Big East men’s basketball preseason power rankings for 2026-27

INDIANAPOLIS, IN - FEBRUARY 11: UConn Huskies guard Silas Demary Jr. (2) celebrates with UConn Huskies center Tarris Reed Jr. (5) UConn Huskies guard Solo Ball (1) during the men's college basketball game between the Butler Bulldogs and UConn Huskies on February 11, 2026, at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, IN. (Photo by Zach Bolinger/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images Over the last two seasons, the Big East has transitioned from “the most competitive power conference in college basketball” to “the Dan Hurley vs. Rick Pitino show.” Will that change in 2026-27? Let’s explore. 1. UConn Huskies 2025-26 Record: 34-6 2025-26 Conference Finish: 2nd There’s a pretty straightforward case for putting UConn here: the Huskies were 34-6 last season, won 17 Big East games, reached the Final Four, and bring back arguably the conference’s most important point guard in Silas Demary Jr. Demary averaged 10.1 points and a Big East-best 5.8 assists per game last season and has been named the conference’s preseason Player of the Year. Sophomore Braylon Mullins is back after a freshman season that included an NCAA Tournament buzzer-beater against Duke that made him a March Madness immortal. The roster, like just about every other in power conference hoops, features a healthy number of newcomers as well. Dan Hurley brought in seven transfers and three freshmen for 2026-26, a group headlined by Duke transfer Nik Khamenia and Seton Hall transfer Na’jai Hines. All the pieces are in place for the reigning national runners-up to go one step further this season and bring Hurley his third national title in five years. 2. St. John’s Red Storm 2025-26 Record: 30-7 2025-26 Conference Finish: 1st Four of the five leading scorers from last season’s Big East regular season and tournament championship squad have moved on, but Rick Pitino appears to have reloaded with all the right stuff, Baylor transfer Tounde Yessoufou checks all the boxes to be one of the biggest breakout sophomore stars in the sport this season, and international additions Quinn Ellis and Babacar Sane both have legitimate NBA aspirations. Losing Syracuse transfer Donnie Freeman for the season due to injury was a huge summer blow, but one that will be cushioned by the late addition of Auburn transfer Keyshawn Hall … so long as Hall remains eligible. 3. Villanova Wildcats 2025-26 Record: 24-9 2025-26 Conference Finish: 3rd The Big East’s top two have been separate from the rest of the country for the last couple of years now. One of the big questions going into 2026-27 is if another squad in the league can bridge that gap to the rest of the conference. The best bet to challenge the big two is Villanova, which overachieved and easily made the NCAA Tournament in Kevin Willard’s first season following a drama-filled departure from Maryland. Tyler Perkins is back after leading the Wildcats with 13.7 points per game and winning the Big East’s Most Improved Player award. Willard also did work in the portal, bringing in Kwame Evans Jr. (Oregon) and Devin Royal (Ohio State), who were both named preseason second-team All-Big East selections. Expect ‘Nova to be bigger, more physical, and to play more like their Big East contemporaries in year two under Willard. 4. Providence Friars 2025-26 Record: 15-18 2025-26 Conference Finish: T-7th New head coach Bryan Hodgson arrives in Providence as one of the most promising young coaches in the sport. Hodgson had two successful seasons at Arkansas State before leading South Florida to the NCAA Tournament in what would prove to be his first and only season in Tampa. With him, Hodgson brings 13 newcomers … essentially an entirely new roster. But it’s a talented one. Miles Byrd is the headliner. The San Diego State transfer was the 2025-26 Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year and brings legitimate two-way ability to the Friard. Malik Mack, a Georgetown transfer, also returns to the Big East after leading the Hoyas in scoring last season. Ryan Sabol provides another scoring option after averaging nearly 20 points per game in MAC play at Buffalo. The pieces are there, and there are reasons to believe that Hodgson will figure out the best way to put them all together. 