SEGMENT 1 – John & Kevin welcome you to Season 12, Episode 6 of This Week in the Big East! Connecticut’s winning streak rolls on, coming into play this week standing at 18 straight victories. This is the 3rd longest winning streak in program history and marks the best stretch of basketball in 27 years since the 1998-99 season. The Huskies streak will be tested Friday night in a heavyweight matchup with St. John’s who have won 8 straight games themselves. Meanwhile, Villanova and Seton Hall both continue to jockey for position in the top half of the Big East standings as both teams eye a March Madness invitation.
SEGMENT 2 (@6:40) – Big East Spotlight: Xavier Head Coach – Richard Pitino: John and Kevin welcome coach Pitino into This Week in the Big East as he continues his first year in the conference as a head coach at Xavier. He arrived in Cincinnati to spearhead a major rebuilding project, turning over nearly the entire roster in a physically demanding league like the Big East. Coach Pitino gives us a status report on his Musketeers and provides his impressions on the league as a whole during his first year as a Big East head coach.
SEGMENT 3 (@16:00) – Who’s Hot: John and Kevin run through the weekly awards for the Big East Conference as well as the Big East Honor Roll! In our Big East “Blast from the Past”, we turn back the clock to 2003 when a freshman by the name of Carmelo Anthony stormed onto the Big East scene in upstate New York for the Syracuse Orange. Anthony averaged 22 points and 10 rebounds during his one and only season at Syracuse and then averaged 20 points and 10 rebounds per game during the NCAA Tournament including a monster 33-point 14 rebound performance in the Final Four against Texas. Anthony and the Orange went on to win Syracuse’s one and only National Championship later that season.
SEGMENT 4 (@19:45) – Big East Focus: – Marquette Freshman Guard – Nigel James: John and Kevin welcome Marquette standout freshman guard, Nigel James into This Week in the Big East. James is developing into an all-around talent for Coach Shaka Smart as he enters this weekend’s play averaging 15 points, 3 rebounds, and nearly 5 assists per game. He’s also a prolific three-point shooter making 42% of his shots from behind the arc.
SEGMENT 5 (@29:30) – The National Perspective: ESPN / Peacock TV Color Analyst – Tom Crean: Kevin and John are joined by former Marquette Head Coach and current ESPN and Peacock television color analyst, Tom Crean. As a former Big East coach, Tom knows a thing or two about the rough and tumble play in the Big East Conference. He breaks down the top half of the league and discusses why he thinks Connecticut should be taken seriously as a National Championship contender. Plus, we preview Coach Crean being inducted into the Marquette Ring of Honor this Saturday in Milwaukee.
SEGMENT 6 (@42:25) – Who’s Got Next? John & Kevin wrap up the sixth episode of This Week in the Big East for the 2025-26 season by previewing the best games coming up this weekend including taking a look at an action packed Big East Conference slate of games on Saturday highlighted by Villanova at Georgetown and Seton Hall at Creighton. On Monday night, we preview Xavier visiting St. John’s at Madison Square Garden in a rematch of Father and Son, Rick and Richard Pitino.
