This Week In The Big East - Weekly Overview Of Ncaa College Basketball's Top Conference

This Week In The BIG EAST Radio Show, distributed by Westwood One, continues its ninth season with guests Marquette junior guard Tyler Kolek, Creighton head coach Greg McDermott and CBS Sports Analyst Steve Lappas.The eighth episode of TWITBE reviews the past week of BIG EAST basketball, taking a deep dive into the league’s top contenders for the regular season title. Heading into the final stretch of the regular season, Marquette is in a position of claiming the regular season title and top seed for the BIG EAST Tournament, following its latest win over Creighton on Tuesday.The BIG EAST Spotlight is on Marquette guard Tyler Kolek, who is leading Shaka Smart’s Golden Eagles squad toward a BIG EAST regular season championship. Kolek discusses the leadership role he took on ahead of the season, and the success Marquette has had throughout the season.The BIG EAST Focus shines on Creighton head coach Greg McDermott. After a difficult midweek home loss to Marquette, the Bluejays are still in prime position to not

This Week In The BIG EAST Radio Show, distributed by Westwood One, continues its ninth season with guests Creighton junior center Ryan Kalkbrenner, BIG EAST Executive Associate Commissioner Stu Jackson and FOX Sports and Sporting News Analyst Mike DeCourcy.The seventh episode of TWITBE reviews the past week of BIG EAST basketball, taking a deep dive into the league’s top contenders for the regular season title. As the home teams continue to dominate, the top four teams in the standings–Marquette, Xavier, Providence and Creighton–are currently 10-0 against each other on their home floors, in addition to being a perfect 30-0 combined at home in overall conference action. The BIG EAST Spotlight is on Creighton center Ryan Kalkbrenner, who entered the year along with his team with high expectations as the reigning BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year. After an early season illness threatened to derail those expectations, Kalkbrenner and the Bluejays have stormed back into the BIG EAST and national spotlight. In

This Week In The BIG EAST Radio Show, distributed by Westwood One, continues its ninth season with guests Xavier graduate guard Souley Boum, St. John’s head coach Mike Anderson and FOX Sports Analyst Andy Katz.The sixth episode of TWITBE reviews the past week of BIG EAST basketball, taking a deep dive into the league’s top contenders for the regular season title. As the home teams continue to dominate, the top four teams in the standings–Marquette, Xavier, Providence and Creighton–are currently 8-0 against each other on their home floors, in addition to being a perfect 27-0 combined at home in overall conference action. The BIG EAST Spotlight is on Xavier guard Souley Boum, who runs the point for the BIG EAST leading Musketeers. Ranking at the top of the BIG EAST with a 4.6 assist-turnover ratio in league play, tied-for-second at 5.7 assists per game and seventh with 15.7 points per game, Boum discusses his growth from starting his career at San Francisco, competing at UTEP and now leading the charge at Xavie

This Week In The BIG EAST Radio Show, distributed by Westwood One, continues its ninth season with guests Connecticut sophomore guard Jordan Hawkins, Butler head coach Thad Matta and CBS Sports Network analyst Jon Rothstein.The fifth episode of TWITBE reviews the past week of BIG EAST basketball, taking a deep dive into the league past the halfway point. As the home teams continue to dominate, the top four teams in the standings–Marquette, Xavier, Providence and Creighton–are currently 8-0 against each other on their home floors. On Wednesday, the 16th-ranked Musketeers protected their home court in overtime against No. 17 Providence, despite losing Zach Freemantle to an injury. On the same night, No. 14 Marquette came back to secure a home win over Villanova.The BIG EAST Spotlight is on UConn guard Jordan Hawkins, who discusses the growth in his game in his sophomore season with the Huskies. Ranking second on the squad with 16.6 points per game, in addition to knocking down a team high 61 shots from deep on

This Week In The BIG EAST Radio Show, distributed by Westwood One, continues its ninth season with guests Seton Hall senior forward Tyrese Samuel, Marquette head coach Shaka Smart and The Athletic senior writer and author Dana O’Neil. The fourth episode of TWITBE reviews the past week of BIG EAST basketball, taking a deep dive into the league at the halfway point. As the league begins to stabilize, four teams have emerged as title contenders with Xavier, Marquette, Providence and Creighton all jockeying for the top position. The middle portion of the league also has eyes on post-season play as NCAA Tournament resumes begin to solidify themselves heading into February. The BIG EAST Spotlight is on Seton Hall forward Tyrese Samuel, who reflects on his four-year career at Seton Hall. Despite the rise of the transfer portal in college basketball and a new coach at the helm for the Pirates, Samuel was excited to get to work with head coach Shaheen Holloway. He also talks about the rugged BIG EAST, in addition to S

