In the penultimate edition of Big East Baller Update for this season, not only will we recap the top performances and games, but we will also give out our awards for the Big East season.
Weekly Awards
Player of the Week: Devin Carter, G, Providence (24 PPG, 13.5 RPG, 3.5 APG, 3 SPG, 1.5 BPG, 50 FG%, 7-10 FT in two games)
In a 71-58 win at Georgetown, the Miami, Fla. native recorded a double-double with 24 points and 12 rebounds. Carter matched his season-high of four steals in the win. He had 24 points in the loss to Connecticut, grabbing 15 boards.
Freshman of the Week: Stephon Castle, G, UConn (10 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 3 APG, 2 SPG, 38.1 FG% in two games)
Castle picked up his record-breaking 11th Freshman of the Week honor after a strong performance at Providence. The Covington, Ga. native finished the regular season finale with 14 points, six rebounds and a career-high four steals.
Game of the Week: No. 10 Creighton survives at Villanova thanks to Trey Alexander, 69-67
Creighton dominated the first half, led by guard Baylor Scheierman, who scored 11 of his 18 points in the first 20 minutes. Villanova forward Eric Dixon scored 25 points but could not help the Wildcats’ tournament chances. With 0.2 seconds remaining, Creighton guard Trey Alexander broke the tie with a game-winning fadeaway jumper. Alexander finished the game with 17 points.
Regular Season Awards
Player of the Year: Tristen Newton, G, UConn (15 PPG, 7.1 RPG, 5.8 APG, 1 SPG, 40.5 FG%, 31.5 3P%, 80.4 FT%)
In his final collegiate season, Tristen Newton did not disappoint and exceeded expectations after being left off any preseason All-Big East teams. The El Paso, Texas native leads the Huskies in scoring, rebounding and assists. He finished the season with nine double-doubles, including triple-doubles against Manhattan and Villanova. Newton leads active Division I players with four career triple-doubles (all with UConn) and is the only active player with at least 1800 points, 650 rebounds and 650 assists. The race was tough between Newton, Carter and Scheierman, but Newton came out on top.
Coach of the Year: Dan Hurley, UConn
Hurley is the only Big East coach in the conversation for National Coach of the Year. While there were some strong candidates, especially Seton Hall’s Shaheen Holloway, who led his team to a fourth-place finish after being picked to finish seventh in the preseason poll, the defending national champion head coach stood out. UConn lost three of its top six scorers. Hurley replaced those scorers with Rutgers transfer Cam Spencer and a plethora of freshmen led by Castle. Despite the conference having two other AP Top 10 teams the past two weeks, UConn clinched its first outright title since 1999 in a win over Seton Hall.
Freshman of the Year: Stephon Castle, G, UConn (11.2 PPG, 4.3 RPG, 3 APG, 1 SPG, 47.4 FG%, 75.3 FT%)
There was little competition for Castle in the Big East Freshman of the Year race. However, Castle broke the Big East record with 11 Freshman of the Week honors. The five-star guard scored in double figures 15 times, with his best performance coming in a win at home against Providence, where he drilled two 3-pointers to go with 20 points and 50% shooting from the field. Castle looks to be a top-5 pick in the NBA Draft.
Defensive Player of the Year: Devin Carter, G, Providence (7.6 DRPG, 1 BPG, 1.7 SPG)
Forget Kalkbrenner. Carter has been one of the best players in the Big East, especially on the defensive side. There were only six games this season where he didn’t record a steal. His defensive rating is 94.1, surprisingly down from his 100.4 rating last season. However, his defensive rebounding percentage is up (25.7%) and has helped limit the best guards in the conference.
Transfer of the Year: Cam Spencer, G, UConn (14.7 PPG, 4.6 RPG, 3.4 APG, 1.5 SPG, 49.2 FG%, 45.1 3P%, 90.5 FT%)
Spencer was .8% short of joining teammate Alex Karaban as the first in program history with a 50-40-90 season. Spencer was a late addition to the roster after UConn failed to acquire Towson transfer Nick Timberlake, who chose Kansas instead. The Rutgers transfer could not have been a better fit for the Huskies, being one of the best 3-point shooters in the country.
Sixth Man of the Year: Hassan Diarra, G, UConn (5.9 PPG, 2.9 RPG, 2.5 APG, 48.1 FG%, 38 3P%, 77.8 FT%)
Diarra took a big step in his second year in Storrs, becoming one of the best defenders on the team while accelerating his offensive game. He’s been a major contributor off the bench all season. In UConn’s blowout win over No. 4 Marquette, Diarra was the primary on-ball defender for Big East Player of the Year candidate Tyler Kolek. He limited Kolek to seven points, shooting 2-11 from the floor, showing how important he is on the defensive end.
Most Improved Player: Desmond Claude, G, Xavier (16 PPG, 4.1 RPG, 3.2 APG, 1 SPG, 41.5 FG%, 79.2 FT%)
After starting just one game last season for a loaded Xavier team, the New Haven native started every game for the Musketeers this year, almost quadrupling his scoring average. While his 3-point percentage has dipped a bit, he makes up for it by scoring in many different ways. He joins teammate Quincy Olivari (19.5 PPG) as the only two players with at least 15 points per game on the team.
All-Big East First Team
G – Tristen Newton, UConn
G – Baylor Scheierman, Creighton
G – Devin Carter, Providence
F – Oso Ighodaro, Marquette
C – Ryan Kalkbrenner, Creighton
All-Big East Second Team
G – Tyler Kolek, Marquette
G – Kadary Richmond, Seton Hall
G – Cam Spencer, UConn
G – Quincy Olivari, Xavier
F – Josh Oduro, Providence