John Fanta
College Basketball Broadcaster and Reporter
There is simply nothing in college basketball like the Big East Tournament at Madison Square Garden. It is the longest-running conference tournament at any one venue in the sport, appearing at The World’s Most Famous Arena for a 43rd consecutive year with coverage on FOX and FS1 beginning on Thursday, following Wednesday’s first-round action on Peacock.
From Rick Pitino leading St. John’s to a 1-seed for the first time since 1986, to Dan Hurley trying to repeat and find the confidence to make a pursuit of a three-peat in the Big Dance, to the All-American talent on display, this tournament should deliver the goods once again in front of sellout crowds in Manhattan. With that, let’s explore the 2025 Big East Tournament.
What is the biggest storyline heading into this year’s Big East Tournament that fans should be paying attention to?
Pitino, Pitino, Pitino. At this moment, the Hall of Famer and his Johnnies aren’t just the biggest story in the Big East. The 27-4 Red Storm are making as much noise in the national media as any team in college basketball after winning their first Big East outright regular-season title since 1985. From an appearance on “The Tonight Show” to “Pardon My Take” and NYC sports radio station WFAN taking phone calls on the Red Storm, the buzz surrounding the program is why you hire the 881-game winner.
On the floor, the Red Storm capped the regular season in dramatic fashion, with Kadary Richmond poking the ball out of Chase Ross’ hands, Simeon Wilcher finding it and hitting Zuby Ejiofor before the big man scored the game-winner at the buzzer, just as he did at Providence earlier this year.
What’s really interesting about the Big East Tournament is that it’s been at Madison Square Garden every year since 1983, but it’s been a quarter-century since the home team in the building has won it. We’ve never really talked about the concept of home-court advantage with the Red Storm for a variety of reasons. But Pitino has a team that ranks No. 3 in the nation in defensive efficiency and All-American guard play with RJ Luis and Richmond. The top-seeded Johnnies, who are in that position for the first time in 1986, are firmly in the spotlight.
Does St. John’s have a chance to earn a No. 1 seed if the Red Storm win the Big East Tournament?
Not a 1-seed, but they could get to the 2-line at 30-4 on the year. They’re not under consideration for the 1-line because of their 4-4 Quad 1 record, and also the fact that Auburn, Duke, Houston and one of Florida or Alabama will have the top seed line intact. But if St. John’s wins the Big East Tournament, the Red Storm should firmly be on the 2-line – zero questions asked.
Which team has the most to gain from this weekend’s Big East Tournament?
This one is easy: Xavier. The Musketeers have been hovering between the last four in and first four out in every bracket forecast, but they get a priceless Quad 1 opportunity against Marquette on Thursday afternoon (2:30 p.m. ET on Peacock). In fact, when it comes to the bubble conversation, I think that’s the most important game of the week. The Musketeers have won seven in a row, own a top-50 strength of schedule, and beating Marquette would give them a combined 10 wins in Quads 1 and 2. With no blemishes, I think Sean Miller cements a bid with a win on Thursday, barring a slew of bid stealers.
Conversely, which team has the most to lose in this weekend’s Big East Tournament?
Honestly, it’s Xavier. Frankly, St. John’s, Creighton and UConn are all in a good place to make the tournament. You could be concerned about Marquette if the Golden Eagles lost for a fourth time in six games, as they just haven’t been the same team the last two months as they were to start the season. But if you’re the Musketeers and you lose on Thursday, you’ll be wondering about what could have been if you’re left out on Selection Sunday.
Who is one player that has the chance to really make a name for himself in this weekend’s Big East Tournament?
Creighton’s Jamiya Neal. While Steven Ashworth and Ryan Kalkbrenner make up an elite point guard-center duo, if the second-seeded Bluejays are to make a run in the tournament, the 6-foot-5 senior wing has to be the third wheel for Greg McDermott’s team. He has been distributing the ball at a high level with 31 assists in his last five games, but he can’t be a single-digit scorer like he’s been in three of the last four games. He’s a four-year player who transferred in from Arizona State to create moments like these. While the country knows about the stars at St. John’s and UConn, as well as Marquette’s Kam Jones, Neal seems to fly under the radar and could be key for Creighton.
