2015–16 Big East Conference men's basketball season

Last updated

2015–16 Big East Conference men's basketball season
Big East Conference logo.svg
League NCAA Division I
Sport Basketball
Number of teams10
TV partner(s) CBS, CBSSN, FOX, FS1, FSN
Regular Season
Season MVP Kris Dunn
champions Villanova
Tournament
Champions Seton Hall
  Runners-up Villanova
Basketball seasons
2015–16 Big East men's basketball standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L PCTW L PCT
No. 6 Villanova 16–2 .88935–5  .875
No. 9 Xavier 14–4 .77828–5  .848
No. 20 Seton Hall †12–6 .66725–9  .735
Providence 10–8 .55624–11  .686
Butler 10–8 .55622–11  .667
Creighton 9–9 .50020–15  .571
Marquette 8–10 .44420–13  .606
Georgetown 7–11 .38915–18  .455
DePaul 3–15 .1679–22  .290
St. John's 1–17 .0568–24  .250
† 2016 Big East tournament winner
Rankings from AP poll

The 2015–16 Big East Conference men's basketball season began with practices in October 2015, followed by the start of the followed by the start of the 2015–16 NCAA Division I men's basketball season in November. The season marked the 37th year in the conference's history, but the third as a non-football conference, which officially formed on July 1, 2013. Conference play began on December 30, 2015, and concluded in March with the 2016 Big East men's basketball tournament at Madison Square Garden in New York.

Contents

Villanova won the regular season championship by two games over Xavier with a 16–2 conference record. However, Seton Hall, who finished in third, won the Big East tournament, defeating Villanova in the championship game. Providence's Kris Dunn was named the conference's player of the year for the second straight year, while Seton Hall coach Kevin Willard and Villanova coach Jay Wright shared coach of the year.

Creighton received a bid to the National Invitation Tournament and lost in the quarterfinals.

Villanova, Xavier, Seton Hall, Providence and Butler all received bids to the NCAA tournament. Only Villanova advanced past the Second Round of the Tournament. On April 4, Villanova defeated North Carolina in the National Championship game to win the school's second NCAA Championship. Ryan Arcidiacono was named the Most Outstanding Player of the tournament.

Preseason

Coaches' [1]
1.Villanova (9)
2.Georgetown (1)
3.Butler
4.Xavier
5.Providence
6.Marquette
7.Seton Hall
8.DePaul
9.Creighton
10.St. John's

() first place votes

Preseason All-Big East teams

2015-16 Preseason All–Big East [2]
Preseason Player of the YearFirst TeamSecond TeamHonorable MentionPreseason Rookie of the Year
Kris Dunn, Jr., G., Providence
 Kellen Dunham, Sr., G., Butler
Roosevelt Jones, Sr., F., Butler
D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera, Sr., G., Georgetown
Ryan Arcidiacono, Jr., G., Villanova
Jalen Reynolds, Jr., F., Xavier
 Billy Garrett Jr., So., G., DePaul
Henry Ellenson, Fr., F., Marquette
Angel Delgado, So., F., Seton Hall
Isaiah Whitehead, So., G., Seton Hall
Daniel Ochefu, Sr., F., Villanova
Isaac Copeland, So., F., Georgetown
Luke Fischer, Jr., F., Marquette
Jalen Brunson, Fr., G., Villanova
Trevon Bluiett, So., F., Xavier
 Jalen Brunson, Fr., G., Villanova
Jalen Reynolds Jalen Reynolds.jpg
Jalen Reynolds
Big East recruits at the 2015 McDonald's All-American Boys Game
20150401 MCDAAG Jalen Brunson drives to the hoop (3).JPG
Jalen Brunson, Villanova
20150401 MCDAAG Henry Ellenson on the sidelines during play.JPG
Henry Ellenson, Marquette

