Big East Champions St. John's–What's Next for the Conference?

Patrick Carney
11 minutes ago
5 min read

Photo Credit: Sebastian Zelaya, @SLZF.photo on Instagram

St. John's won the Big East Tournament Championship over the UConn Huskies in a 72-52 blowout. The two powerhouse programs have helped keep the conference relevant in 2025-26, but what's next for the Big East?

Walker. Mullin. Carnesecca. Calhoun. Wright. Walker. The Pearl. Massimino. Dehere. Boeheim. Ewing. Brunson. These names have become larger than life in the Big East Conference as architects of the once-premier conference in college basketball. Now, the conference built by legends is buoyed by two more: Rick Pitino and Dan Hurley.

After the Big East regular season, a tournament matchup between these two felt like a foregone conclusion. Willard’s Wildcats were too young and couldn't beat Top 20 teams. The Pirates were well-coached and embodied the grit and toughness of Shaheen Holloway, but didn’t have the scoring prowess to stay in games. Creighton lacked star power, DePaul was losing steam, Marquette lacked experience, Butler faced injuries, Providence played discombobulated, Xavier lacked defensive stopping power and despite a run to the semifinals, Georgetown never could put it all together.

That left the league with two teams on a collision course. A swan song for two-time national champion Alex Karaban and an exclamation point to Zuby Ejiofor’s spectacular year were inevitable. Both players are larger than life, coached titans amongst mortal coaches–Rick Pitino and Dan Hurley, with three (or four, depending on who you ask) National Championships between them.

What many won’t admit, though, is that the conference needed this matchup. Despite the words of Big East Coach of the Year Shaheen Holloway, the league is having a down year. Disappointment abounded. Creighton, plagued with injuries in November and December, was not the roster that many suspected. Butler, once a top 35 NET team, fell on its face in conference play. Providence had the talent to be in the top half, yet never put it together. Georgetown had arguably its deepest roster in Ed Cooley’s three years there, but couldn’t stay healthy or string together big wins in the regular season.

St. John’s and Connecticut helped to keep the league relevant during an off year. The Johnnies and Huskies have been the pillars of this league, propping up the conference that has won 5 of the last 11 national championships. Without Kevin Willard developing Villanova into a tournament contender, the league would have just two bids.

St. John's wasted no time reminding Madison Square Garden why this wasn't ever going to be a fair fight. Zuby Ejiofor opened the scoring with a jumper, Oziyah Sellers buried a three and converted a three-point play on consecutive possessions, and before UConn could exhale, the scoreboard read 10-0. The Huskies never led for a single second. St. John's led for 39 minutes and 26 seconds. Bryce Hopkins was a freight train in the paint, Dillon Mitchell was everywhere, and Ejiofor—finishing with 18 points, 9 rebounds, and 7 blocks—played like a man who wants his name remembered amongst St. John’s legends like Chris Mullin. At the half, it was 40-27, and Pitino's Johnnies had already broken the spirit of the Huskies.

The second half was more of the same, but credit UConn for refusing to fold entirely. Tarris Reed Jr., who finished with a game-high 17 points on 8-of-17 shooting, gave the Huskies something to hang their hat on, trimming the deficit to single digits on a couple of occasions and keeping a 72-52 final from getting a lot uglier. But every time the Huskies inched closer, St. John's had an answer: a Hopkins three to open the half, a Mitchell fast-break dunk to sap momentum, an Ejiofor three late to seal it and put the margin at 23. Alex Karaban's swan song ended with 7 points and a -20 plus-minus, a quiet goodbye for a player who deserved a louder one.

This was St. John's night, St. John's tournament, and increasingly, St. John's era of Big East Basketball. Pitino will walk out of Madison Square Garden tonight as the first coach to win back-to-back Big East Championships with multiple teams.

Now, the Johnnies and Huskies, along with Villanova, will embark upon their journey to the NCAA Tournament. The Huskies are a projected 2 seed and will likely stay on that line despite the loss. The Johnnies’ stock will rise with this win, and may catapult them as high as the 4-seed line. After their loss to Georgetown, Villanova will likely land around an 8/9 seed and will have a tough path to both a first-round victory and the second weekend.

Hurley, despite the loss, voiced confidence in his group for the NCAA Tournament, "Yeah, we know that we play our best basketball versus in the NCAA tournament and versus non-conference teams. Our group know that this is a really, really physical league. That was a really, really, really physical game, and we're excited to play in the NCAA tournament that doesn't get played like that."

In years past, Hurley has mentioned that his players have more freedom of movement in the NCAA Tournament, and that was evident last season when the Huskies were just a few possessions away from knocking off the eventual champion Florida Gators.

As evidenced by Villanova alone, the times have changed drastically since 2022. NIL and revenue sharing now dominate college sports, with teams able to share $20.5 million amongst their respective sports programs.

Where does this leave the Big East? Revenue sharing began on July 1st, 2025, so the effects are likely still to be seen. Yet, UConn and St. John’s are already flourishing in this environment. Hurley has built top 25 teams for 5 straight years. Pitino will lose his crown jewel in Zuby, but will look to return Ian Jackson and Joson Sanon, both of whom have games in this tournament with 10+ points.

With the other nine programs eager to catch up to the successes of UConn and St. John's and with a renewed public focus on spending, the league could be in a more competitive spot going forward.

Pitino, just after winning his second Big East Tournament Title in as many years, doubled down on his onus to get the rest of the league back up and at the caliber that we're all used to, "but we all need to -- everybody needs to get $10 million to spend. For the rich people like Georgetown and Villanova, maybe they go to 12. For those people that are poor, trying to get a break in life, like us, we maybe get to 10. But everybody needs to get that up there so we can get greatness back. That's what it's all about right now. It's a salary cap. Everybody needs to get to $10, $12 million, and with this coaching in this league, everybody will be back and the Big East will be great once again."

He added that, "We need to get Georgetown back. We need to get Providence back," and threw a minor shot at his son Richard at Xavier, saying, "I got to get my son to start recruiting great basketball players." He finished off his press conference saying, "We got great coaches now, we just need to beef up the individuals. They got to get players like the four guys I have up here."

That leaves the Big East with a lot of potential for a rebound. The portal will open after the championship game on April 6th, and stay open for several weeks following.

The Requiem was premature–this we know. This conference is not dead. It is nowhere close. Big East teams have won multiple championships since realignment. It had 5 bids just last year. However, it needs to keep improving. UConn, much like Villanova in the 2010s, has established the watermark for college basketball and the conference in the early 2020s. St. John’s has rocketed up under the tutelage of Hall of Famer Rick Pitino these last two years.

However, more legends must emerge for the Big East to regain its rightful place as the premier basketball conference.