This Week In The BIG EAST Radio Show, distributed by Westwood One, continues its ninth season with guests St. John’s senior forward Joel Soriano, Villanova head coach Kyle Neptune and FOX Sports play-by-play announcer Jason Benetti.The third episode of TWITBE reviews the past week of BIG EAST basketball, taking a deep dive into how home teams continue to prevail in conference play boasting a 31-15 mark.The BIG EAST Spotlight is on St. John’s forward Joel Soriano, who discusses his growth from being a role player for the Red Storm a season ago, to now being placed in the national spotlight. Most recently named Naismith National Player of the Week. After a 2-0 week with wins over Butler and Connecticut, Soriano and the Johnnies return to action against Villanova Friday at Madison Square Garden. Individually, Soriano leads the nation with 16 double-doubles, while averaging 16.5 points and a BIG EAST leading 12.1 rebounds per game.The BIG EAST Focus shines on Villanova head coach Kyle Neptune, ahead of the Wildca

This Week In The BIG EAST Radio Show, distributed by Westwood One, continued its ninth season with guests Providence sophomore forward Bryce Hopkins, DePaul head coach Tony Stubblefield and Field of 68 NCAA Basketball Analyst Jeff Goodman.The second episode of TWITBE takes a look at Marquette, Providence and Xavier’s fast starts to conference play, as well as the incredible matchups already played in the opening month of BIG EAST competition.The BIG EAST Spotlight is on Providence forward Bryce Hopkins, who discusses his transfer from Kentucky to Providence and the impact head coach Ed Cooley has had on rebuilding his confidence. Hopkins talks about how a back injury early in his freshman season at Kentucky limited his time on the court, but since transferring to Providence coach Cooley and “Friartown” have  welcomed him with open arms and have helped him feel like himself again. Leading the Friars with 16.0 points and 9.1 rebounds per game at the halfway point of the 2022-23 campaign, Hopkins talks about how

This Week In The BIG EAST Radio Show, distributed by Westwood One, begins its ninth season with guests Creighton senior forward Baylor Scheierman, Xavier head coach Sean Miller and FOX Sports National NCAA Basketball Color Analyst Donny Marshall.The returning hosts for This Week In The BIG EAST (#TWITBE) are John Rooke, a longtime BIG EAST play-by-play voice, and Kevin McNamara, BIG EAST radio host, columnist and author. Rooke and McNamara give a comprehensive look at the teams, coaches, players and storied tradition of the top basketball conference in America in each episode.With the start of a New Year, the first episode of TWITBE takes a look at the jumpstart of conference play, while taking a look at the new landscape of BIG EAST Basketball with four new head coaches welcomed into the league over the offseason.The BIG EAST Spotlight is on Creighton forward Baylor Scheierman, who discusses the role the transfer portal has played in the landscape of college basketball over the past couple seasons. Transferr

NEW YORK – This Week In The BIG EAST Radio Show, distributed by Westwood One wraps its eighth season with BIG EAST Coach of the Year Ed Cooley, two-time BIG EAST Player of the Year, Collin Gillespie, and Creighton head coach Greg McDermott, There is a tournament title to be won at The World’s Most Famous Arena and an NCAA Tournament on the horizon as the final episode of TWITBE takes a quick look back on the year and the accomplishments of the league for finishing the regular season. The BIG EAST Focus lens is on Providence head coach Ed Cooley, who led the Friars to their first BIG EAST regular season title and the top overall seed in the BIG EAST Tournament.The BIG EAST Spotlight shines on Villanova’s Collin Gillespie. Having suffered a major knee injury a year ago, Gillespie’s triumphant return comes full circle by collecting BIG EAST Player of the Year honors and leading the Wildcats to Friday night’s semifinal contest against Connecticut. Back in the semifinals for the fourth time at the helm of Creighto

NEW YORK – This Week In The BIG EAST Radio Show, distributed by Westwood One is in its eighth season as the official podcast of BIG EAST basketball. The ninth episode of the season welcomes DePaul senior guard Javon Freeman-Liberty, BIG EAST Commissioner Val Ackerman and former Providence coach and current ESPN College Basketball analyst Tim Welsh.TWITBE welcomes DePaul guard Javon Freeman-Liberty in the BIG EAST Spotlight, ahead of Saturday’s regular season finale against No. 18 UConn. Despite an injury sidelining the all-around guard for a month, including seven conference games, Freeman-Liberty is back in the starting lineup lighting up the scoreboard. Leading the BIG EAST with 21.9 ppg over the course of his 22 regular season games, as well as averaging 22.7 in 12 league games, he has led the Blue Demons (15-14, 6-13 BE) back over .500 while riding a three-game winning streak. Averaging 28.0 ppg, 7.5 rpg and 3.3 spg in his last four outings, paving the way to league wins over Georgetown, St. John’s and Ma