Rankings

Legend
 Increase in ranking
 Decrease in ranking
 Not ranked previous week
 PreWk
2		Wk
3		Wk
4		Wk
5		Wk
6		Wk
7		Wk
8		Wk
9		Wk
10		Wk
11		Wk
12		Wk
13		Wk
14		Wk
15		Wk
16		Wk
17		Wk
18		Wk
19		Final
ButlerAP2422RVRV181799182318RVRVRVN/A
Coaches2220RV2521181210192324RVRVRVRVRV
CreightonAPN/A
C
DePaulAPN/A
C
GeorgetownAPRVRVRVRVRVN/A
CRVRVRVRVRV
MarquetteAPRVN/A
CRV
ProvidenceAPRVRVRV23151410128121610112023RVRVRVN/A
CRVRV2418141413912171011172024RVRVRVRV
Seton HallAPRVRVRVRV20N/A
CRVRVRVRVRVRVRV21RV
St. John'sAPN/A
C
VillanovaAP1111889121716116463111336N/A
C989761317161374641112261
XavierAPRVRV2312121066107576585559N/A
CRVRVRV1813106612868547555911

Regular season

Conference matrix

This table summarizes the head-to-head results between teams in conference play.

 ButlerCreightonDePaulGeorgetownMarquetteProvidenceSeton HallSt. John'sVillanovaXavier
vs. Butler–1–10–20–21–12–00–20–22–02–0
vs. Creighton1–1–0–21–11–12–01–10–22–01–1
vs. DePaul2–02–0–2–01–11–12–01–12–02–0
vs. Georgetown2–01–10–2–1–12–02–00–22–01–1
vs. Marquette1–11–11–11–1–0–22–00–22–02–0
vs. Providence0–20–21–10–22–0–2–00–21–11–1
vs. Seton Hall2–01–10–20–20–20–2–0–22–01–1
vs. St. John's2–02–01–12–02–02–02–0–2–02–0
vs. Villanova0–20–20–20–20–21–10–20–2–1-1
vs. Xavier0–21–10–21–10–20–21–10–21–1–
Total10–89–93–157–118–1010–812–61–1716-214-4

Honors and awards

All-Americans

All-Big East awards and teams

2016 Big East Men's Basketball Individual Awards [3]
AwardRecipient(s)
Player of the Year Kris Dunn , G., Providence
Coach of the Year Kevin Willard , Seton Hall
Jay Wright , Villanova
Defensive Player of the YearKris Dunn, G., Providence
Freshman of the Year Henry Ellenson , F., Marquette
Most Improved Player of the Year Ben Bentil , F., Providence
Scholar-Athlete of the Year Kellen Dunham , G., Butler
Sixth Man Award J. P. Macura , G., Xavier
Sportsmanship AwardKellen Dunham, G., Butler
2016 Big East Men's Basketball All–Conference Teams [4]
First TeamSecond TeamHonorable MentionAll–Rookie Team
Henry Ellenson, Marquette

†Ben Bentil, Providence
†Kris Dunn, Providence
†Isaiah Whitehead, Seton Hall
†Josh Hart, Villanova
Trevon Bluiett, Xavier

Roosevelt Jones, Butler
Kelan Martin, Butler
Maurice Watson, Creighton
D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera, Georgetown
Ryan Arcidiacono, Villanova

Kellen Dunham, Butler
Ángel Delgado, Seton Hall
Daniel Ochefu, Villanova

Eli Cain, DePaul
Jessie Govan, Georgetown
Haanif Cheatham, Marquette
†Henry Ellenson, Marquette
Kassoum Yakwe, St. John's
†Jalen Brunson, Villanova
†Edmond Sumner, Xavier

† – Denotes unanimous selection.
^Due to a tie in the voting, additional positions were named.

Postseason

Big East tournament

Seeds

All 10 Big East schools participate in the tournament. Teams were seeded by the 2015–16 Big East Conference season record. The top 6 teams received a first round bye. Seeding for the tournament was determined at the close of the regular conference season.

