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This is a huge weekend for Big East Hoops, with the conference needing to prove itself against high-major competition and get big wins which could pay dividends in March.
Let’s take a look at today’s slate of games:
Butler vs SMU
I wrote a full game preview for this one, which can be read here, but I’ll quickly summarize it for those who just want a very brief overview:
Name to Watch on SMU: Kevin “Boopie” Miller
Keys to the Game for Butler:
Don’t turn the ball over
Crash the Glass defensively
Get Telfort involved early and often
SMU plays really fast and sends multiple players to the offensive glass, two things Butler has struggled to contain in this short season.
Pick: SMU
Marquette at Maryland
I love these early-season road games. And HCH/RTTG’s own Zach Penrice wrote a preview and will cover this game inside the Xfinity Center. Here’s my take on what I would consider the Big East Game of the Day:
I liked Maryland coming into the season. I think defensively they will cause problems for Marquette, who will need to have their floor spacers making key plays. I’m very interested to see how Julian Reese, one of the best defenders in the Big Ten, plays almost exclusively on the perimeter in his time at the PF position guarding Joplin.
Maryland has two new guards, Selton Miguel and Ja'Kobi Gillespie. Gillespie likely gets the Kam Jones assignment after being a member of the All-MVC Defensive Team last season. He’s a very effective shooter too, and this could be a breakout game for him. He won’t stop Jones, which is much easier said than done, but he might do enough to stay in his grill and keep him out of a rhythm, which could drastically affect Marquette’s offense. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Miguel and DeShawn Harris-Smith covering Jones at times (DHS will have to slide over to Ross if he continues his excellent form), to give him different looks. I think they have options.
But the elephant in the room for this game is this quote from Derik Queen on Ben Gold.
Queen has yet to prove his defensive capabilities on the perimeter, which will be tested against Ben Gold, in pick-and-pop actions. Gold, however, has not been good from long distances in this short sample, shooting sub 20% from three.
And Queen, I can’t lie, is awesome. He’s so good. He’s an old school big and I think will outmuscle Gold inside with ease. He’s really strong in the low post and has some skill on the perimeter to put the ball on the floor and get to the rim. I expect Marquette will have to send doubles, which comes down to Maryland’s perimeter shooters (Rodney Rice, Miguel, Gillespie) hitting shots.
But I think we could reasonably see a Derik Queen 18-12 type game, propelling the Terps to a huge home win.
Pick: Maryland 74, Marquette 67
Virginia at Villanova
I’d be surprised if this game was high-scoring in the slightest. Both teams really like to slow the pace down. These programs have also had some… more chaotic offseasons to say the least.
UVA has not been impressive in their two games. Campbell played them close, and Coppin State could be the worst team in the country.
The Cavaliers are led by their best returner, guard Isaac McKneely. San Diego State transfer Elijah Saunders has also played a pretty huge role for the Cavaliers this season, fitting Virginia’s play style on both ends. I would expect Saunders to be tasked with trying to contain Dixon, a job much easier said than done.
McKneely has continued his high-level play from a year ago, after averaging 12.3PPG for Virginia, shooting 44.5% from long distance. He’s averaging 12.5PPG in this short season and will be the guy tasked with shouldering the scoring load, as Virginia takes on some tougher competition.
Virginia doesn’t have one key shot creator they can turn to, to get a bucket. Virginia’s offense isn’t nearly as efficient as it was when they were running out Ty Jerome, Kyle Guy and that group. Virginia struggles on that end, and Villanova should take advantage.
The guards of the Wildcats should be able to shoot from the outside, to keep that patented Virginia pack line defense off of them, and Dixon should be able to create on the interior and is good enough to cause problems for Virginia.
It’s very hard to trust Villanova in any way, however. I don’t like either of these teams long term, but will predict the Wildcats get a very close win with the least amount of confidence one possibly could.
Pick: Villanova 57, Virginia 55
Duquesne at DePaul
Coach Dru Joyce takes over from his high school coach Keith Dambrot at Duquesne, after Dambrot finally got that illustrious NCAA Tournament victory. It’s a largely new team for the Dukes, headlined by Chicago State transfer Jahsean Corbett and George Washington transfer Maximus Edwards.
Edwards hasn’t put up the same stats he did at GW yet this season, because of some cold shooting, and as a result the 8PPG is misleading. Edwards averaged 12.4PPG and 6.4RPG last season with the Revolutionaries and has rebounded well with the Dukes, collecting eight rebounds per game. Edwards is a name to watch, and will not continue his cold shooting this season.
Corbett was a part of a 1-2 punch with the Cougars last year, next to current Providence Friar Wesley Cardet. Corbett averaged 15.4PPG last season, doing his best work on the interior. Corbett is a slash-first guard who wants to get in the paint and create for himself or his teammates.
The Dukes are 0-2 to start the season, but have lost to some really good mid-major programs with Lipscomb and Princeton (in NJ), two teams we very well could see in March making some noise. The Dukes are battle-tested and shouldn’t be taken as a cakewalk for these Blue Demons.
But the Blue Demons, behind some strong scoring from Isaiah Rivera and Jacob Meyer, to pair next to their true floor general in Conor Enright, have been shining this season. They may be tested in this game, but I think DePaul answers the call.
Pick: DePaul 78, Duquesne 70
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