Big East Basketball: St. John's and UConn Vie for Early Supremacy

For the second time in three seasons, the Big East sent just three teams to the NCAAs. That can't happen anymore. But there's growing optimism that the middle of the Big East should be much improved heading into 2026-27 after a strong spring of free agency. The buying power in the league was up, partially because every Big East team could use its revenue-sharing allotment to make attractive pitches to transfers.

The Big Ten and SEC will always have bigger budgets, but there's less red tape when a Big East club can offer a contract that's fully from the revenue-sharing pot, instead of a mix with some true NIL that needs to come to fruition. That proved to be a swing factor in multiple recruitments this spring, helping the Big East add more talent.

How will this all shake out, though?

Summer practices throughout the Big East start in earnest this month, and the rosters are nearly set. These conference tiers provide a preferable way to contextualize each team's outlook.

Way-too-early Big Ten basketball tiers: Michigan, Illinois, Michigan State primed to shine in 2026-27 Isaac Trotter - Tier 1 - Title contenders : Pretty cut and dry. I think these teams have the upside to win the title. Not just make the second weekend. Not just win three in a row because of a nice draw. Six straight, do-or-die wins. - Tier 2 - Top 25 caliber club: These teams have accrued plenty of talent and should be safely in the NCAA Tournament field today, but they have a few flaws that could keep them out of the top tier. - Tier 3 - Tournament team : These teams have built good rosters and could flirt with top-25 status, but let's be honest: they aren't serious title threats. - Tier 4 - Bubble, even with a 76-team field : A Big Dance appearance is in the range of potential outcomes, but the NIT, the Crown (or worse) looms if things fizzle. - Tier 5 - The basement : These teams have a slim chance of making the Big Dance unless something drastically clicks or they make a late splash in recruiting.

Let's dive in

Tier 1: National title contenders

1. UConn

2025-26 record : 34-6 overall, 17-3 in Big East play

Postseason : No. 2 seed, lost in the National Championship game.

Projected 2026-27 starting lineup

- G Silas Demary Jr . - G Braylon Mullins - G Jayden Ross - F Nik Khamenia ( Duke transfer) - C Najai Hines ( Seton Hall transfer)

Top bench options : G Colben Landrew, C Oskar Giltay , G Jaye Nash , G Junior County, G Nils Machowski , F Isaiah Shaw , C Elmir Dzafic , G Solo Ball (out for the year with wrist injury)

The scoop : It's hard not to be enamored by what UConn could turn into. This backcourt is as good as it gets. Gritty point guard Silas Demary Jr. is an all-out warrior and pure winner who will be on the short-list for Big East Player of the Year. His running-mate, Braylon Mullins, is back to shred nets. He could certainly lead the Big East in triples, while mixing in all of the lunch-pail, winning stuff (like offensive rebounding like a madman) that Dan Hurley craves. Jayden Ross is expected to slide into the starting lineup to provide a fearless, athletic 3-and-D jolt.

Shooting, size, creation and defense? UConn's guard room has it all.

Hurley is going to miss Alex Karaban's winning plays and Tarris Reed's pure, raw dominance, but UConn did as well as it could in the portal to replace its frontcourt. Seton Hall transfer Najai Hines is a hoss. Even though he's not the most vertically explosive, the 6-foot-10 big man has ridiculous hand-eye coordination and will be a menacing post-up scorer and rim protector. Former five-star forward Nik Khamenia crossed enemy lines, in a way, to transfer from Duke to UConn, but his motor, cutting, spot-up shooting and positional size are a combination you just want to bet on.

Hurley has back-filled this bench with real-deal pieces, too. Physical freshman wing Colben Landrew is a lock to be a difference-making sixth man. Big combo guard Junior County is tough, smart and reliable. Stanford transfer Oskar Giltay absolutely has what it takes to be an excellent backup center.

There's a bit more variance in UConn's projection this year because there will undoubtedly be nights when the senior frontcourt of Karaban and Reed would've made three more plays than the Khamenia/Hines duo. But it's hard to envision this offense running into too many issues, and the positional size is elite at all five positions, which should keep UConn's defense very stiff.

There's a real shot that the Huskies have the best point guard in the league (Demary), the best shooter in the league (Mullins), the best shot-blocker in the league (Hines) and the best freshman in the league (Landrew).

2. St. John's

2025-26 record : 30–7 overall, 18-2 in Big East play

Postseason : No. 5 seed, lost in Sweet 16.

Projected 2026-27 starting lineup

- G Quinn Ellis - G Ian Jackson - G Tounde Yessoufou ( Baylor transfer) - F Donnie Freeman ( Syracuse transfer) - F Ruben Prey

Top bench options : F Babacar Sane, G Lefteris Liotopoulos , C Theo Edema, F Djordije Jovanovic, F Lazar Stojkovic, G Kyle Cuffe Jr .

The scoop : Rick Pitino has built a dynamic squad, headlined by ex-EuroLeague point guard Quinn Ellis. The 23-year-old British guard has terrific positional size and posted a 2.7-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio in 64 games against top-shelf international competition last season.

I don't know if he will unseat Marquette 's Nigel James Jr . or UConn's Silas Demary Jr. to be the best point guard in the Big East, but Ellis is good enough to be in that conversation and will unequivocally be a better point guard option than what St. John's t  trotted out last year.

Creating good offense just matriculates so much easier when there's a stretch big who can pass. St. John's will also have that with big man Ruben Prey. The counting stats don't look gaudy, but he's ready for an expanded role now that Zuby Ejiofor is off to the NBA . His ability to draw shot-blockers away from the rim should be just what the doctor ordered for a group of athletic guards who want to get to the paint. Over 40% of Baylor transfer Tounde Yessoufou's shots came at the rim. He wants to get downhill and be a mismatch hunter. It's a similar script for Ian Jackson, who wisely chose to stay for Year 2 under Pitino. He'll slide over to his natural shooting guard position and give St. John's a jolt of shot-making and zoom-zoom transition scoring.