Is there one team outside the top-four seeds that could make a deep run in this tournament?
Villanova. The Wildcats have the nation’s leading scorer in Eric Dixon (23.6 PPG), an explosive senior wing in Wooga Poplar, a veteran point guard in Jhamir Brickus, and another dynamic shotmaker in Jordan Longino. Coming off a deflating loss at Georgetown in which the Wildcats lost a nine-point lead with 3:26 to go, it begs the question of how this team will respond this week with an eight-day gap between games. Villanova has the benefit of rest but would have to get through UConn in the quarterfinals. That said, the Cats beat St. John’s, UConn, Xavier and Marquette, and they had Creighton beat before Ashworth banked in a game-winning triple back on Feb. 1. They can beat anybody in this league but also lose to anyone in this conference. You just never know in champ week. Look at last year when NC State won the ACC crown and Duquesne claimed the A-10 Tournament title.
What would a St. John’s vs. UConn Big East Tournament championship game mean for this conference and their respective fan bases?
It would be the biggest game in the Big East since the league reconfigured in 2013 and one of the most compelling league title games we’ve seen in the conference’s history. Why? Because you have two of the most powerful personalities in sports on the sidelines with Pitino and Dan Hurley, two teams with zero love lost, and St. John’s aiming for its first Big East Tournament title since 2000. For the Huskies, it would mean they played strong basketball and signal that the proclamations of Hurley and his team being done were vast exaggerations. The amount of social media trash talk would be through the roof, and you can forget about secondary ticket prices. You’re talking about at least $500-plus to get your butt into the building and that might be light after taxes and fees.
Richmond. Luis. Ejiofor. Deivon Smith. Alex Karaban. Liam McNeeley. Solo Ball. Tarris Reed Jr.
The star power would be on display and the building would be shaking at 33rd and 7th. You’d have a spectacle that would really move the needle for the Big East nationally. If the conference followed that up by getting Xavier to join St. John’s, Creighton, UConn and Marquette in the NCAA Tournament, that would make this season a mission accomplished for the league.
Who is your pick to win the Big East Tournament and why?
While I believe St. John’s is the clear front-runner, I have a rule of not picking the No. 1 seed in a conference tournament because it’s an easy pick to make. While I like both Creighton and Marquette to win an NCAA Tournament game, I worry about how predictable they are to defend at times. It doesn’t mean either one of them couldn’t catch fire and get enough from their supporting cast to support the star power of guys like Ashworth, Kalkbrenner, Jones and Stevie Mitchell. Xavier could be a dark horse, but the lack of size is a concern for three games in as many days.
With that being said, I’ll go a little outside the box: The winner of the UConn vs. Villanova game on Thursday night, assuming the Wildcats get past Seton Hall, will win the Big East Tournament.
The Huskies have won five of six and are rounding back into form with a top-15 offense that is really hard to stop. That said, they lost to Villanova in January and needed a 14-point comeback to beat the Wildcats on Feb. 18. It bears noting that Villanova ranks second in America at 39.8% from 3. If UConn can contain the Wildcats on the perimeter, I like the Huskies.
Connecticut is 8-1 at MSG in the last two years. The one loss? It came to St. John’s, who drilled the Huskies, 89-75, on Feb. 23.
I’ll take UConn, but I think that 3 vs. 6 quarterfinal game on Thursday night could prove to be spicy.
John Fanta is a national college basketball broadcaster and writer for FOX Sports. He covers the sport in a variety of capacities, from calling games on FS1 to serving as lead host on the BIG EAST Digital Network to providing commentary on The Field of 68 Media Network. Follow him at @John_Fanta.
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