Big East predicted order of finish 2024-25: Xavier, Georgetown overrated; St. John’s underrated

The Big East released its preseason predicted order of finish on Wednesday ahead of the 2024-25 college basketball season. UConn was picked by the conference’s coaches to win Big East in the annual preseason poll, and Creighton star big man Ryan Kalkbrenner received Big East Preseason Player of the Year honors after bypassing the 2024 NBA Draft to return to school for another season.

UConn won its first outright Big East regular season conference title in 25 years last season and is projected as the clear-cut favorite to repeat. UConn returns star forward Alex Karaban and welcomes in newcomers Liam McNeeley and Aidan Mahaney as the program looks to become the first school to three-peat as national champions since UCLA won seven consecutive titles from 1967-1973.

Creighton was picked to finish second, followed by Xavier, Marquette and St. John’s. The Bluejays have reached the NCAA Tournament in four consecutive seasons and reached the second weekend in three of those appearances.

Here is the full poll of the conference’s coaches, followed by overrated/underrated observations from the predicted order of finish.

Big East Preseason Media Poll

Overrated: Xavier

Predicted finish: 3

Xavier was picked to finish 5th in our CBS Sports Big East expert picks. Getting projected third (in this poll) isn’t outlandish by any means, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the two teams behind them — Marquette and St. John’s — finish ahead of them in the final standings.

Xavier was dealt a blow before the start of the season when big man Lassina Traore sustained a season-ending knee injury during practice. The Long Beach State transfer was projected to be an impact player after averaging 11.9 points and 10.3 rebounds last season. The Musketeers still have plenty of talent to make the NCAA Tournament, but losing an impact player before the season is far from ideal.

Underrated: St. John’s 

Predicted finish: 5

Give me all the stock possible in Rick Pitino getting St. John’s back to the NCAA Tournament this season. In Pitino’s first season at the helm, the Red Storm won 20 games and went a respectable 11-9 in Big East play. The additions of former Seton Hall guard Kadary Richmond and Utah guard Deivon Smith will raise St. John’s floor and ceiling. 

Richmond could be a sneaky pick to win Big East Player of the Year. He’s that good. If St. John’s exceeds its preseason billing and makes a run to the NCAA Tournament, it will be because of those two marquee transfers.

Overrated: Georgetown

Predicted finish: 9

Picking a team already projected to finish ninth out of 11 teams seems harsh, but there’s an argument that Seton Hall (and maybe even DePaul) could finish above the Hoyas in the standings. Georgetown went 9-23 (and 2-18 in Big East play) in Year 1 of the Ed Cooley era. 

Jayden Epps is one of the best scoring guards in the country, and he will be counted on if the Hoyas want to make a jump from the bottom of the Big East standings.

Underrated: Providence

Predicted finish: 6

Providence star Bryce Hopkins is back after a devastating knee injury cut his season short. His return alone should help Providence finish above the middle-of-the-pack of the Big East standings.

Providence guard Jayden Pierre will assume an even larger role after Devin Carter departed to the NBA. Georgia transfer Jabri Abdur-Rahim will also help Providence replace some of the scoring it lost. Keep an eye on Kim English and company to make some noise and finish above sixth place in the standings.

Preseason All-Big East First Team

Preseason All-Big East Second Team

Preseason All-Big East Third Team

Underrated: Deivon Smith, St. John’s

Smith was one of the most underrated players in college basketball last season. The former Utah, Georgia Tech and Mississippi State guard is on his fourth and final stop in his college career, and is coming off a season in which he finished No. 6 in the entire country in assists (7.1). Smith also averaged 13.3 points and 6.3 rebounds as a 6-foot guard. He will take the Big East by storm this season and solidly himself as one of the best players in the conference.

Overrated: Eric Dixon, Villanova

It’s not easy to single out any player on an all-conference team like this because every player on the first team is a top-25 player in college basketball. Tabbing Dixon as the “overrated” player is more of a projection for how good Smith will be at St. John’s, as opposed to what Dixon will do at Villanova. Dixon has racked up 106 starts in the last three seasons, and it would take another huge jump from Smith to dethrone him on the all-conference team.