The Power Six Podcast: Big East Basketball Show

The Final Four is set, and the UConn Huskies have flat out dominated every team in their path heading into a matchup with Miami. Brian and Sam discuss Xavier's slow start and eventual exit at the hands of a high-powered Texas team. Adam Kunkel put forth a heck of an effort in his last game in a Xavier uniform. Sean Miller's first season in Cincy can only be considered a success. B-Frank and Sam pivot to recapping Creighton's best tournament run in school history after a wildly entertaining Sweet 16 matchup against Princeton and poor second-half shooting performance against San Diego State. Sam waxes poetic about such a tumultuous season in which his Jays went from 9-8 to an Elite 8. Greg McDermott has taken five cores of players to a top-10 ranking and this group accomplished something no Creighton team had ever done. The guys finish by recapping UConn's dominating wins over Gonzaga and drubbing of Arkansas. They are a heavy favorite in Houston and look every bit a team that wins six NCAA Tournament games by double digits. The Huskies are well poised to win their 5th national title in 24 seasons with their third different coach, which is patently absurd. They face a familiar foe in Jim Laranaga, who knocked off a heavily favored UConn bunch en route to the Final Four during George Mason's storybook run. Go Big East!

B-Frank & Sam return to decompress after an action packed week for the Big East, both on the court and off it! They begin by running through how the conference fared in the opening weekend of the NCAA Tournament. Providence is the only Big East team to have lost in the round of 64, and their coach being one foot out the door likely contributed. Marquette breezed past Vermont after a competitive start, but fell victim to Tom Izzo & the Michigan State Spartans in the Joey Hauser revenge game. The loss kept Shaka Smart from reaching his first Sweet 16 since 2011 and the Golden Eagles from reaching the second weekend since 2013. Jay Wright remembers debates between Big East coaches as to whether they'd prefer to cut down the nets on Saturday night at Madison Square Garden, or win a Sweet 16 game. Marquette will have to settle for the former. Xavier survived a frisky Kennesaw State Owls squad that gave Creighton fits at the beginning of last season before dismantling Sean Miller's alma mater in the second round. Six Muskies scored in double figures to down Pittsburgh, but Texas looms in the Sweet 16. UConn looks every bit as formidable as they did when they climbed the polls to #2 before conference play. They've got two of the most convincing wins of the tourney thus far and have folks predicting a national championship. Adama Sanogo is playing his best basketball of the year ahead of a matchup with a feisty Arkansas squad in what could be the best game of the Sweet 16 slate. Sam was present for Creighton's narrow win over NC State in Denver last Friday, and he and B-Frank recount that game as well as the Jays' near wire-to-wire win over Baylor. Both games featured dueling 30-point scorers, an incredible rarity in NCAA Tournament history. They've got a great shot to advance when they tip off Friday night against Princeton in Louisville. It's time for this team to live up to the lofty expectations that have followed them all season. Finally, the guys discuss Ed Cooley's ungraceful exit from Providence and tone-deaf arrival at Georgetown. Rick Pitino has held little back since being named the head man at St. John's. Rick Barnes disciple Kim English is now Providence's head coach as he takes over a program with plenty of question marks. Hopefully you'll hear great news from us next week ahead of the Final Four!

Believe it or not, there's no shortage of DePaul talk in this episode. B-Frank and Sam are back to recap the (yet again) most entertaining conference tournament during championship week. Though their brackets were in disarray and Creighton couldn't get past the semifinal round, it was another storybook week as Marquette brought home the first ever Big East tourney crown for the Midwest. They move on to conference honors, but with a twist. While the typical player, coach, and teams are on their lists, they also recount the best upset, most entertaining games, notable moments, and their favorite moments from their alma maters. The guys conclude by running through the conference's NCAA Tournament & NIT participants. Though Villanova and Seton Hall have already exited, the possibility exists that four Big East teams could reach the Elite 8! It won't be easy to transition from detesting UConn to pulling for them for the good of the conference (win shares, people!). The best four days of the sports calendar are upon us. Enjoy listening, and go Big East!

