Big East basketball: Who is the biggest threat to UConn

With the return of NCAA basketball less than a week away, it’s time to take a look at the two-time reigning champions. The UConn Huskies.

Dan Hurley’s squad tips off next Wednesday against Sacred Heart, opening the season as the No. 3 team in the country.

Now, while UConn is on the quest for a third straight national championship, the team needs to fill big spots from last year’s team.

The Huskies lost four starters to the NBA draft, but have some key players returning, starting with redshirt junior Alex Karaban. The 6-foot-8 redshirt junior forward is a prolific three-point shooter and passed up a shot at the NBA this off-season.

Also returning for the Huskies is Hassan Diarra, who was the 2024 Big East Sixth Man of the Year. The now-grad student averaged 6.1 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 2.4 assists last season.

These two will be a focal point for Dan Hurley’s squad, and look to be leaders for this team going forward.

UConn dominated the Big East last season, going 18-2 in conference play and winning the Big East regular season title. This momentum carried into the conference tournament, where they ran through Xavier, St. John’s and Marquette en route to their ninth Big East Tournament championship.

While the Huskies are the betting favorites to repeat as Big East regular season champions, who, if anyone, can give UConn a scare?

In my opinion, there are three teams in the mix: Creighton, Marquette and St. John’s.

Starting with the Red Storm, they will start the season unranked, but right outside the Top 25 at No. 27. Rick Pitino is looking to improve on what was a strong second-half performance last season that had St. John’s on the cusp of the NCAA Tournament.

Pitino hit the portal hard this off-season, nabbing graduate transfer Kadary Richmond from Seton Hall. The 6-6 guard was an All-Big East First-Team selection last season and averaged 15.7 points per game, 7.0 rebounds and 5.1 assists.

St. John’s added more experience with senior Deivon Smith. The 6-foot-0 guard averaged 13.3 points per game last season and shot an astounding 40.8 percent from three-point range. He also had five triple-doubles in 2023.

According to On3, St. John’s had the 11th-best transfer class in the country.

The story for Marquette is quite the opposite, as Shaka Smart’s Golden Eagles did not add a single transfer in the 2024 portal cycle, opting for a more traditional development philosophy.

Marquette comes in at No. 18 in this year’s preseason Top 25 and has some solid pieces coming back.

Yes, losing Tyler Kolek hurts, but when you have Kam Jones to take his place, it isn’t so bad. The senior guard averaged 17.2 points per game last year and shot 40.6 percent from three-point land.

Another key returner is forward David Joplin. The 6-foot-8 senior averaged 10.3 points per game and 3.9 rebounds. He is a solid three-point shooter, with a clip of 35.5 percent, but is capable of shooting more efficiently, shooting 39.9 percent from three in 2022.

The Golden Eagles are looking to ride their homegrown talent this season.

The Creighton Bluejays are coming off of a Sweet 16 appearance in last season’s NCAA Tournament, and are looking for more in 2024-25. Greg McDermott’s team comes in at No. 15 in the Top 25, and handed UConn one of their three losses last season.

When looking at who is returning for the Bluejays, obviously look no further than Ryan Kalkbrenner. The 7-1 senior is one of the nation’s top players, and averaged 17.3 points per game last season, to go along with 7.6 rebounds.

The big transfer portal addition came with Pop Isaacs from Texas Tech. Isaacs was an All-Big 12 Third-Team selection last season and averaged 15.8 points per game.

The Big East is once again going to be one of the toughest conferences in college basketball, and the talent of the league is outstanding. Four players I highlighted were all placed on the Naismith Award watch list.

The players are Ryan Kalkbrenner, Kam Jones, Alex Karaban and Kadary Richmond.

Now, which of these three teams has the best shot of dethroning the mighty Huskies?

I think it is the Creighton Bluejays. The team is March-tested, having made the Elite Eight and Sweet Sixteen in the last two seasons, the Bluejays have also split UConn 2-2 in the past two regular seasons.

With Kalkbrenner coming back, and Isaacs coming in from the transfer portal, this team has a good starting five and Greg McDermott has built a rock-solid program.

Evan Pochas is a second-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, please email ejp5753@psu.edu.