The action on Big East opening night shouldn’t feature much drama, with eight teams in action expected to begin the 2024-25 college basketball season with victories. There will still be reasons for checking in on the matchups on the first day of the season. Year two of the Rick Pitino era at St. John’s has the Red Storm favored by 18.5 points as an 18.5-point favorite against visiting Fordham, according to FanDuel. Among the games with lines, Butler has the shortest odds at -14.5 against Missouri State. Each of the Big East teams in action on the first day of the 2023-24 season won by at least 10 points.
The Big East had players on the watch lists in all the major individual awards. Some of them will be in action on Big East opening night. Let’s check out five things to look forward to as the college basketball season is upon us in what could be another memorable season in the Big East.
5 Things To Look for on Big East Opening Night
The Big East openers will begin with St. John’s looking to beat Fordham for the third time in the last four seasons. Fordham’s last win against the Red Storm came in 2015. The 6:30 p.m. ET game will air on FS1.
Butler is up next with a 6:45 p.m. clash with Missouri State. Providence will host Central Connecticut. Xavier, Seton Hall, DePaul, Villanova, and Marquette are also at home on Monday. UConn and Creighton, who were picked to finish first and second in the Big East preseason poll, play their season openers on Wednesday.
Check Out The Red Storm Transfers In Big East Opening Night
Pitino had a pretty solid first season at St. John’s, with the Red Storm winning 20 games and reaching the semifinals of the Big East tournament. Pitino is setting his sights even higher. St. John’s had the top-rated class of incoming transfers among Big East teams, according to the 247sports.com database.
Kadary Richmond leads the way after transferring from Seton Hall to St. John’s. Guard Deivon Smith, center Vincent Iwuchukwu and forward Aaron Scott are other transfers to watch. Big East teams were active in the transfer portal. This is the first chance to see which of the transfers will make the biggest impact in the Big East.
The real thing begins Monday, November 4th against Fordham at Carnesecca Arena⚡️
🎟️➡️ https://t.co/qUkJ6HWEEo#RedStorm pic.twitter.com/7MeOg42SVb
— St. John’s Men’s Basketball (@StJohnsBBall) October 30, 2024
Villanova to be Without Top Returning Scorer on Big East Opening Night
Villanova begins the season against Lafayette. Don’t be looking for Eric Dixon, Villanova’s leading scorer in each of the last two seasons in the game. The NCAA has suspended Dixon for one game after taking part in the Portsmouth Invitational during the pre-draft process. Dixon originally had his name in the 2024 NBA but later decided to return to Villanova. Dixon averaged 16.6 points and 6.5 rebounds last season. Villanova has six freshmen on the roster, so this could be a chance for some of them to shine without Dixon, who will return on Wednesday when Villanova plays Columbia.
I asked Kyle Neptune about who will replace Eric Dixon during his one game suspension: pic.twitter.com/toNOmZBVom
— Dylan Johnson (@bydylanjohnson) October 31, 2024
Freemantle Ready to Return for Xavier
Some might have been surprised to see Xavier finish third in the Big East preseason poll. Getting Zach Freemantle back played a role in the lofty expectations. Freemantle was a double-digit scorer in each of his last three seasons. An injury forced him to miss the 2023-24 season. Obviously, he was sorely missed. He is eager to return to the court this season.
Freemantle last appeared in a regular-season game on Jan. 28, 2023. He scored 18 points in the 84-67 road loss to Creighton. Dayvion McKnight is another key player for Xavier. He averaged 12.4 points and 4.8 assists per game last season.
DePaul Could Return To The Win Column
The nightmare of a 2023-24 season ended with DePaul losing its last 20 games. Look for that to change on Monday night when Southern Indiana comes to Wintrust Arena. Louisville transfer JJ Traynor, Davidson transfer David Skogman, and UIC transfer Isaiah Rivera are among the new faces on the roster for DePaul. The Blue Demons went winless in the Big East last season, which resulted in a roster overhaul. All three of the wins for DePaul during the 2023-24 season came with the Blue Demons listed as a home favorite. DePaul is favored to begin this season with a victory.
Marquette is Ready to Rumble
Marquette is the only one of the three Big East teams ranked in the top 25 in both national polls set to play on Monday. The Golden Eagles will face Stony Brook on Big East opening night. The Golden Eagles won 31 of their last 33 season openers and will be favored to add to that total on Monday. This will be the first meeting between Stony Brook and Marquette. Kam Jones and David Joplin are back as Shaka Smart‘s team has a pair of returning double-digit scorers. Expectations are high at Marquette despite seeing Tyler Kolek and Oso Ighodaro both taken in the second round of the 2024 NBA Draft.
