Villanova celebrates this season's national title on Friday with a parade in Philadelphia, which makes this the perfect time to look ahead to next season.
The Wildcats should be a contender again, but they won't be alone in the Big East. And that stars with Xavier, who Villanova coach Jay Wright picked Xavier to win it all in a 2016 bracket[1].
Both teams received top-10 projections in USA TODAY Sports' way-too-early top 25 rankings[2], and several other teams have top 25 potential as well, including Butler, Seton Hall, Creighton and Georgetown.
The 10-school basketball-only league has reinvented itself since realignment spread apart the most powerful conference in the sport. Though the ACC, Big 12 and Big Ten have all made arguments as the best league in the country in the past few seasons, the outlooks for Villanova and Xavier signal the rise of the Big East into that elite conversation.
Villanova loses two of its most important players — four-year point guard Ryan Arcidiacono and big man Daniel Ochefu — from its championship team.
But the rest of the national championship roster should still remain, including leading scorer Josh Hart (15.3 ppg, 6.7 rpg), championship star Kris Jenkins and point guard Jalen Brunson. Wright also welcomes top-20 recruit Omari Spellman, a 6-9 power forward who can rebound and also has great shooting range.
Xavier, meanwhile, should have a bulk of talent back as long as leading scorer Trevon Bluiett doesn't decide to turn his NBA assessment period into an unexpected departure.
Jalen Reynolds also will test the NBA draft waters, and Edmond Sumner, Myles Davis and J.P. Macura are all key returnees for standout coach Chris Mack, who hauled in a stellar recruiting class headlined by two top 100 players, Quintin Gooden and Tyrique Jones.
There's also a decent chance that USC transfer guard Katin Reinhardt joins the team. The Musketeers were a No. 2 seed in this year's NCAA tournament after being in contention for a No. 1, the sting of a second-round upset loss to Wisconsin should serve as motivation for the returning cast.
References
- ^ picked Xavier to win it all in a 2016 bracket (www.usatoday.com)
- ^ USA TODAY Sports' way-too-early top 25 rankings (www.usatoday.com)
Source → Big East powers Villanova, Xavier will be top-five good in 2016-17
