February 1, 2029
Code:
2028 Big East Conference Standings
TEAM CW CL Pct W L Pct RPI Prestige
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#1 Villanova 9 0 1.000 22 0 1.000 2 100
#2 Georgetown 7 2 .778 19 2 .905 14 100
#20 Connecticut 6 3 .667 16 6 .727 1 64
St. John's 6 3 .667 14 8 .636 6 67
Rutgers 5 4 .556 12 9 .571 158 83
#24 Notre Dame 5 4 .556 14 6 .700 33 88
South Florida 5 4 .556 12 9 .571 25 64
Cincinnati 4 5 .444 14 7 .667 22 62
#16 West Virginia 4 5 .444 16 5 .762 19 88
#22 Louisville 4 5 .444 14 8 .636 7 85
Marquette 3 6 .333 13 7 .650 64 67
Providence 3 6 .333 10 10 .500 182 71
Syracuse 3 6 .333 7 14 .333 203 71
#15 Pittsburgh 3 6 .333 14 7 .667 53 88
Seton Hall 3 6 .333 12 9 .571 65 54
DePaul 2 7 .222 7 13 .350 101 58
This year's standings contain some data points that reveal just how tough a conference the Big East really is. Three ranked teams who rolled through November and December have losing records in conference play.
We're in control of our own fate when it comes to the conference championship. We end our regular season with a trip to UConn, but we're otherwise finished playing against the top contenders.
February 3, 2029
#1 Villanova 75, @#16 West Virginia 57
Balance, balance, balance.
All five starters score at least 9 points. All three frontcourt players grab 8 rebounds, and a guard pitches in with 5 more.
Corey Hicks (15p/8r/2s) is named Player of the Game, and he deserves it. His 15 points are our team's high total, one more than
Avery Sullivan contributes. Sully blocks 3 shots for good measure.
Record: 23-0 (10-0).
February 4, 2029
We're a unanimous choice for the #1 ranking in the latest media poll.
Code:
Top 25
# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
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1. Villanova (72) 23-0 1800 1 Big East Conference
2. Georgetown 20-2 1725 2 Big East Conference
3. Stanford 21-2 1650 3 Pacific-10 Conference
4. Kansas 20-2 1556 4 Big 12 Conference
5. Southern California 21-3 1505 5 Pacific-10 Conference
6. Boston College 20-2 1471 6 Atlantic Coast Conference
7. Vanderbilt 19-2 1377 8 Southeastern Conference
8. Tennessee 18-4 1216 7 Southeastern Conference
9. Texas Christian 21-2 1212 10 Mountain West Conference
10. North Carolina 17-5 1186 9 Atlantic Coast Conference
11. Wisconsin 17-4 1124 11 Big Ten Conference
12. California 17-5 960 12 Pacific-10 Conference
13. Utah 18-5 959 13 Mountain West Conference
14. Texas A&M 18-5 866 14 Big 12 Conference
15. Miami 16-4 767 18 Atlantic Coast Conference
16. Texas 18-5 664 19 Big 12 Conference
17. Lafayette 19-5 600 21 Patriot League
18. West Virginia 16-6 511 16 Big East Conference
19. Wake Forest 18-4 392 NR Atlantic Coast Conference
20. Utah State 18-4 354 NR Western Athletic Conference
21. Mississippi 16-7 348 17 Southeastern Conference
22. Memphis 18-4 265 NR Conference USA
23. Louisville 15-8 227 22 Big East Conference
24. Washington 17-6 209 NR Pacific-10 Conference
25. Oklahoma 17-6 177 NR Big 12 Conference
Others Receiving Votes:
Pittsburgh 14-8 114 Big East Conference
Connecticut 17-6 31 Big East Conference
Missouri 14-7 28 Big 12 Conference
Texas A&M-CC 18-3 27 Southland Conference
Nevada 16-4 24 Western Athletic Conference
Duquesne 17-4 19 Atlantic 10 Conference
Temple 17-5 12 Atlantic 10 Conference
UNC Wilmington 19-5 6 Colonial Athletic Association
Florida A&M 19-3 5 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
Penn State 16-5 4 Big Ten Conference
Louisiana Tech 18-5 3 Western Athletic Conference
North Carolina State 16-6 3 Atlantic Coast Conference
Notre Dame 14-7 3 Big East Conference
It's fun to see
Lafayette is still producing good teams. The Leopards' record since
Graham Sims left is 79-19, and they're 30-6 in the Patriot League. They look like they'll romp to another conference championship this season, too.
February 7, 2029
@#1 Villanova 87, Cincinnati 60
Behind 30 points from
Jacob Allen, we storm to a 27-point victory over the Bearcats. Allen lifts his career total to 1828 points, passing
Titus Pound '25 (1812) and moving into second place on the all-time list. He's on pace to take the lead away from
James Martin '22 sometime this month; Martin finished his career with 1887 points.