B-Frank & Sam return to preview the Big East Basketball tournament, which tips off Wednesday. They discuss numerous storylines ahead of what's sure to be an incredible four days of competition at Madison Square Garden. After knocking off UConn on the road earlier in the year and a furious comeback fell short against Marquette, how dangerous can St. John's be? Can Villanova put together a storybook run to reach the NCAA Tournament after an abysmal start to the season? Can Xavier keep winning now that we know Zach Freemantle will miss the remainder of the season? Can UConn maintain the level of play that has national talking heads predicting a deep run? Can Creighton get over the hump and raise a trophy after losing the league championship game in their previous 4 trips? Will Providence's abhorrent defense put them back on the bubble? There's no way Marquette can manage to get through a regular season and conference tournament losing just three games to a league this deep, is there?! The guys also take the temperatures on their alma maters. Kadary Richmond's health remains a question mark for Seton Hall, who demolished Providence at the AMP the last day of the regular season. Creighton enters the tourney as one of two teams who are riding multiple game winning streaks in which they've won by double digits. UConn is the other and a popular pick to cut down the nets Saturday night, but what happens when Dan Hurley is faced with tough coaching decisions down the stretch in tight games? Six teams have a legitimate shot to take home the crown, and predicting the outcomes is darn near impossible, but B-Frank and Sam share their picks for every game as well as who the tournament's Most Outstanding Player might be depending on who wins. We're in for a wild ride, and this episode is the perfect primer!

B-Frank & Sam return for a quick show ahead of the penultimate weekend of Big East hoops to review a decisive previous week. On one side of the standings, Georgetown picked up an elusive road win. On the other, Marquette's win in Omaha has them primed to hang a regular season banner. They'll remind anyone who is willing to listen that they were picked NINTH in the preseason coaches poll. Each co-host's alma mater left some meat on the bone this past week as Seton Hall let another winnable game slip away and Creighton dropped their first home game of the conference slate, and only the league's second home loss among the top 4. UConn is hitting their stride at the right time as Jordan Hawkins' draft stock continues to rise. Xavier (twice) and Providence (once) fell to dash their hopes of winning the league's regular season, but this just creates more must-watch seeding storylines ahead of the conference tournament at MSG. Elsewhere, Villanova has won 4 of 5 ahead of the Creighton game Sam will attend Saturday in Philly, Butler is still undefeated in games decided by five points or fewer, DePaul still hasn't won since knocking off Xavier at home, and St. John's remains...interesting as contributors either returned from suspension or are mysteriously missing. It's little surprise that Marquette laid claim to the best stretch as they won the de-facto regular season title beating Creighton in a nail-biter. Xavier dropped two in the past week as their struggles without Zach Freemantle continue, thus they received the dishonor of worst stretch. This week's top performers are all on teams that are rolling at the right time as a new name has justifiably entered into the Big East POY discussion. This week's big question revolves around who we'd least like to run into at the Big East Tournament. Though some probable matchups scare Brian and Sam, neither wants anything to do with Marquette for a few reasons. They wrap up by mentioning the league's must-see games ahead of next Saturday's all-day regular season finale.

B-Frank and Sam return after a tough stretch for Seton Hall and Creighton's 8-game win streak was snapped at the hands of Providence. Four teams are vying for the regular season conference crown, and all four lost since we last recorded. The guys run bottom-up in the power rankings. Georgetown is still a mess and may be without Qudus Wahab (again). DePaul hasn't won since knocking off Xavier at home. St. John's topped Providence at MSG without Andre Curbelo and completed a comeback against the Blue Demons. Butler shocked Xavier in a game with an incredibly ugly finish (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iiH2mlGEiSE). Seton Hall lost winnable games to Creighton and Villanova, and the Wildcats have won three straight to get back to .500. UConn dominated Marquette before getting out-toughed in Omaha for their sixth loss in seven games in the Creighton series. Xavier's only game was the aforementioned stinker at Hinkle. Creighton ran out of gas in double-OT at Providence, who needed a bounce back after falling to the Johnnies over the weekend. Marquette sunk 15 threes to right the ship after their worst effort in conference play at UConn. They also came from behind to beat Xavier in Milwaukee just after we finished recording. The Jays had the best stretch in B-Frank's eyes as they've won 8 of 9, while Sam gave Villanova the nod for them being the only unbeaten since last episode. Seton Hall got B-Frank's worst stretch tag for their offensive ineptitude in their past 52 minutes of game play. Sam gave that title to Xavier, who has lost two straight. Two Butler Bulldogs grace the top performers list for the first time all season in Manny Bates and Jayden Taylor. The rest come from the conference's upper tier. The guys discuss their favorite Big East team logos from the past before highlighting this week's games to watch. Check out @SONTChicago to see some great throwbacks in the coming week.

