How many Big East teams made the NCAA Tournament this year?

While bid thievery did a number to the NCAA Tournament bubble in 2024, no conference felt the wrath of the NCAA Tournament selection committee more than the Big East. Despite having the potential of five March Madness-worthy teams, the committee only took three Big East schools, controversially bypassing St. John's (which gave eventual champion UConn a big challenge in the Big East Tournament semifinals) and Seton Hall (which won the NIT) in favor of Virginia, which was outclassed in the First Four.

The league's strong showing in March didn't necessarily carry over to the following season as a few teams took steps back (notably Seton Hall), but the Big East is in a better position now than they were at this time a year ago.

How many Big East teams made the NCAA Tournament?

A year after the Big East should have gotten five teams into March Madness they actually got five teams into the field. The first four (St. John's, Creighton, UConn and Marquette) were locks entering championship week, but the fifth went to bubbler Xavier, which earned its way into the field with a strong run of victories down the stretch and will have to start their journey in the First Four against Texas.

The good news here for the Big East is that they managed to top a down ACC in bid count, but they still trailed the remaining power conferences in NCAA Tournament participants. With almost 50 percent of their membership dancing, however, the Big East can feel good about its standing entering this year's dance.

Big East NCAA Tournament breakdown

No team set themselves up better for March than Rick Pitino's Red Storm, who went 27-4 during the regular season and lost those four games by a combined seven points. Sweeping UCONN and Marquette, while splitting the season series with Creighton, set themselves up nicely to be a top seed in the dance. The committee loves its storylines and Pitino should have one with a Round of 32 matchup against a fellow Hall of Fame coach in either Kansas' Bill Self or Arkansas' John Calipari.

It was a down year for UConn, which never looked quite right after getting swept out of the Maui Invitational, but their solid efforts coming out of Maui (wins over Baylor, at Texas and vs. Gonzaga at Madison Square Garden) combined with enough strong work in the Big East puts the two-time defending champs in the mix as a dangerous Round of 32 opponent for Florida.

Marquette tumbled a bit down the stretch but the Golden Eagles were ranked most of the year, earning four wins against tournament teams (Maryland, Purdue, Georgia and Wisconsin) in non-conference play to withstand some struggles against the Big East's elite. Those stumbles dropped Marquette to a 7-seed, where they will have to navigate New Mexico and Michigan State to get to the second weekend.

Creighton was a sleeper team for most of the season after three straight losses in late November, but an emphatic victory over then-No. 1 Kansas and splitting the season series against the rest of the Big East's top teams provided a good foundation for the Bluejays. The committee didn't respect Creighton's work much, however, seeing the Bluejays stuck in an 8-9 matchup against Louisville before having to deal with the top overall seed in the tournament, Auburn, in the Round of 32.

Getting to the First Four was a win for the Xavier and a make-good from the selection committee for how screwed the Big East was last season. Texas will be a difficult out there and the Musketeers' reward for surviving that game would be a date with Illinois, one of the country's most dangerous teams when they are firing on all cylinders.

Players to watch in March Madness

The biggest name in the Big East is Marquette's Kam Jones, who is a scoring machine averaging 18.1 points per game and has been a solid leader for their offense after Tyler Kolek went pro following last season. Jones is the biggest game-wrecker on a Big East team and if he gets hot the Golden Eagles could make it back to the second weekend.

St. John's R.J. Luis took home Big East Player of the Year honors after serving as the de facto leader of Pitino's second Red Storm team. Luis does it all on the floor and has drawn rave review from his Hall of Fame head coach, who believes that Luis will be even better as a pro than he is as a collegian since his style of play adapts well to the NBA game.

Creighton big man Ryan Kalkbrenner is a March Madness staple and is looking to make some noise in his final NCAA Tournament appearance. Kalkbrenner was a unanimous selection on the All-Big East First Team and ranks second in the conference in points (19.1 per game) and first in rebounding (9.0 per game).

Another name familiar to March Madness fans is UCONN's Alex Karaban, who is the top player remaining on the Huskies for both championship teams. Karaban has taken a bit of a step back on the shooting front after being the main focus of UCONN's attack for the first time but his NCAA Tournament experience makes him a big factor for however long the Huskies are alive.

How has the Big East done in March Madness?

The Huskies have been the standard of excellence for the Big East since they rejoined the conference, winning back-to-back national championships while barely being challenged the past few years. Marquette has been an NCAA Tournament regular as well, routinely reaching the field and advancing to the second weekend in 2024 for the first time under Shaka Smart.

If a Big East team feels due for a Final Four run, it is Creighton, which has gotten to the Sweet 16 in three of the past four years and was a controversial finish away from breaking through to the Final Four in 2023. Kalbrenner was a part of that 2023 side and is highly motivated to finish the job this time around.

Can a Big East team win the National Championship?

If A Big East team cuts down the nets, it will most likely be St. John's as they have a Hall of Fame coach in Pitino leading a deep team that loves to defend and attack the basket. Perimeter shooting can be a flaw for the Red Storm, although they would appear to be more vulnerable to running into a team that can exploit their lack of size on the interior.

The next three Big East teams are all capable of getting to the second weekend, with Marquette and Creighton having Final Four potential if everything breaks right. The odds of that happening, however, are not great.