UConn is again the team to beat in the Big East. Rick Pitino has St. John's chasing the top spot

UConn is again the team to beat in the Big East as it chases its third national title in five years.

The Huskies caught a break when NCAA Tournament star Braylon Mullins decided to stick around one more season in hopes of winning a national championship instead of heading to the NBA.

The 6-foot-6 shooting guard was projected to be a first-round pick. The Huskies ponied up the cash needed to keep him — reported to be well in the seven figures — and Mullins again will make coach Dan Hurley's team a title contender.

He became a national sensation when he made a 35-footer with 0.4 seconds left to cap UConn’s incredible comeback to beat top-seeded Duke 73-72 to win the East Region title, sending the Huskies to their third Final Four in four years. The Huskies lost to Michigan in the national title game.

Rick Pitino has St. John's aiming for at least a Final Four berth after winning 61 games with back-to-back Big East championships and a pair of top-five seeds in the NCAA Tournament over the last two seasons. He landed a standout transfer to aid the program's push into the upper echelon of college basketball's elite.

Villanova used to be a regular national title contender until it missed three straight tournaments in the wake of Jay Wright's retirement. Kevin Willard left Maryland to try to turn the Wildcats into winners and succeeded with a return to March Madness.

“It was important because I knew it would help in the portal,' Willard said. ”Four years straight without the NCAA Tournament would have made it a little bit more difficult to get some of the kids we got. Villanova is still Villanova basketball. But kids still want to play in the NCAA Tournament. It helped when we went back because kids recognized that Villanova's back into where we're going to be every year."

The Wildcats are picked third in the conference.

UConn point guard Silas Demary Jr.is the Big East preseason Player of the Year. The 6-foot-4 point guard averaged 10.1 points and 4.5 rebounds with a league-best 5.9 assists per game. He reached double-figures in 21 games. UConn was 17-4 in those games.

UConn’s Mullins, Marquette’s Nigel James Jr. and St. John's Tounde Yessoufou were unanimous selections on the preseason all-Big East first team. Ian Jackson of St. John’s and Tyler Perkins from Villanova also made the team. Four of the five are returning players, bucking a trend of top players leaving in the portal for other schools and for more money.

St. John's Yessoufou is expected to make the biggest impact among all the conference transfers. He averaged 17.8 points, 5.8 rebounds with Baylor last season and broke the school's freshman scoring record with 605 points. ... Na’jai Hines is at UConn after the 6-11, 265-pound center left Seton Hall. He led the Big East in blocks as a freshman (2.2), Nik Khamenia joins him at UConn after a stint with Duke.

UConn's Colben Landrew highlights the Big East freshmen class. The 6-foot-6 forward was a five-star rated recruit out of Georgia. He starred in June with Team USA at the FIBA U18 AmeriCup, averaging 11.3 points, 4.6 boards, 1.4 assists, and 1.4 steals in five games. Landrew could follow in the footsteps of Stephon Castle and Liam McNeeley as recent freshmen who stepped in immediately for the Huskies.

Alan Huss, who played for Creighton from 1997-2001, takes over the program from long-time coach Greg McDermott. He had 14 seasons of 20-plus wins and took the Bluejays to two Sweet 16s and one Elite Eight over 10 NCAA Tournament appearances. Huss was 56-15 in two seasons at High Point, and he led the school to its first NCAA Tournament appearance in its Division I history in 2025.

He's not the only Big East coach returning to his former program. Butler hired Ronald Nored in the wake of Thad Matta 's retirement. Nored graduated from Butler in 2012, helping the Bulldogs to back-to-back NCAA national championship games as the team’s starting point guard under coach Brad Stevens. He leads the program in games played (143) and postseason games played (16).

UConn was picked to win the Big East by the league’s coaches with defending champion St. John’s the second choice. Villanova, Marquette and Providence were the next three in the preseason poll. Xavier was picked sixth. Creighton was seventh. DePaul, which had its best finish in the Big East a season ago, was chosen eighth with Seton Hall and Georgetown behind them. Butler was the 11th choice.

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