B-Frank and Sam return in chipper moods as Seton Hall has won 8 of 10 and Creighton controls their own destiny in the race for the regular season crown heats up. B-Frank runs through the standings and the boys begin power rankings bottom up. Georgetown collected their first conference win in 30 tries right after we finished recording the previous episode. DePaul and Butler are back in the basement after looking promising earlier in the year. The Johnnies' only win since last show was a 2-point thriller over Georgetown in which Rockford native A.J. Storr played well and hit a ballsy shot late. Justin Moore has returned for Villanova, but they're still winless with him in the lineup after having faced the conference's top teams. UConn is treading water, but couldn't pick up a quality win against Xavier and played Georgetown tighter than expected. Seton Hall is sitting firmly on the bubble after reeling off three straight wins, the most recent of which got off to a glacial pace scoring against DePaul Sunday. Providence shouldn't be looked past as they also control their own destiny in the conference title race. Bryce Hopkins has come back to earth, but Jared Bynum has elevated his play during a 2-1 stretch since last recording. Xavier survived a tough road test at UConn, but fell to Creighton and is now without Zach Freemantle for what appears to be the remainder of the regular season. Jack Nunge has stepped up in a major way in Freemantle's absence as X should roll over Butler in their only game of the week. The Jays are flying high after winning 6 straight - tied for their longest conference winning streak since joining the league. Can they keep it rolling in Newark against the Pirates and survive 5 of 8 on the road to end the regular season? Finally, Marquette is still in the driver's seat after 5 consecutive wins, a far cry from the 9th place spot they were selected in the preseason. Tyler Kolek has turned himself into one of the nation's premier lead guards and the Golden Eagles can be solid on defense when the situation calls for it. Creighton and Villanova are unanimous best and worst stretch winners, as the recipe behind the Jays' extended win streak has been their defense thanks to Ryan Kalkbrenner rounding into form. He looks every bit the conference's defending DPOY. Villanova is 4-11 in games decided by single digits, and they'll have to begin winning some games to avoid going .500 or worse for just the second time in the past 20 seasons. Tyler Kolek gets top performer nods from both B-Frank and Sam, while Jack Nunge gets a nod from Sam. Homer picks round out the segment as Kadary Richmond and the entire Jays' defensive unit are highlighted. The Creighton-Seton Hall game highlights this week's games to watch, while UConn has a prove-it week as they host Marquette before traveling to Creighton. This weekend's St. John's Providence matchup will also be a sneaky entertaining matchup. The lads finish up by reminiscing about the most court storm worthy moments from their favorite teams.