SeedSchoolConferenceTiebreaker
1 Villanova 16–2
2 Xavier 14–4
3 Seton Hall 12–6
4 Providence 10–82–0 vs. Butler
5 Butler 10–80–2 vs. Providence
6 Creighton 9–9
7 Marquette 8–10
8 Georgetown 7–11
9 DePaul 3–15
10 St. John's 1–17

Schedule

GameTime*Matchup#TelevisionAttendance
First round – Wednesday, March 9
17:00 pm#9 DePaul 53 vs. #8 Georgetown 70FS112,604
29:30 pm#10 St. John's 93 vs. #7 Marquette 101
Quarterfinals – Thursday, March 10
312:00 pm#8 Georgetown 67 vs. #1 Villanova 81FS114,863
42:30 pm#5 Butler 60 vs. #4 Providence 74
57:00 pm#7 Marquette 72 vs. #2 Xavier 9013,813
69:30 pm#6 Creighton 73 vs. #3 Seton Hall 81
Semifinals – Friday, March 11
77:00 pm#4 Providence 68 vs. #1 Villanova 76FS117,130
89:30 pm#3 Seton Hall 87 vs. #2 Xavier 83
Championship – Saturday, March 12
95:30 pm#3 Seton Hall 69 vs. #1 Villanova 67FOX19,812
*Game times in Eastern Time. Tournament seed in parentheses. #-Rankings denote Associated Press Poll ranking.

Bracket

First round
March 9 		Quarterfinals
March 10 		Semifinals
March 11 		Championship
March 12
            
1 Villanova81
8 Georgetown 67
8 Georgetown70
9 DePaul 53
1 Villanova76
4 Providence 68
4 Providence74
5 Butler 60
1 Villanova 67
3 Seton Hall69
2 Xavier90
7 Marquette 72
7 Marquette101
10 St. John's 93
2 Xavier 83
3 Seton Hall87
3 Seton Hall81
6 Creighton 73

NCAA tournament

The Big East Conference had five bids to the 2016 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament.

SeedRegionSchoolFirst FourRound of 64Round of 32Sweet 16Elite EightFinal FourChampionship
2South Villanova  (15) UNC Asheville - W, 86–56(7) Iowa - W, 87–68(3) Miami (FL) - W, 92–69(1) Kansas - W, 64–59(2) Oklahoma - W, 95–51(1) North Carolina - W, 77–74
2East Xavier  (15) Weber State - W, 71–53(7) Wisconsin - L, 63–66
6Midwest Seton Hall  (11) Gonzaga - L, 52–68
9Midwest Butler  (8) Texas Tech - W, 71–61(1) Virginia - L, 69–77
9Midwest Providence  (8) USC - W, 70–69(1) North Carolina - L, 66–85
W–L (%):0–0 (–)4–1 (.800)1–3 (.250)1-0 (1.000)1–0 (1.000)1–0 (1.000)1–0 (1.000) Total: 9-4 (.692)

National Invitational tournament

Creighton earned the sole NIT bid for the conference.

SeedBracketSchoolFirst roundSecond roundQuarterfinalsSemifinalsFinals
4St. Bonaventure Creighton (5) Alabama - W, 72–54(8) Wagner - W, 87–54(2) BYU - L, 82–88
W–L (%):1–0 (1.000)1–0 (1.000)0–1 (.000)0–0 (–)0–0 (–) Total: 2–1 (.667)

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The 2019–20 Butler Bulldogs men's basketball team represented Butler University in the 2019–20 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. They were coached by LaVall Jordan, in his third year as head coach of his alma mater. The Bulldogs played their home games at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana as members of the Big East Conference. The Bulldogs finished the season 23–9, 10–8 in Big East play which put them in fifth place. As the No. 5 seed in the Big East tournament, they were slated to play Providence in the second game of the quarterfinals, but the Tournament was cancelled at halftime of the first game due to the COVID-19 pandemic, along with the rest of the NCAA postseason.

References

  1. ↑ 2015-16 BIG EAST Men's Basketball Media Guide. p. 15. Retrieved December 8, 2015.
  2. ↑ Big East 2015-16 Men's Basketball Guide. Big East Conference. p. 17.
  3. ↑ "BIG EAST Announces Men's Basketball Major Awards". Big East Conference. March 9, 2016. Retrieved March 11, 2019.
  4. ↑ "Four Named Unanimously to MBB All-BIG EAST First Team". Big East Conference . March 6, 2015. Retrieved March 9, 2015.
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