae-Wusu have panned out well.

That being said, UConn was picked third in the Big East, and the Huskies are well on their way to the program’s first regular-season title since 2006. I would find it hard to believe that with a 24-3 record, UConn head coach Dan Hurley wouldn't receive the league’s top coaching honor, even though he is the leader of the reigning national champions. The other coaches predicted UConn would finish third entering the year, and instead, the Huskies have run ship through this league for the majority of the season.

Is there anyone who can catch UConn's Stephon Castle for Big East Freshman of the Year?

John: Let’s put it this way. Castle has been named the Big East Freshman of the Week a total of eight times this season. The conference record for Big East Freshman of the Week honors is 10, set by a name you might know – Carmelo Anthony – for eventual national champion Syracuse in the 2002-03 season. 

After a knee injury hampered the first six weeks of his freshman season, it’s been really impressive to see the one-and-done NBA Draft prospect make great strides with Connecticut while being a reliable starter and a tough defensive stopper. Castle told me in the preseason that he was focused on leaving his mark at UConn. 

During conference play, Castle has raised his offensive game, averaging 11.3 points on 47% shooting from the floor to go along with 4.3 rebounds and 3.1 assists in 29.3 minutes per game. That’s really solid production for a first-year player, especially one who’s sharing the court with Newton, Karaban, Spencer and Clingan. And, Castle is typically planted on the other team’s best perimeter player. Castle has great composure, body strength that jumps off the chart, and a two-way package that has made Connecticut better in multiple ways. The scary thing: I think he’s only scratched the surface. He could be in for a big March.

Michael: To put it simply: No, Castle should win in a landslide. Rated the No. 10 overall prospect in the 247Sports Composite for the 2023 recruiting cycle, Castle was projected as a lottery pick before even setting foot on campus at UConn. He was an easy choice for Preseason Freshman of the Year in the Big East and has developed into arguably the best freshman in the country since returning from a November knee injury that sidelined him for six games. A Day 1 starter for the Huskies, Castle quickly established himself as the team's best — and most versatile — perimeter defender, a player routinely tasked with harassing the opponent's lead guard. He embraced his role as a critical defensive stopper, rebounder and facilitator for Hurley while working through some growing pains on the offensive end of the floor. 

But once the calendar turned from December to January, and with it the transition from non-conference games to Big East play, Castle's scoring began to increase. He's reached double figures in 10 of his last 14 games — including two 20-point efforts against Providence and St. John's — to grow his scoring average to 10.7 points per game. Castle's tremendous two-way impact on offense and defense has made him the eighth-most valuable player in the country regardless of age, according to EvanMiya.com. 

No. 1 UConn hosts Villanova Saturday night on FOX Primetime Hoops. Does Kyle Neptune's group need to win this game if they have any chance at making the Big Dance?

Michael: Technically speaking, the answer is probably no, the Wildcats can lose at Connecticut on Saturday and still have a chance to earn an at-large bid. Neptune's team closes the regular season with games against Seton Hall (road) and Creighton (home), which would give Villanova two more high-quality wins before heading to Madison Square Garden for the Big East Tournament. Another win or two in New York would likely elevate the Wildcats into the Big Dance as a dangerous double-digit seed.

Still, there's little question that Saturday's trip to Gampel Pavilion offers Villanova the most direct path toward a season-changing, résumé-defining win that could finally stabilize a disappointing campaign. The Wildcats plummeted to a new low by dropping five consecutive games from Jan. 15-30 and seven of nine overall from Jan. 6-Feb. 30. Some of those losses, like Marquette (twice) and UConn, were understandable. Others, like the pair of defeats to St. John's and road losses to Butler and Xavier, were not. It means that as of Thursday afternoon, Neptune's team sits 22nd on EvanMiya.com, 30th on KenPom and 33rd in the NCAA NET Rankings. The Wildcats are 3-6 against Quad 1 opponents, 6-2 against Quad 2 opponents and 2-3 against Quad 3 opponents. Losing to Connecticut wouldn't sink Villanova's ship, but the Wildcats can't afford to take on much more water. 