NEW YORK – This Week In The BIG EAST Radio Show, distributed by Westwood One is in its eighth season as the official podcast of BIG EAST basketball. The eighth episode of the season welcomes Connecticut head coach Dan Hurley, Seton Hall senior forward Jared Rhoden and Fox Sports and The Sporting News basketball analyst Mike DeCourcyTWITBE welcomes Seton Hall forward Jared Rhoden in the BIG EAST Spotlight, ahead of Saturday’s tilt against Xavier. The Pirates entered the season with plenty of talent and started off hot with a pair of top-10 wins over Michigan and Texas. However, mid-season injuries combined with the challenging conference slate caused setbacks for a Seton Hall team that opened conference play just 3-6. Lately returning to form, the Pirates (17-9, 8-8 BE) are back in the national spotlight after winning five of their last seven outings, with Rhoden leading the way with a team-best 15.5 points per game.The BIG EAST Focus shines on UConn head coach Dan Hurley fresh off the Huskies win over No. 8 V

NEW YORK – This Week In The BIG EAST Radio Show, distributed by Westwood One is in its eighth season as the official podcast of BIG EAST basketball. The seventh episode of the season welcomes Marquette sophomore guard Tyler Kolek, Villanova head coach Jay Wright and basketball analyst Jeff Goodman.TWITBE welcomes Marquette sophomore Tyler Kolek in the BIG EAST Spotlight, ahead of Sunday’s tilt against Creighton. A central theme regarding the 2021-22 season has been the experienced level of play on the floor as a result of more seasoned student-athletes. However, a pair of sophomores are leading the way at Marquette, including the 2021 Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year, Kolek, who transferred from George Mason to Marquette in the offseason. Earning the start in all 26 outings, Kolek leads the BIG EAST in assists per game (6.0) and has helped lead the Golden Eagles to a 17-9 (9-6 BIG EAST) mark.The BIG EAST Focus shines on Villanova head coach Jay Wright fresh of the Wildcats statement win on the road against Prov

NEW YORK – This Week In The BIG EAST Radio Show, distributed by Westwood One is in its eighth season as the official podcast of BIG EAST basketball. The sixth episode of the season welcomes Creighton head coach Greg McDermott, Providence senior center Nate Watson and basketball analyst Donny Marshall.TWITBE welcomes Providence senior Nate Watson in the BIG EAST Spotlight, ahead of Saturday’s tilt against DePaul. Despite being picked seventh in the preseason coaches’ poll, the Friars are off to their best overall start since the 1972-73 season with a 20-2 mark. In league play, Providence sits at the top the standings with a 10-1 record, while riding a seven-game win streak. A super senior for the Friars, Watson leads a balanced scoring attack with 13.5 ppg, to go with a team-high 20 blocks. Watson joins the show to talk about the team’s success and overall goals moving forward. The BIG EAST Focus shines on Creighton head coach Greg McDermott ahead of back-to-back games against Georgetown. Moving into sole poss

NEW YORK – This Week In The BIG EAST Radio Show, distributed by Westwood One is in its eighth season as the official podcast of BIG EAST basketball. The fifth episode of the season welcomes Providence head coach Ed Cooley, DePaul head coach Tony Stubblefield and basketball analyst Jon Rothstein.TWITBE welcomes Providence head coach Ed Cooley in the BIG EAST Spotlight, fresh off an 86-82 road victory over St. John’s on Tuesday. Despite being picked seventh in the preseason coaches’ poll, the Friars are off to their best overall start since the 1972-73 season with a 19-2 mark. In league play, Providence sits at the top the standings with a 9-1 record. Cooley takes the time to talk about how his team has continued to mature over the course of the season and how they have learned to finish close games both at home and on the road.The BIG EAST Focus shines on DePaul head coach Tony Stubblefield. Working through his first BIG EAST season as a head coach, the former Cincinnati and Oregon assistant understands that t

NEW YORK – This Week In The BIG EAST Radio Show, distributed by Westwood One is in its eighth season as the official podcast of BIG EAST basketball. The fourth episode of the season welcomes St. John’s junior forward Julian Champagnie, BIG EAST executive associate commissioner Stu Jackson and basketball analyst Andy Katz.TWITBE welcomes St. John’s Julian Champagnie in the BIG EAST Spotlight, discussing how he handles the pressure of leading the Red Storm. Despite being the focus of every defensive gameplan, the junior leads the conference in scoring in BIG EAST action with 18.3 ppg, while ranking second in the BIG EAST and 32nd nationally with 19.5 ppg over 18 contests.The BIG EAST Focus shines on the conference’s executive associate commissioner Stu Jackson who discusses the second half of the BIG EAST schedule slated for February. In addition, he gives some insider perspectives of the challenges of rescheduling games and the added effects it has across the conference and nation.FOX Sports basketball analyst