Georgetown beat DePaul to end their nightmare 29-game conference losing streak after B-Frank and Sam had finished recording. Unfortunately, the Hoyas would've been in the cellar in our power rankings either way. After some housekeeping & running through the standings we run 11-to-1 by applying selective logic in a few spots. DePaul is now responsible for Xavier's only conference loss and Georgetown's only win - because that's the Big East! Butler can't get healthy. Umoja Gibson is playing his tail off for the Blue Demons, and St. John's embarrassed UConn in Hartford but laid a stinker at MSG against Villanova. Speaking of the Wildcats, they sit at .500 overall and are averaging under 10 assists per game in league play - a far cry from the aesthetically pleasing Jay Wright offenses we grew up watching. In the conference's more promising tier, UConn has lost 5 of 7 thanks to a flurry of turnovers and fouls against St. John's and Seton Hall before blowing out Butler to slightly right a ship that's taking on water. B-Frank's Pirates are firmly on the bubble after beating DePaul in Chicago (which Xavier couldn't do) and a gutsy comeback win at The Rock against the Huskies. The Marquette game was a letdown, but Seton Hall has a big week ahead as they hope to pad their resume. Creighton was the only undefeated team in the 11-day stretch since we last recorded, and the Jays seem to be hitting their stride with a healthy Ryan Kalkbrenner continuing to impose his will on both ends of the floor. They survived a comeback bid at home to hand Providence their first conference loss before exorcising the Hinkle Fieldhouse demons that had afflicted them for many seasons. Providence came back to earth after road losses at Creighton and Milwaukee, but handled DePaul at home as Jared Bynum is still sidelined. After battling the Golden Eagles en route to a home win, Xavier inexplicably lost to DePaul on the road thanks to shooting under 50% on layups. The trend continues of top teams struggling on the road. They scored 95 in a get-right game against Georgetown, but surrendered 82 points to the Hoyas. Getting stops when they need to will be paramount in a prove-it week for the Musketeers as they travel to UConn and Creighton. Marquette takes the top spot by nearly knocking off X at the Cintas Center behind an incredible game by Tyler Kolek. They kept Providence at an arm's length in Milwaukee before dismantling Seton Hall in a game they didn't play all that well yet still managed to win by 21. UConn unanimously owned the worst stretch, while Creighton (Sam) & Marquette (B-Frank) owned the best stretches in our minds. Sam shares some promising stats since Ryan Kalkbrenner's return just before Christmas ahead of a week in which the Jays have three great opportunities to pick up much-needed wins. What'll likely be conference first and second-teamers make up this stretch's top performers as the cream continues to rise to the top. With a nod to DePaul's shocking upset of Xavier the guys reminisce on other surprising results of Big East past. They detail St. John's incredible run back in 2018 when Shamorie Ponds had them at the top of the college basketball world after beating #4 Duke at MSG and #1 Villanova in Philadelphia after having started the conference season 0-11. In potential foreshadowing, B-Frank mention's Georgetown's unlikely Big East Tournament Championship run, their last conference wins at the time of recording. We're at the point in the season when top-of-table matchups and rivalries abound in upcoming games to watch. Go Seton Hall. Roll Jays. Go Big East!

B-Frank & Sam return after a 2-0 week for Seton Hall and an 0-2 week for Creighton. The Pirates look to reach .500 in conference play this next week, and the Jays have a prove it game Saturday when they play host to heavyweight Providence. After running through the standings (1:30-3:32) the guys reveal this week's power rankings from bottom up (3:35-28:48) with Georgetown bringing up the rear yet again. The Hoyas have been playing competitive first halves only to be dominated when it counts. Butler's offense is atrocious, and St. John's gave Providence a real scare on the road. Villanova losing to DePaul is arguably the worst loss of the conference season so far, but Cam Whitmore is coming into his own. The Blue Demons look to surprise Seton Hall in Chicago this weekend, a game that has B-Frank at least a little worried. Seton Hall snagged two convincing wins vs. Butler and at Georgetown, and Al-Amir Dawes finally hit some threes. Moving on to the league's top five - who are a collective 16-0 at home in conference play - the 7 combined losses by Marquette, UCONN, and Creighton have come on the road against the other top five. Creighton can't close out games and continues to give up runs and suffer extended scoring droughts. UCONN has lost three of their last four as Dan Hurley is still winless on the road against ranked teams during his time in Storrs. Marquette continues to put on offensive clinics and laugh at their preseason coaches poll 9th place prediction. Providence survived a scare against St. John's, but didn't shoot well from the line in what was a 3-point win at the AMP. Xavier flat out keeps winning thanks to late heroics from Souley Boum. The best stretch belongs unanimously to Xavier, who can score with anyone and gets stops when they need to in crunch time. Creighton and Villanova earn the worst stretch tags this past week after going a combined 0-4. (28:49-37:06) Villanova's record is identical to DePaul's. What was supposed to be the best team in school history for Creighton is at risk of missing the NCAA Tournament. Tyler (not Charlie) Kolek and Da'Sean Nelson get special recognition for big-time performances in wins, while both B-Frank and Sam agree that Oso Ighodaro and Souley Boum are the league's top performers for the week (37:08-38:30) This week the lads discuss their favorite coach that isn't their own (38:35-42:15) and B-Frank shares a funny trope involving one of the league's personalities and a wedding. They wrap it up by mentioning this upcoming week's games to watch (43:00-45:12) by highlighting games they'll attend and Marquette's biggest week of the season.