John: Saturday night is the bonus spin of the wheel to go for the jackpot, but if you don’t get it, you’re not penalized in any way. In other words: No, I don’t think Villanova has to win this game. Here’s my path to the dance for them: beat Georgetown at home (a loss would kill their chances), and then go 2-1 in the final three games (at Providence, at Seton Hall, home to Creighton). The combined nine Quad 1 and 2 wins, getting to a total of 11, or even 12, could be just enough for the Wildcats to get into the Big Dance. But if they somehow win Saturday night, they’d automatically be in every projected field, including Mike Decourcy’s bracket forecast. Villanova is currently listed in DeCourcy's "First Four Out," but a win over Butler on Tuesday could have them just on the inside of the bubble or just on the outside.

What is the one remaining game on the Big East regular-season schedule that you are most excited about?

John: I believe there is one obvious choice for this, and Michael will explain below why that is, but picking one game isn’t fun enough! Here’s my list of five games on the remaining conference schedule that I think you should be ready to watch: 

March 2 – Noon ET, FOX – Villanova at Providence 

An elite atmosphere. Two bubble teams. The Friars out for revenge after getting smoked in Philadelphia? Should be fun. 

March 2 – 2:30 p.m. ET, FOX – Marquette at Creighton

The suddenly hot Steven Ashworth vs. Tyler Kolek in Omaha? Say less. Marquette took the first meeting, 72-67, with the Golden Eagles All-American point guard delivering 15 points and eight assists. Baylor Scheierman put up 23 points, but Ashworth shot just 1-for-6 for Creighton. He’s evolved since that point. 

March 6 – 8:30 p.m. ET, FS1 – UConn at Marquette

The Golden Eagles are still ranked No. 7 after getting humiliated by the Huskies in the first meeting this past Saturday, 81-53. What does the rematch hold in Milwaukee? For starters, certainly a better showing from Shaka Smart’s team. The Huskies will be trying to break their 21-game road losing streak against ranked opponents since 2014. 

March 9 – 2:30 p.m. ET, FOX – Creighton at Villanova 

Are the Jays ever going to stop Eric Dixon? In the last three games against Creighton, the Wildcats senior big man has scored a combined 83 points. Wells Fargo Center will be rocking for this showdown, which could be a win-and-in game for Kyle Neptune’s team. 

March 9 – 8 p.m. ET, FOX – UConn at Providence 

Amica Mutual Pavilion will be the place to be on the final Saturday of the regular season, and Carter could cement his player of the year status if he led the Friars to a win. Providence is 14-2 at home this year and 50-5 in its last 55 home games. UConn has not won in Rhode Island since rejoining the Big East in 2020. 

Michael: The rematch between Connecticut and Marquette on March 6 will be must-see TV. UConn's blowout loss to Creighton on Tuesday night tightened the Big East standings with three weeks remaining before the conference tournament. The Golden Eagles (20-6 overall, 11-4 Big East) are now just two games behind the Huskies (24-3 overall, 14-2 Big East) in the loss column as head coach Shaka Smart's team chases the league's regular-season title for a second consecutive year. Not only could the outcome of next month's battle in Milwaukee have a significant impact on both the title race and seeding for the conference tournament, but it also presents Marquette with a chance for revenge after getting embarrassed by UConn, 81-53, on Feb. 17 in Hartford. The intensity and competitive fire from both teams should be through the roof.

John Fanta is a national college basketball broadcaster and writer for FOX Sports. He covers the sport in a variety of capacities, from calling games on FS1 to serving as lead host on the BIG EAST Digital Network to providing commentary on The Field of 68 Media Network. Follow him on Twitter @John_Fanta.

Michael Cohen covers college football and basketball for FOX Sports with an emphasis on the Big Ten. Follow him on Twitter at @Michael_Cohen13.

share

Get more from College Basketball Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more

in this topic

College Basketball

Big East

UConn Huskies

Tristen Newton

Stephon Castle

Villanova Wildcats

Marquette Golden Eagles

CBK - Villanova Wildcats vs. UConn Huskies - 02/25/2024

John Fanta

Michael Cohen