NEW YORK – This Week In The BIG EAST Radio Show, distributed by Westwood One, returns for 2022, its eighth season as the official podcast of BIG EAST basketball. The third episode of the season welcomes former Villanova head coach and current CBS basketball analyst Steve Lappas, Villanova junior guard Justin Moore and Seton Hall head coach Kevin WillardTWITBE welcomes Villanova guard Justin Moore in the BIG EAST Spotlight, as the preseason favorite Wildcats near the top of the BIG EAST with a 6-2 conference mark. He ranks seventh in the conference and second on the team with 15.8 points per game. Moore also has been a key contributor on the defensive end with the Wildcats limiting BIG EAST opponents to just 58.5 points per game. 9.3 points less than the conference’s second ranked defensive team, Providence (67.8).The BIG EAST Focus shines on Seton Hall head coach Kevin Willard. In a sport where the difference between winning and losing can be decided by a matter of inches or tenths of a second, Seton Hall has

NEW YORK – This Week In The BIG EAST Radio Show, distributed by Westwood One, returns for 2022, its eighth season as the official podcast of BIG EAST basketball. The second episode of the season welcomes Creighton senior forward Ryan Hawkins, Marquette head coach Shaka Smart and college basketball columnist and statistician Ken Polmeroy.For the second consecutive week, the BIG EAST Spotlight is on the transfer portal, as TWITBE welcomed Creighton forward Ryan Hawkins who has made the transition from Northwest Missouri State and Division II basketball over to the Bluejays. An All-American in Maryville, Mo., Hawkins has been a key contributor to Creighton’s 10-4 (2-1 BE) start, leading the team in both points (13.4) and rebounds (7.4) per game with 14 starts.The BIG EAST Focus shines on Marquette head coach Shaka Smart. After successful runs at Virginia Commonwealth and Texas, he found the chance to return to his home state of Wisconsin and has quickly made an impact on both ends of the court for the Golden Eag

This Week In The BIG EAST Radio Show, distributed by Westwood One begins its eighth season with Providence graduate senior forward Justin Minaya, Xavier head coach Travis Steele,  The Athletic senior college basketball writer and author Dana O’Neil, as well as a celebration of 40 Years at Madison Square Garden with a “Blast from the Past.”With the start of a New Year, the first episode of TWITBE takes a look at the start of conference play as well as a recap of an impressive non-conference slate, with BIG EAST teams combining to go 91-27 (.771).The BIG EAST Spotlight is on Providence forward Justin Minaya, who discusses the role the transfer portal has played in the landscape of college basketball over the past couple seasons. Playing a large role in the Friars’ transformation, Minaya talks about the veteran leadership and experience surrounding Ed Cooley’s team, opening the season with a 13-2 (3-1 BE) mark.The BIG EAST Focus shines on Xavier head coach Travis Steele. The Musketeers have shown balance, explos

This Week In The BIG EAST Radio Show, distributed by Westwood One wraps its seventh season with BIG EAST Coach of the Year Mike Anderson, two of the BIG EAST Players of the Year, Sandro Mamukelashvili and Jeremiah Robinson-Earl, and the voice of Georgetown radio Rich Chvotkin.  There is a tournament title to be won at The World’s Most Famous Arena and an NCAA Tournament on the horizon as the final episode of TWITBE takes a quick look back on the year and the accomplishments of the league for finishing the season. The BIG EAST Focus lens is on St. John’s head coach Anderson, who had another winning season at the helm of the Red Storm. Anderson was voted BIG EAST Coach of the Year by his colleagues after leading St. John’s to the No. 4 seed after being picked ninth in the preseason poll.  The BIG EAST Focus shines on both Seton Hall’s Mamukelashvili and Villanova’s Robinson-Earl. The pair make up two of the three players selection for BIG EAST Player of the Year. Mamukelashvili takes a self-reflection on his co

This Week In The BIG EAST Radio Show, distributed by Westwood One is in its seventh year. The ninth episode of the season welcomes BIG EAST Commissioner Val Ackerman, Marquette Head Coach Steve Wojciechowski and national college basketball writer Dick “Hoops” Weiss. ** PLEASE SUBSCRIBE, RATE And REVIEW! ** The TWITBE BIG EAST Spotlight shines Wojciechowski who discusses Marquette’s resiliency during the pandemic plagued season. The Golden Eagles recently defeated North Carolina in Chapel Hill and look to round into form in time for the BIG EAST Tournament. BIG EAST Commissioner Val Ackerman is on TWITBE bringing this week’s focus on the upcoming Conference Tournament. Ackerman talks about the changes in the sports world over the course of the calendar year. She discusses how the Conference, along with the member institutions, put together a season as fairly, as safely and as equitably as can be done. The national perspective comes from Blue Star Media College Basketball writer “Hoops” Weiss.  Weiss discusses