How many people had the Villanova Wildcats as the first two-loss team in the Big East? When looking at the Big East update, eight teams from the Big East are still undefeated.
Four of those undefeated teams are in action on Wednesday. St. John’s faces Wagner for the first time since 2019. This is the third straight game between the teams when the Red Storm are favored by at least 17.5 points. UConn plays Le Moyne and Creighton welcomes Houston Christian to Omaha. UConn and Creighton were picked to finish first and second in the Big East preseason poll.
There are four Big East teams in the national polls. UConn is at No. 3 and Marquette is 15th in both the Associated Press and Coaches polls. Creighton is 13th in the AP rankings and one spot lower in the voting by the coaches. St. John’s broke into the top 25 in both polls. The Red Storm is 22nd in the AP poll and 25th in the Coaches poll.
Big East Update Begins With Another Villanova Loss
Two of the three Big East in action on Tuesday picked up wins. Xavier was the most impressive of the three teams with a convincing win over Jackson State. Providence struggled offensively in a win over Hampton while Villanova drops to 2-2 with a loss to Saint Joseph’s.
So far, the Big East is 24-4 in non-conference play with Butler and Seton Hall each losing once. There will be four games involving Big East teams on Wednesday and four more on Friday.
Wildcats Remain Without Freshman Forward
These are challenging times for Villanova. The big news was that freshman forward Matthew Hodge was declared to be ineligible by the NCAA. Hodge attended high school in Belgium before moving to New Jersey in 2022.
My official statement: pic.twitter.com/HEVEZcSQkM
— Matthew Hodge (@Matthew03333530) November 8, 2024
The NCAA said that Hodge is considered to be a non-qualifier after looking at his transcripts from his time in Belgium and the United States. Villanova is appealing the ruling. If the appeal is unsuccessful, Hodge will be not able to play this season.
On the court, Villanova has already lost to Columbia and Saint Joseph’s. Eric Dixon had 24 points and Jhamir Brickus added 22 in the loss to the Hawks. The defeat drops Villanova to 0-1 in the Big 5 Classic standings.
“I thought they got into us,” Villanova coach Kyle Neptune told the media after the game. “The pressure affected us. Defensively, they came after us. We’ve got to shore that up. We’ve got to get the ball moving a little bit more.”
Still No Hopkins For Providence
The good news is that Providence improved to 3-0 with a 60-51 win over Hampton. However, it wasn’t exactly the type of effort that makes the Friars look like a contender in the Big East.
Along with the situation with Villanova’s Hodge, the Big East update that is sure to draw the most attention involves Providence star Bryce Hopkins. Hopkins has yet to play this season as a result of a knee injury.
Hopkins suffered a season-ending knee injury in a January game against Seton Hall last season. The Providence star was averaging 15.5 points and 8.6 rebounds per game at the time of his injury.
Once again, Bryce Hopkins out there warming up with his teammates. #pcbb #friars pic.twitter.com/s82y1QlrIm
— Brendan McGair (@BWMcGair03) November 12, 2024
Jayden Pierre and Bensley Joseph scored 13 points each against Hampton. However, the starting five shot 13-for-35 from the field. The Friars held Hampton to 29% shooting.
Transfers Come Through For Xavier
Another Big East update to look at is Xavier putting up 94 points in a win over Jackson State. It was another strong game for Zach Freemantle with 21 points. He had plenty of help as six players scored in double figures.
Transfers Ryan Conwell, John Hugley and Dante Maddox combined for 41 points in the 94-57 victory. Conwell was touted as one of the top incoming Big East transfers coming into the season.
“It was great to see John Hugley, Dante Maddox and Trey Green really impact the win,” Xavier coach Sean Miller said in his postgame press conference. You know Donte and Tre can really score and shoot it. We have started to see signs every day of John getting better.