St. John's transition offense could be spectacular, but the Johnnies cannot reach their ceiling without Syracuse transfer Donnie Freeman putting it all together. Simplifying his game will be vital. He gives Pitino another big, athletic 4-man who can create for himself, but could really benefit from playing next to a point guard like Ellis.

This will be the most athletic team in the Big East, yet again. Yessoufou and incoming wing Babacar Sane are just brute-force monsters who you will feel at all times, but everything rides on Ellis. The NCAA has changed its protocols for international prospects … after the free agency period. It's mind-boggling for this St. John's coaching staff and adds a new layer of red tape to an already-stressful process.

If Ellis can get cleared, St. John's will be cooking with gas. Too much talent. Too much size. A real PG1.

Way-too-early ACC basketball tiers: Duke, Louisville at top of 2026-27 outlook as intriguing contenders emerge Isaac Trotter

Tier 2: Top 25-caliber club

3. Villanova

2025-26 record : 24-9 overall, 15-5 in Big East play

Postseason : No. 8 seed; lost in Round of 64

Projected 2026-27 starting lineup

- G Elijah Crawford ( UIC transfer) - G Tyler Perkins - F Devin Royal ( Ohio State transfer) - F KJ Evans Jr. ( Oregon transfer) - C International big to be named later

Top bench options : G Darryl Simmons II , G Jake Fiegen , F Matt Hodge (recovering from torn ACL), G Adam Oumiddoch, C Nico Onyekwere

The scoop : Villanova 's got something cooking, but it needs the last piece to fall into place. Kevin Willard is a frontrunner for 7-foot-3 Italian big man Luigi Suigo, who has until June 13 deadline for international products to exit the NBA Draft . If that development comes to fruition, it will vault Villanova into a top-25 club.

With Suigo in the fold, Willard would have three guards who can play in pick-and-rolls (Crawford, Perkins and Simmons), two proven high-major forwards who can score inside and out (Royal and Evans), multiple bench shooters (Fiegen, Oumiddoch and Hodge, when healthy) and a 7-foot-3 shot-blocking center with NBA potential.

While it could be fair to have some questions about the point-of-attack defense, the rim protection would be very strong with Evans and Suigo playing together. Villanova finished 347th in block percentage last year, per KenPom. This personnel hints at a group that would rank near the top-50 nationally in rim protection.

Catching the drift?

That's more than enough talent to win with for a coach in Willard who has finished at .500 or above in conference play for 10 of the last 11 seasons.

Without Suigo? Villanova's floor drops precipitously.

Tier 3: Tournament team

4. Providence

2025-26 record : 15-18 overall, 7-13 in Big East play

Postseason : None.

Projected 2026-27 starting lineup

- G Malik Mack ( Georgetown transfer) - G Devin Vanterpool ( FAU transfer) - Wing Miles Byrd ( San Diego State transfer) - F Dink Pate - F Arrinten Page ( Northwestern transfer)

Top bench options : F Ryan Mela , G Ryan Sabol , C Samson Aletan , G Gavin Hightower , F Jacob Bannarbie

The scoop : New Providence coach Bryan Hodgson wants to play drive-and-kick basketball, and this portal class should be able to pull it off without a hitch. Miles Byrd? 6-foot-7 slasher who can pass. Dink Pate? 6-foot-8 slasher who can pass. Devin Vanterpool? 6-foot-4 slasher … who can pass. Much-maligned Georgetown transfer Malik Mack should also fit into this ethos because he's fast, generates paint touches and can create. I also think it was part of the calculus for targeting Northwestern transfer big man Arrinten Page. The 6-foot-11 center is very comfortable putting it on the deck in a pinch.

The raw length and athleticism that guys like Byrd, Pate and Page bring to this potential starting 5 is salivating. Maybe there's not quite enough shooting — although Ryan Sabol and his 115 3s at a 39% clip may have something to say about that — but Providence looks poised to be a factor in this league using athleticism, defense and plenty of drive-and-kick basketball to put defenses into scramble mode.

5. Marquette

2025-26 record : 12-20 overall, 7-13 in Big East play

Postseason : None.

Projected 2026-27 starting lineup

- G Nigel James Jr. - G Adrien Stevens - G Nolan Minessale (St. Thomas transfer) - F Royce Parham - C Sananda Fru ( Louisville transfer)

Top bench options : F Damarius Owens , F Caedin Hamilton , G Michael Phillips II , F Alex Egbuonu, G Ethan Johnston, C Joshua Clark , F Ian Miletic , G Nash Walker

The scoop : A dynamic point guard plus a good big man can make all the problems go away. Marquette may have that in stud sophomore Nigel James Jr. and incoming Louisville transfer center Sananda Fru. Marquette shot just 51% on layups a season ago, so Fru converting 77% of his rim attempts looks like a gift from the basketball Gods. Fru's screening should make James even more impossible to keep out of the paint, and conversely, James' creation will be just what Fru needs to stay busy.

As long as the James-Fru tandem is in good shape, Marquette will be poised for a significant surge in the right direction as long as the complementary pieces are just serviceable. Combo guard Adrien Stevens looks like a keeper thanks to his 3-and-D skillset. Junior forward Royce Parham should take another step forward after ranking second in Big East play with a 64% true shooting percentage. His floor spacing, cutting and offensive rebounding is so valuable as a blen

_Originally reported by [CBS Sports](https://www.cbssports.com/college-basketball/news/big-east-rankings-st-johns-uconn/)._