5. Xavier Musketeers 2025-26 Record: 15-18 2025-26 Conference Finish: 10th Xavier fans were patient with Richard Pitino in year one, and impressed by the way the team steadily improved throughout the campaign. Now, they’re expecting more. Leading scorer Tre Carroll is gone, but Pitino returns two players — Jovan Milicevic and Filip Borovicanin — who averaged double figures last season. Six newcomers to the Musketeer roster averaged double figures last season at their previous school, including Tru Washington (Miami) and Chance Westry (UAB), who should shore up the backcourt. The problem for Xavier more times than not last season was the team’s defense. They’re bigger this season and they have the potential to be more effectively physical. If the defense is on par with the offense, this could be an NCAA Tournament team. 6. Creighton Bluejays 2025-26 Record: 16-18 2025-26 Conference Finish: 5th To me, the Bluejays are the biggest wildcard in the conference. Creighton struggled to its first losing season in over a decade in 2025-26, but Greg McDermott has a much more intriguing roster this time around. Six players return, including starters Jasen Green, Austin Swartz and Isaac Traudt, while Jackson McAndrew returns from the injury that cost him most of last season. That group will be joined by a solid portal class headlined by sharpshooting guard Wes Enis (South Florida) and all-Mountain West honorable mention BJ Davis (San Diego State). McDermott’s track record speaks for itself and should tell the basketball world to bet on a bounce back. 7. Marquette Golden Eagles 2025-26 Record: 12-20 2025-26 Conference Finish: T-7th The Golden Eagles are a trendy pick to finish in the top four of this conference despite losing 20 games a season ago. I’m going to need to see it to believe it. Nigel James Jr. is back after averaging 16.4 points, 4.9 assists and 2.0 steals as a freshman. He was the Big East Freshman of the Year and is now the conference’s top returning scorer in league play. Shaka Smart retained more than 60 percent of last season’s scoring, but the big news was that he swallowed his pride and chose to get active in the transfer portal. He added high-scoring St. Thomas transfer Nolan Minessale and Louisville big man Sananda Fru, two additions that should provide a huge boost to the Golden Eagles at positions of need. 8. Seton Hall Pirates 2025-26 Record: 21-12 2025-26 Conference Finish: 4th Seton Hall won 21 games and finished fourth in the Big East last season, an overachievement that earned Shaheen Holloway the Big East Coach of the Year award by a unanimous vote. With all of the key contributors from that squad gone and 13 newcomers arriving in South Orange, the question is can Holloway make wine out of water again. The Pirated won with defense and tenacity last season. Getting that complete buy-in from an entirely new roster is a gigantic question mark, but Holloway has earned any belief that he gets from the public this preseason. 9. DePaul Blue Demons 2025-26 Record: 16-16 2025-26 Conference Finish: 6th Chris Holtmann getting DePaul to a 6th-place finish in the Big East last season already felt like something of a miracle given the Blue Demons’ track record in this conference over the last two decades plus. The question now is whether that’s the ceiling for the program, or if DePaul basketball is capable of more in this modern era. Holtmann returns veteran point guard Layden Blocker, which is big, but the team’s success is going to be mostly determined by the group of newcomers. Most interesting among that group is Tulsa transfer Ade Popoola, who averaged 13.1 points and made 99 three-pointers last season. A non-conference schedule that includes games against South Florida, Northwestern, Purdue, Pittsburgh, SMU and Saint Louis should have this team battle-tested by the time January rolls around. 10. Georgetown Hoyas 2025-26 Record: 16-18 2025-26 Conference Finish: T-9th Ed Cooley said earlier this week that Georgetown’s brand was as strong as ever. “You can’t erase mystique,” Cooley said. “You can’t erase dominance.” It feels like the Hoyas have been trying to do just that for the last couple of decades. Georgetown has produced an overall record of .500 or worse in nine of the last 11 seasons. Their only NCAA Tournament appearance since 2015 came via a miracle run in the Big East Tournament after the Hoyas had finished dead last in the conference during the regular season. Cooley was supposed to be the answer to these problems, but so far, it’s been more of the same. On paper, there aren’t many reasons to buy into a big change coming in 2026-27. 11. Butler Bulldogs 2025-26 Record: 16-16 2025-26 Conference Finish: T-7th Ronald Nored takes over as head coach and inherits a roster with just two returning starters: point guard Jalen Jackson and center Drayton Jones. Ten newcomers are joining them. Jackson was excellent in a small sample last season before suffering a season-ending ankle injury, while Jones started all 32 games. Butler also added four transfers who combined for 176 made three-pointers last season. That shooting could allow the Bulldogs to spring an upset or three, but the pieces don’t seem to be there to consistently challenge the top half of the conference.

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