This week, Big East play begins with a series of intriguing matchups.
The league, predicted by some in the preseason to be the best in the country, had an up-and-down first six weeks, creating uncertainty after the big three of Marquette, Connecticut and Creighton.
With that in mind, The Post breaks down the non-conference slate for the league and takes a look ahead as Big East action begins:
Biggest Surprise: Butler
The Bulldogs were picked to finish 10th in the league by Big East coaches after three consecutive losing seasons. So far, they look like an NCAA Tournament at-large contender, owning quality wins over Texas Tech and Boise State. Transfers Posh Alexander (St. John’s), Pierre Brooks (Michigan State), DJ Davis (UC Irvine) and Jahmyl Telfort (Northeastern) have all made a difference.
Butler is on pace to win more games by mid-January than it did in any of the previous three seasons, when it went a combined 38-52.
Biggest Disappointment: Villanova
On paper, this team has top-15 talent, and it sure looked that way when Villanova ran through the Battle 4 Atlantis Field in November, beating the likes of Texas Tech, North Carolina and Memphis in impressive fashion.
But the Wildcats have had bizarre results as well, losing to local rivals Penn, St. Joseph’s and Drexel along with rebuilding Kansas State.
Transfers TJ Bamba (Washington State), Hakim Hart (Maryland) and Tyler Burton (Richmond) haven’t made the impact most expected.
The Wildcats are still a top-40 team in both offensive and defensive efficiency, and they have shown how dangerous they can be at their best behind the big two of Eric Dixon and Justin Moore.
But the variance of their results is something to watch in a league with few soft spots other than DePaul.
Newcomer who has made biggest impact: Cam Spencer, UConn
An argument can be made for one of Butler’s transfers, but I’m going with Spencer, because of how impressive the Huskies have been coming off a national championship. UConn has looked almost as formidable so far, even after losing Adama Sanogo, Jordan Hawkins and Andre Jackson Jr. to the NBA.
Spencer, the 6-foot-4 Rutgers import, has been a major reason for that, coming up big in wins over North Carolina, Texas, Indiana and Gonzaga.
He’s shooting a robust 45.9 percent from 3-point range on 6.7 attempts, a career-best 3.6 assists and averaging 15.7 points, numbers that rival what Hawkins did last year as one of the best shooting guards in the country.
Team with most to prove: St. John’s
The Johnnies have one good win (Utah), one bad loss (Boston College) and little else worth mentioning during an uneven start to the Rick Pitino era.
St. John’s has handled its buy games well, beating those four opponents by an average of 29.7 points, which has kept its metrics in a salvageable spot (NET ranking of 66).
The defense, ranked 94th in efficiency, has to improve, and Pitino needs more consistency out of his senior guard trio of Nahiem Alleyne, Jordan Dingle and Daniss Jenkins.
Center Joel Soriano has been dominant, by far this team’s best player.
There was top-25 hype entering the year for this group, which in hindsight may have been overrating it.
We’ll find out more about St. John’s starting this week with games against Xavier at home and UConn on the road.
Big East power rankings
1. Connecticut
2. Marquette
3. Creighton
4. Villanova
5. Providence
6. Butler
7. St. John’s
8. Xavier
9. Seton Hall
10. Georgetown
11. DePaul
Big East all-league first team
F Bryce Hopkins (17.2 PPG, 8.3 RPG), Providence
G Devin Carter (15.5 PPG, 7.8 RPG), Providence
G Tyler Kolek (15.0 PPG, 5.9 APG, Marquette
G Tristen Newton (16.3 PPG, 6.0 APG), Connecticut
G/F Baylor Scheierman (18.5 PPG, 4.7 APG), Creighton