B-Frank and Sam return after a week-and-a-half holiday hiatus to discuss the new balance of power in their favorite basketball conference. Georgetown has lost 25 straight conference games in an impressively bad skid after getting hot to win the Big East Tournament two seasons ago. They run through the standings, which experienced quite the shakeup as previously unbeaten UCONN dropped consecutive road contests against Xavier, then Providence. The Friars are 5-0 in conference play for the first time in their history much thanks to efforts from Fenwick alum Bryce Hopkins. Xavier, like Providence, has also won 8 straight behind an ultra-efficient frontcourt of Jack Nunge & Zach Freemantle. Marquette continues to stay ahead of schedule and rack up conference wins, and Creighton has won three straight home games ahead of a week in which they travel to UCONN & Xavier. We'd be shocked if the conference regular season champ comes from outside of those five teams, but Justin Moore is now practicing with Villanova, so don't count the Wildcats out quite yet. B-Frank continues to be frustrated by Seton Hall's effort, though the Pirates have been shooting better from the charity stripe the past couple games. The fellas discuss the best (Providence) and worst (UCONN & St. John's) stretches since last recording. Providence's impressively re-tooled roster has proven they can win games scoring in the 70's and play tough defense, no surprise given Ed Cooley patrols the sidelines. If UCONN fancies themselves a title contender they'll have to not be so reliant on threes, quit sending opposing teams to the foul line, and keep their composure on the sidelines - looking at you, Dan Hurley. St. John's has all but proven themselves fraudulent after stacking up wins in a noncompetitive non-con slate. The Johnnies' mess unfortunately overshadows an incredible season by Joel Soriano thus far. The aforementioned Zach Freemantle (for the second straight week) and Jack Nunge are two of this recent stretch's top performers. Trey Alexander also gets the nod from Sam after pouring in 32 points on Christmas day and leading the Jays in assists - shooting well and adding 15 points - in a blowout win over B-Frank's Pirates in Omaha. B-Frank then introduces a new segment in which he and Sam discuss a thought-provoking question, kicking off this week by running through our top three favorite teams to beat/most frustrating teams to lose to. Interestingly enough, Marquette appears on both lists. They conclude by mentioning this next stretch's games to watch, as the conference's top tier has plenty of opportunities to prove its mettle against each other.

Conference play has tipped off in the two weeks since B-Frank and Sam last recorded, and UCONN is still undefeated atop the standings. Providence and Xavier are also 2-0 in league play. After running through the rest of the standings (0:20-1:06), Sam shares his holiday spirit after the Jays pulled off a get-right win over Butler in Omaha - just their second home game in 31 days. The guys talk about how important Ryan Kalkbrenner is to Creighton's defensive identity and how a sleeveless Baylor Scheierman needs to play to achieve the team's lofty preseason expectations. A less rosy B-Frank lays out the issues with Seton Hall's start to conference play, highlighted by poor jump-shooting and the incredible free-throw defense SHU opponents have managed to play (1:10-24:30). Power rankings (24:35-55:56) follow as UCONN, Providence, Xavier, and Villanova each have notable winning streaks heading into important matchups in the week after Christmas. Marquette fought valiantly in a tough Providence road environment paced by a career night from Charlie Kolek a quick drive from where he grew up, but ultimately fell in a double-OT thriller. The Golden Eagles are ahead of schedule and can score with anyone. St. John's doesn't have any resume-boosting wins to speak of and don't appear poised to pick up many throughout conference play. Creighton finally got off the schneid but has plenty of work to do before they're worthy of the praise heaped on them when they were undefeated and ranked in the top 10 in November. Butler fell fast after not showing much fight in the second half against UCONN and Creighton, but could trip up Providence at Hinkle next week. Shaheen Holloway still hasn't gotten buy-in from all his players in South Orange. Georgetown showed fight against Xavier and UCONN, but have no depth and can't get stops when they need to. DePaul is in the basement yet again. B-Frank & Sam briefly touch on the teams who have had the best and worst stretches since our last recording (56:00-58:35) before focusing on the top performers during that same time period (58:36-1:01:41). Bryce Hopkins is playing like a man possessed and deserves to be put on every national watchlist he's eligible for. Kadary Richmond is Seton Hall's most reliable offensive weapon by a long shot. Zach Freemantle, much to Sam's chagrin, has appeared to put whatever issues plagued him last year en route to a hyper-efficient stretch of games. Frederick King gets an honorable mention for doing his best Ryan Kalkbrenner impression in the last few games while Creighton's center dealt with and returned from an illness. They finish up by touching on the Big East's games to watch before the new year (1:01:52-1:03:51) as marquee matchups abound for Villanova, Xavier, UCONN, and Marquette. We also get a Christmas day matchup in Omaha as the Jays host DePaul.

