The 2020–21 Big East Conference men's basketball season began with practices in October 2020, followed by the start of the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season in November. Conference play began in January 2021.

Head coaches

Coaching changes

Coaches Team Head coach Previous job Years at school Overall record Big East record Big East titles NCAA Tournaments NCAA Final Fours NCAA ChampionshipsButlerLaVall JordanMilwaukee450–3217–20 0 1 00UConnDan HurleyRhode Island342–300–0 0 0 00CreightonGreg McDermottIowa State10217–11156–520 5 00DePaulDave LeitaoTulsa(asst.)8118–11746–74 0 0 00GeorgetownPatrick EwingCharlotte Hornets (asst.)349–4619–35 0 0 00MarquetteSteve WojciechowskiDuke(asst.)6107–7243–48 0 2 00ProvidenceEd CooleyFairfield9170–11672–73 1 5 00Seton HallKevin WillardIona10179–13170–90 0 3 00St. John'sMike AndersonArkansas111–30–0 0 0 00VillanovaJay WrightHofstra19457–177203–1057 14 32XavierTravis SteeleXavier(asst.)229–189–90000 Notes: Years at school includes 2020–21 season. Overall and Big East records are from time at current school and are through week nine of the 2019–20 season. McDermott's MVC conference records and Hurley's AAC records not included since team began play in the Big East.

Preseason

Preseason poll Prior to the season, the Big East conducted a poll of Big East coaches. Coaches do not place their own team on their ballots. RankTeam 1. Villanova (9) 2. Creighton (2) 3. Providence 4. UConn 5. Seton Hall 6. Marquette 7. Xavier 8. Butler 9. St. John's 10. DePaul 11. Georgetown(first place votes)

Preseason All-Big East teams

Honor Recipient Preseason Player of the YearMarcus Zegarowski, Creighton Preseason Freshman of the YearDawson Garcia, Marquette Preseason All-Big East First TeamCharlie Moore, DePaulDavid Duke, ProvidenceSandro Mamukelashvili, Seton HallCollin Gillespie, VillanovaJeremiah Robinson-Earl, Villanova Preseason All-Big East Second TeamBryce Nze, ButlerJames Bouknight, UConnMitch Ballock, CreightonNate Watson, ProvidenceJustin Moore, VillanovaPaul Scruggs, Xavier Preseason All-Big East Honorable MentionD. J. Carton, MarquetteBryce Aiken, Seton Hall

*Schedule Source:

Regular season Rankings + Legend   Increase in ranking   Decrease in ranking   Not ranked previous week   () First place votes

  Pre Wk2 Wk3 Wk4 Wk5 Wk6 Wk7 Wk8 Wk9 Wk10 Wk11 Wk12 Wk13 Wk14 Wk15 Wk16 Wk17 Wk18 Wk19 FinalButler AP C Creighton AP C DePaul AP C Georgetown AP C Marquette AP C Providence AP C Seton Hall AP C St. John's AP C Villanova AP C Xavier AP C

Conference matrix This table summarizes the head-to-head results between teams in conference play.   ButlerUConnCreightonDePaulGeorgetownMarquetteProvidenceSeton HallSt. John'sVillanovaXaviervs. Butler – 2–01–10–21–12–01–11–11–11–12–0vs. UConn0–2 – 2–00–20–20–21–11–11–01–00–1vs. Creighton1–10–2 – 0–21–11–11–10–20–21–11–1vs. DePaul2–02–02–0 – 1–01–12–02–01–10–00–1vs. Georgetown1–12–01–10–1 – 1–00–11–11–12–00–0vs. Marquette0–22–01–11–10–1 – 1–12–01–12–01–1vs. Providence1–11–11–10–21–01–1 – 1–12–01–11–1vs. Seton Hall1–11–12–00–21–10–21–1 – 1–12–00–1vs. St. John's1–10–12–01–11–11–10–21–1 – 1–11–1vs. Villanova1–10–11–10–00–20–21–10–21–1 – 0–0vs. Xavier0–21–01–10–01–01–11–11–01–10–0 –Total8–1211–614–62–137–98–119–1010–910–911–46–7

Player of the week Throughout the season, the Big East Conference named a player of the week and a freshman of the week each Monday. Week Player of the week Freshman of the weekNovember 30, 2020Jeremiah Robinson-Earl, VillanovaDawson Garcia, MarquetteDecember 7, 2020Zach Freemantle, XavierJustin Lewis, MarquetteDecember 14, 2020David Duke, ProvidenceDante Harris, GeorgetownDecember 21, 2020Paul Scruggs, XavierPosh Alexander, St. John'sDecember 28, 2020Myles Cale, Seton HallChuck Harris, ButlerJanuary 4, 2021Sandro Mamukelashvili, Seton HallDawson Garcia (2), MarquetteJanuary 11, 2021Tyler Polley, ConnecticutColby Jones, XavierJanuary 18, 2021Julian Champagnie, St. John'sDawson Garcia (3), MarquetteJanuary 25, 2021Jermaine Samuels, VillanovaPosh Alexander (2), St. John'sFebruary 1, 2021Marcus Zegarowski, CreightonPosh Alexander (3), St. John'sFebruary 8, 2021Sandro Mamukelashvili (2), Seton HallPosh Alexander (4), St. John'sFebruary 15, 2021David Duke (2), ProvidenceAdama Sanogo, ConnecticutFebruary 22, 2021Charlie MooreColby Jones (2), XavierMarch 1, 2021R. J. Cole, ConnecticutChuck Harris (2), ButlerMarch 7, 2021Julian Champagnie (2), St. John'sAdama Sanogo (2), Connecticut

Honors and awards Big East Awards 2021 Big East Men's Basketball Individual Awards Award Recipient(s)Player of the YearSandro Mamukelashvili, F., Seton HallCollin Gillespie, G., VillanovaJeremiah Robinson-Earl, F., VillanovaCoach of the YearMike Anderson, St. John'sDefensive Player of the YearIsaiah Whaley, F., ConnecticutPosh Alexander, G., St. John'sFreshman of the YearPosh Alexander, G., St. John'sMost Improved Player of the YearJulian Champagnie, G./F., St. John'sZach Freemantle, F., XavierScholar-Athlete of the YearIke Obiagu, C., Seton HallSixth Man AwardTyler Polley, F., ConnecticutSportsmanship AwardMitch Ballock, G., Creighton

2021 Big East Men's Basketball All-Conference Teams First Team Second Team Honorable Mention All-Freshman TeamMarcus Zegarowski – Creighton James Bouknight – Connecticut Julian Champagnie – St. John's Sandro Mamukelashvili* – Seton Hall Jeremiah Robinson-Earl* – Villanova Collin Gillespie – VillanovaDamien Jefferson – Creighton David Duke – Providence Nate Watson – Providence Zach Freemantle – Xavier Paul Scruggs – XavierDenzel Mahoney - Creighton Jahvon Blair - Georgetown Jermaine Samuels - VillanovaChuck Harris* – Butler Adama Sanogo – Connecticut Dawson Garcia* – Marquette Posh Alexander* – St. John's Colby Jones – Xavier * - denotes unanimous selection † - Due to a tie in the voting, an additional position was added

References

External links Big East website