How good will the Big East be this season?

Ready or not, here comes Big East play!

UConn was scheduled to play its first Big East game in seven seasons on Friday … COVID-19 permitting. If the Huskies face St. John’s at 7 p.m. at Gampel Pavilion, it will be their first Big East Conference game since March 9, 2013 — an overtime win over Providence before a Gampel sellout. Of course, there will be no fans in Gampel on Friday night, but it is what it is.

So what type of league is UConn returning to?

Better than the American Athletic Conference, the league in which UConn played the past seven seasons?

Without a doubt, though the Big East currently has just one more ranked team than the AAC (No. 9 Creighton and No. 12 Villanova; No. 10 Houston).

Better than last year’s Big East? Probably not. The Big East was the No. 1 league in the nation last season, per NET and RPI rankings. The league would likely have had six or seven NCAA tournament bids before the tourney was canceled due to COVID-19. It would be hard for the Big East to match or surpass that this season.

Better than the Big East the Huskies left in

2013? Well, that league had eight NCAA tournament bids, and that’s not happening this season. But that

2012-13 Big East featured not only UConn but Syra

cuse, Pittsburgh, Louisville, Notre Dame, Cincinnati, Rutgers and South Florida. All would be out of the league the next season, for various reasons. They would be replaced by Xavier, Creighton and Butler. And, this season, UConn.

The league has done just fine without UConn the past seven seasons. It averaged 5.3 NCAA tourney bids per season from 2014

19, with a high of seven in

2017. Villanova won the whole thing in 2016 and

2018. And the new guys have been very competitive. Here’s the conference records of Big East teams the past seven seasons:

1. Villanova, 103-23; 2. Xavier, 74-52; 3. Providence,

70—56; 4. Creighton, 69-57; 5. Seton Hall, 66-60; 6. Butler,

64-64; 7. Marquette, 60-66; 8. Georgetown, 51-75; 9. St. John’s, 45-81; 10. DePaul,

28-98.

But without question, UConn adds greatly to the league — especially this season.

So what can we expect from this year’s Big East? Early results have been somewhat mixed.

Through games played Sunday afternoon, the league was 29-10 overall against other conferences. That sounds good, until you realize the Big 10 is 44-5 (!). The ACC is 34-10. The Big 12 is 30-8. The Pac-12 … meh, the Pac-12 stinks.

There have been some very good wins. Marquette’s win on a last-second tip-in over No. 4 Wisconsin on Friday might be the best so far. Villanova beat No. 17 Texas on the road on Sunday, and also boasts a win over No. 25 Arizona State. UConn topped a good USC team in Bubbleville.

There have been some bad and/or ugly losses, as well. Providence, picked to finish third in the league, has been blown out twice, by Alabama and Indiana. Seton Hall, picked to finish fifth, is 1-3 (albeit vs. a tough schedule). Villanova got popped by Virginia Tech in a hastily-scheduled Bubbleville game. Georgetown lost to Navy.

Against the Power Five leagues, the Big East is 5-6. Add the AAC and Atlantic

10 and the league is 6-7 against the other top seven conferences (Xavier’s win over Cincinnati in the

Crosstown Shootout on Sunday gives the Big East a 1-0 advantage over the AAC, for those still harboring irrational hatred towards UConn’s former league).

Villanova and Creighton appear still to be the teams to beat, with UConn knocking on the door. Providence and Seton Hall have some improvement to do. St. John’s looks like a potential sleeper. Xavier and Marquette could be better than expected. Butler has only played one game. DePaul has yet to play a game, and likely won’t for another two weeks after COVID-19 scratched its game vs. Iowa State on Sunday. Georgetown? Yikes.

Overall, it may not be vintage Big East. But it’s still the Big East, and UConn and its fan base couldn’t be happier where they’re at.

PITINO HEADING TO HAMDEN

Hall of Fame coach Rick Pitino leads Iona into Quinnipiac this weekend as both teams kick off their respective MAAC schedules. The Bobcasts host Iona on Friday and Saturday, both games at 7 p.m. at People’s United Center.

Pitino, of course, is back in collegiate coaching after spending the past few seasons coaching in Greece. The two-time national championship coach was fired by Louisville in 2017, as a result of an FBI investigation into alleged payment of recruits.

Quinnipiac coach Baker Dunleavy doesn’t know Pitino personally, but has gotten to know him a little bit through MAAC coaches meetings.

“Needless to say, understatement of the century, he’s been an incredible addition to the MAAC,” Dunleavy said. “I think wisdom, experience-sharing with some of our coaches, he’s been great. Obviously, he’s brought a lot of attention to the league. He’s one of the greatest college coaches of all time. We’re lucky to have him in the league. Maybe we won’t feel that way when we play against him. I’m sure we’ll get to know each other over the coming years, competing.”

THIS WEEK’S TOP 25

Our AP Top 25 ballot this week:

1. Gonzaga: They’ve got Florida transfer Andrew Nembhard, too? Doesn’t seem fair.

2. Iowa: Luka Garza has scored 30 points in one half twice already this season.

3. Baylor: COVID-19 deprived us of No. 1 vs. No. 2 (or, per this poll, No. 1 vs. No. 3) on Saturday.

4. Villanova: Terrific win at Texas on Sunday afternoon.

5. Illinois: As much frontline talent on this roster as any in the nation.

6. Michigan State: Big win over Duke, followed by narrow win over … Detroit Mercy?

7. West Virginia: Struggled to win at Georgetown on Sunday evening..

8. Houston: Cougars top South Carolina with head coach Kelvin Sampson sidelined by COVID-19.

9. Wisconsin: Lost crosstown rivalry with Marquette on tip-in at buzzer.

10. Kansas: Is that win over Kentucky even a quality win at this point?.

11. Creighton: Big showdown with Kansas on Tuesday.

12. Florida State: Finally played a game, and won easily.

13. Texas: Is it me, or does the newly-follicled Shaka Smart resemble RATM’s Zack de la Rocha?

14. Richmond: Didn’t play this past week, though nearly scheduled UConn.

15. Arizona State: Won

Pac-12 opener at Cal.

16. Duke: Big one vs. Illinois on Tuesday.

17. Texas Tech: Red Raiders doubled up Grambling on Sunday.

18. Florida: Impressive

20-point win over Boston College in Bubbleville.

19. Virginia Tech: Overdue reward for beating ‘Nova last week.

20. Rutgers: A DNP this past week for Steve Pikiell’s crew.

21. Tennessee: A DNP this whole season so far for Rick Barnes’ crew.

22. Saint Louis: Billikens are tops in nation in KenPom’s effective FG percentage (64.3).

23. UConn: Would’ve been nice to see what Huskies could have done vs. NC State.

24. Virginia: Showdown with Michigan State on Wednesday.

25. SMU: Fans or no fans, winning at Dayton is always impressive.