B-Frank and Sam return to talk all things Big East since last Thursday. They congratulate St. John's on picking up the conference's first league win against DePaul before Sam recounts his time at the Moody Center for Creighton's close loss to Texas. The Jays' no good, very bad week was punctuated by an embarrassing loss to Nebraska. B-Frank isn't much happier with Seton Hall after a blowout loss at KU and taking too long to get going against D-II Lincoln U. They move on to power rank the remaining teams in the conference. UCONN is head and shoulders above the rest, while the co-hosts' alma maters fall considerably. Butler and Villanova are getting healthy at the right time, Marquette can pour in points, and Providence has an incredibly balanced offensive attack. It's little surprise which teams had the best (UCONN) and worst (Creighton) weeks, so they highlight the week's top performing players before concluding with games to watch during the last stretch before conference play starts in a week. Marquette travels to South Bend to take on Notre Dame, the ever-entertaining Crosstown Shootout pits Xavier against Cincinnati, Georgetown & Syracuse face off in an old Big East rivalry that has lost much of its muster, Creighton looks to get off the schneid against BYU & Arizona State in Vegas, and B-Frank dreads the Garden State Hardwood Classic against rutger.

B-Frank and Sam return to power rank the Big East teams through the first few weeks of the season, with undefeated UCONN and Maui Invitational Runner-Up Creighton head and shoulders above the rest of the pack. Villanova shockingly brings up the rear. The discuss the best and worst starts to the season, give Marquette their flowers for shellacking Baylor as the conference's best win on the young season, and touch on some of the league's best individual performers. Games to look forward to feature the Big East-Big 12 Battle and some juicy in-state rivalries. They close the show with a discussion on Sam's time at the Maui Invitational and a Seton Hall performance review ahead of tonight's matchup in Lawrence.

From the guys who brought Let Me B-Frank and SONT Chicago readers weekly Big East Basketball Power Rankings the past few seasons, B-Frank (Seton Hall alum) and Sam (Creighton alum) introduce the Power Six Podcast Big East Basketball Show. They begin by reminding listeners that college basketball has a Power Six thanks to the nation's only basketball-focused major collegiate sports conference. A quick aside about DePaul starts things off with a trip down memory lane. B-Frank & Sam then regale each other with their favorite moments from the budding Seton Hall-Creighton rivalry before reliving notable moments from last year's Pirates & Bluejays seasons. What they're most looking forward to in the non-conference slate is next up as they both stress the importance of the first Thursday in December for both team's respective seasons. After teasing it earlier in the episode Sam & B-Frank share their most notable moments from Big East Basketball Media Day including briefly touching on the most hated players in the conference. They also discuss questions they're excited to see their alma maters answer in the early portion of the season & touch on lofty expectations for both programs highlighted by a confident quote from Shaheen Holloway. Seton Hall has one of the most challenging non-con schedules in the country, and Creighton gets their shot at Texas in the Big East-Big 12 challenge this season. College basketball is right around the corner, and we couldn't be more excited.