Top 3 Big East teams that could contend for NCAA tournament title in 2024-25 college basketball season

The Big East conference has its work cut up with UConn Huskies’ potential three-peat run in the 2024-25 season. However, most players the top conference programs built around have either transitioned to the big league or hit the transfer portal, including the Huskies.

With that, let's look at the teams that could overcome the unique shakeup and pit themselves as potential contenders for the 2024-25 NCAA title.

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Big East teams that could contend for 2024-25 NCAA title

#3 Marquette Golden Eagles - Shaka Smart

The Golden Eagles lose stars Oso Ighodaro and Tyler Kolek for the upcoming season.

However, the program brings back starters David Joplin, Stevie Mitchell and Kim Jones, who will mostly be responsible for sparking offense. Marquette is expected to maximize its roster, as it has displayed in the last few years while earning multiple NCAA 2-seeds.

Alongside promising freshmen, major rotational players like Ben Gold, Chase Ross and Sean Jones are also making a return. The most promising aspect of Marquette is their player retention despite the heavy usage of the transfer portal and NIL.

That could work wonders when almost every team is going through alterations before the 2024-25 season.

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#2 Creighton Bluejays - Greg McDermott

Ryan Kalkbrenner, the star center, returns after treading NBA waters to maintain the Bluejays’ defensive foundation.

Moreover, Steven Ashworth also benefits from an extra year to maintain his point guard role. With that, the Bluejays build with two double-figure scorers from the portal Pop Isaacs (Texas Tech) and Jamiya Neal (Arizona State).

While a lot of their 2024-25 season will be dependent on their veterans’ ability to increase their production within the Big East, the Bluejays hold a lot of future promise with the addition of freshmen Larry Johnson, Jackson McAndrew and Ty Davis.

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#1 Connecticut Huskies - Dan Hurley

The top team in the Big East and NCAA is driving for a three-peat but will operate without talents like Stephon Castle, Donovan Clingan, Tristen Newton and others.

While Alex Karaban withdrew from the NBA to return, there are plenty of roles the transfer portal couldn't fill for the champs; given that their chemistry is their biggest quality.

Nevertheless, while Hurley spearheads the culture, UConn could potentially retain its shooting by combining Karaban with transfer Aidan Mahaney and recruit Liam McNeeley. Moreover, Hassan Diarra could be up for his best collegiate season.