A lot happened in the Big East while students were away for winter break. The top three teams in the conference might not even include UConn, as the defending national champions are now 6-2 in conference play and rank 35th in the country according to KenPom.
Heading into the weekend, St. John’s is in first place in the Big East with an 8-1 conference record. They are just a win ahead of Marquette in the standings.
What has been very impressive is Georgetown’s comeback. Last season saw the Hoyas go 9-23 in head coach Ed Cooley’s first season after over a decade at Providence. The Hoyas have the third-best defense in the Big East, ranking 21st in the country in terms of efficiency.
Best Game of Winter Break: Alex Karaban misses two free throws as Villanova upsets No. 9 UConn, 68-66
UConn saw its perfect Big East season disappear as Villanova took the Huskies down for the first time since the semifinal round of the 2022 Big East Tournament. Eric Dixon, who came into the game as the nation’s leading scorer, scored 18 of his 23 points in the second half. With 3.1 seconds left, Karaban was at the line with a chance to tie and take the lead. Despite being one of Connecticut’s top free throw shooters, the two-time national champion missed both free throws as the Wildcats held on to win 68-66.
Winter Break Awards
Player of Winter Break: Eric Dixon, F, Villanova (24 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 2.3 apg, 43.4 FG%, 41.7 3P%, 84 FT% in nine games)
Dixon has emerged as one of the top contenders for Big East Player of the Year. During winter break, he led the conference in scoring and did it at all three levels. He remains the nation’s leading scorer and scored as many as 29 points during the winter break.
Freshman of Winter Break: Thomas Sorber, F, Georgetown (12.6 ppg, 9.4 rpg, 2.8 apg, 3.1 bpg, 1.1 spg, 45.1 FG%, 75 FT% in eight games)
Patrick Ewing, Alonzo Mourning, Dikembe Mutombo and Greg Monroe. Those are the best big men in the history of the Georgetown program. This season, Sorber looked promising about joining that group of legendary big men who played for the Hoyas. While UConn’s Liam McNeeley led all freshmen in points per game during winter break, he only played three games before suffering a high ankle sprain. With McNeeley sidelined, Sorber has emerged as the frontrunner for Big East Freshman of the Year. He has recorded at least 10 rebounds in each of the last four games and five of the last six. He is a block machine, ranking only behind Creighton’s Ryan Kalkbrenner in blocks per game during the break. His best performance during winter break came at Seton Hall, scoring 19 points, bringing down eight boards, blocking four shots and stealing the ball twice in a 61-60 victory.
Best games of the weekend (excluding UConn at Xavier)
Villanova at No. 10 Marquette (7 p.m., FS1)
Look no further than tonight’s battle of two highly regarded offenses as Villanova visits Marquette. The Wildcats rank 12th in the country in offensive efficiency, with the fourth-best 3-point percentage in the nation (40.3%). Marquette’s 13th-ranked defense will be tested tonight as the game will be decided when Villanova has the ball.
On the other end of the court, Villanova will struggle against a top 25 offense like the Golden Eagles, especially when Villanova is ranked No. 180 in the country in defensive efficiency. Get your popcorn out for this game as two Big East Player of the Year candidates go head-to-head: Dixon and Marquette guard Kam Jones.
Georgetown at Providence (Saturday, 12:30 p.m., FOX)
There is only one reason I included this game: It’s because Providence fans hate how Cooley left for Georgetown. Expect a rowdy crowd at the Amica Mutual Pavilion, as the Hoyas visit Rhode Island’s capital city for an old school Big East rivalry. Providence can get its record back to .500 if they can pull away at home against the best Georgetown team in a decade.