Allen adds 6 rebounds and 4 assists.
Tony Ezell (11p/4r),
Avery Sullivan (10p/4b), and
Duncan Sims (10p/5a) join him in double figures.
Corey Hicks makes 5 steals.
Record: 24-0 (11-0).
February 10, 2029
@#1 Villanova 66, Rutgers 60
Rutgers does a very good job of keeping our high-flying offense in check, and nearly pull off an upset at the Wells Fargo Center.
Jacob Allen (15p/4a) finds just enough room to score.
Avery Sullivan (12p/5r/2b) and
Tony Ezell (12p) are quietly efficient; Sully does much of his damage from the line, where he goes 8-for-9. In fact, it's free throw shooting that wins this game for us. We make 29 foul shots, to the Scarlet Knights' 5.
The rest of the Big East keep beating each other up, and that allows us to open up a three-game lead in the conference race.
Record: 25-0 (12-0).
February 14, 2029
@#1 Villanova 82, Marquette 87
Cupid is a bit of a trickster. Did he try to work his mischief at the Pavilion this Valentine's Night?
Some Villanova students' post-game dates might have been spoiled if the Wildcats had squandered much more of the 16-point halftime lead they established.
Corey Hicks (25p/9r/4a) undoubtedly picks up a few more crushes, and
Avery Sullivan (13p/11r) and
Duncan Sims set some hearts aflutter, too.
Record: 26-0 (13-0).
November 17, 2029
@#1 Villanova 86, Notre Dame 65
Nine three-pointers (in 16 attempts)and 32 points from
Jacob Allen give the 'Cats another conference win. Jacob passes
James Martin to become our all-time leading scorer.
Duncan Sims (14p/4a/3r) and
Corey Hicks (12p/5r/3a) also score in double figures.
Tony Ezell (9r) and
Avery Sullivan (7r/2b) do big man things well.
Record: 27-0 (14-0).
November 20, 2029
#1 Villanova 73, @South Florida 63
We clamp down defensively on the Bulls, forcing them to launch 35 threes. They hit only 10 of them, which is a big reason for our victory.
Avery Sullivan (13p/12r) posts another double-double, and adds 4 blocks for good measure.
Tony Ezell leads us with 15 points, and
Jacob Allen and
Duncan Sims score 14 each. Duncan's final basket gives him
1001 points for his career, with the first 298 coming in a Lafayette uniform.
With three games remaining, we clinch at least a share of the Big East regular season championship.
Record: 28-0 (15-0).
February 24, 2029
@Providence 69, #1 Villanova 66
The Friars defend their home court tenaciously tonight, and snap our winning streak at 42 games. Our last defeat happened over a year ago, on February 16, 2028, when we lost at Georgetown.
We had a chance to send the game to overtime, but the Friars made sure the man who took the last shot was unlikely to hurt them.
Avery Sullivan, who has taken three shots from behind the arc in his career without success, missed, and that was it.
Duncan Sims (16p/5r/4a) leads the 'Cats in scoring.
Jacob Allen adds 15, and
Caleb Blaney 11 more off the bench. Sullivan blocks 4 shots.
We shoot 36.5% for the night, and only 61.5% from the line. It's hard to win games in the Big East when you shoot like that.
Record: 28-1 (15-1).
February 28, 2029
@#1 Villanova 71, Seton Hall 63
We send our three seniors out in style, coming from behind to win their final game at Finneran Pavilion.
Again, we don't shoot well, and the Pirates lead us, 38-36, at the half. Fortunately, we play solid defense all night long, and our shots start falling in the second half.
Senior
Duncan Sims splashes 4 of his 8 threes, scoring a game-high 19 points; he adds 6 rebounds and 5 assists. Senior
Jacob Allen, closing in on 2000 career points, finishes with 12 points and 5 boards. Senior
Caleb Blaney runs into foul trouble and finishes with 6 points and 3 rebounds.
Avery Sullivan contributes 10 rebounds and 4 blocked shots.
Record: 29-1 (16-1).
March 3, 2029
#1 Villanova 83, @Connecticut 73
The Huskies are tough at home, and they give us a run for our money in our final Big East regular season game.
If I ran the world,
Jacob Allen would be a professional prospect. I don't care that he's 5'10". Tonight, he sinks 5 of 7 three-point tries, scores 23 points, and adds 6 rebounds and 3 assists. Some professional team, somewhere in the world, will take a chance on
Jacob Allen, and one day they'll be glad they did.
Duncan Sims (16p/5a/3r),
Tony Ezell (11p/7r), and
Avery Sullivan (10p/7r/3b) do their usual good jobs in support of Allen's star turn. I had a hunch about leaving
Caleb Blaney in the starting lineup, and I like the results: 9 points, 6 boards.
Record: 30-1 (17-1).