This Week in the BIG EAST - Weekly Overview of NCAA College Basketball's Top Conference

John Rooke and Kevin McNamara shine this week’s #TWITBE BIG EAST Spotlight on Xavier first-year head coach Travis Steele as he continues the momentum of the Musketeer program. At 36 and a 10-year former XU assistant, he is very familiar with the winning culture at Xavier. Coming into the BIG EAST Focus this week is the familiar voice of FOX Sports college basketball analyst Tarik Turner. Turner, a...

Season five of #TWITBE starts off in a BIG WAY as hosts John Rooke and Kevin McNamara welcome, Villanova head coach Jay Wright, Marquette star Markus Howard and national basketball analyst Andy Katz as guests for the first episode. After a 76-71 win over St. John’s on Tuesday, Villanova improved to 3-0 in league play, coming off a difficult non-conference schedule. Wright and the Wildcats were pic...

Hosts John Rooke and Kevin McNamara meet this week’s guests on the floor of Madison Square Garden, the home of the 2018 BIG EAST Tournament presented by Jeep. The tournament and March Madness are in full swing and the BIG EAST is right in the middle of it all. The BIG EAST Spotlight shines on Mack, head coach of the No. 1 seed in the tournament and 2018 BIG EAST Coach of the Year. Mack discusses t...

The #MarchToMSG is nearly complete as #BIGEASThoops season comes to a close on Saturday. No tournament seeds are set going into the regular-season finale, but one thing is known, Xavier has clinched at least a share of the title. #TWITBE John Rooke and Kevin McNamara whip around the league and discuss where the standings are with one game left for all on Saturday. For the last episode before the t...

Just over one week remains in the #MarchToMSG. The BIG EAST Spotlight this week shines on Georgetown junior center Jesse Govan, who discusses Georgetown’s non-conference schedule and how it helped them prepare for being a threat in conference games so far this season. The BIG EAST Focus features ESPN College Basketball Analyst Jeff Goodman who discusses where the #BIGEASThoops fits in the national...

The #MarchToMSG gets closer as BIG EAST play winds down to just three weeks left. Hosts John Rooke and Kevin McNamara analyze the dog days of college basketball in February with this week’s guests Creighton head coach Greg McDermott, St. John’s sophomore guard Justin Simon and FOX Sports College Basketball Analyst Len Elmore. The BIG EAST Spotlight this week highlights Creighton head coach McDermo...

With less than a month to go in the @BIGEASTmbb season, the only known is – this league is strong and unpredictable. #TWITBE hosts John and Kevin have the inside scoop from around the conference. This week’s BIG EAST Spotlight shines on Seton Hall head coach Kevin Willard. Willard and the Pirates are hoping for a second-half surge during BIG EAST play as they sit in the middle of the standings at...

BIG EAST play has officially surpassed the halfway mark of the season. This week’s #TWITBE guests have a lot to say to John and Kevin about potential NCAA contention for this March and what to look for in the next month leading up to conference tournament at Madison Square Garden. This week’s BIG EAST Spotlight shines on Providence head coach Ed Cooley. The Friars are off to a 14-8 start overall a...

#TWITBE Episode 4 brings a pair of BIG EAST player standouts to the show with John and Kevin. This week’s BIG EAST Spotlight shines on Villanova junior guard Jalen Brunson, a standout on the floor for the No.1 Wildcats since he arrived in 2015. He has been named to the mid-season Oscar Robertson Trophy watch list, awarded to the nation’s best player. Butler senior forward Kelan Martin is in the BI...

This week’s BIG EAST Spotlight shines on Marquette head coach Steve Wojciechowski who discusses his team’s performance this season including stellar play of sharp shooters Markus Howard, Andrew Rowsey and Sam Hauser. The BIG EAST Focus lens zeroes in on former BIG EAST Commissioner Mike Tranghese, who helped BIG EAST  founder Dave Gavitt start the league. Tranghese shares his views on the current...

On Friday, Jan. 12, the BIG EAST and FOX bring the first all-access mic’d up game to men’s college basketball when Providence travels to DePaul in an 8:30 p.m. tip on FS1. #TWITBE guests this week have all aspects of the game as John and Kevin interview DePaul head coach Dave Leitao, Providence guard Alpha Diallo and the man in the truck calling the game, FOX Sports Senior College Basketball Coord...

BIG EAST play tipped off Dec. 27 and a #BOMBCYCLONE did not stop hosts John and Kevin from recording in their Foxborough, Mass. studio for the season four premier of #TWITBE. For the first episode of 2018, #TWITBE brings  the BIG EAST Spotlight on guest LaVall Jordan, the new head coach of the Bulldogs who has already made his mark with an upset over national then-No. 1 Villanova.  The BIG EAST fo...

Coming to you courtside at Madison Square Garden for the BIG EAST Tournament presented by Jeep with head coach Chris Holtmann, Villanova guard Josh Hart and national college basketball writer for the Associated Press Jim O’Connell.  

The BIG EAST men’s basketball tournament is five days away! This is the final show before going courtside from Madison Square Garden. Guests for this week include BIG EAST Commissioner Val Ackerman; one of the league’s top freshmen, St. John’s guard Shamorie Ponds and current college basketball analyst and former Seton Hall Pirates head coach Bill Raftery “Onions.”

This week’s radio show mixes past and present as the BIG EAST is nearly a week away from celebrating its 35th tournament at Madison Square Garden. Creighton head coach Greg McDermott joins Rooke and McNamara to talk about his present injury situation and how he has re-tooled his line up. Former Syracuse guard Eric Devendorf and ESPN Analyst, former UConn head coach Jim Calhoun join the show to tal...

It is the home stretch for the BIG EAST tournament seeding, Villanova has a chance to clinch at least a share of their fourth-straight title this weekend. This week’s show features a spotlight on Seton Hall head coach Kevin Willard, the reigning BIG EAST tournament champion coach. The BIG EAST focus is on Marquette center Luke Fischer, a transfer from Indiana who averages 12.0 points and 6.0 rebou...

The BIG EAST teams have three weeks to make their case in the league standings before tournament play begins. This week’s show features BIG EAST Supervisor of Officials John Cahill discussing officiating in the BIG EAST Spotlight. The BIG EAST focus is on Villanova beat writer from the Philadelphia Inquirer Joe Juliano and the national perspective comes from former Providence sharp shooter and cur...

BIG EAST basketball is past the halfway mark. Villanova has the slight edge over Creighton as the No. 1 team in the standings. This week’s radio show features Wildcat head coach Jay Wright in the BIG EAST Spotlight. The focus this week is on Providence guard Kyron Cartwright, with the national perspective from ESPN.com Senior NCAA Basketball writer and author Dana O’Neil.  

A month into BIG EAST play, Butler and Villanova are tied at the top of the standings. This week’s radio show features personnel from both teams. The BIG EAST spotlight shines on Bulldog head coach Chris Holtmann; while the focus is on National Player of the Year Candidate, Wildcat guard Josh Hart. The national perspective comes from FOX Sports and Scout.com Insider Evan Daniels.  

Hot off the MLK Marathon, this week’s BIG EAST spotlight shines on St. John’s Head Coach Chris Mullin; the focus features Butler senior forward Andrew Chrabascz and Dick Weiss, the college basketball writer for Blue Star Media breaks down the history of the league and recalls his favorite Madison Square Garden tourney moments.

BIG EAST play heats up as the BIG EAST Spotlight shines this week on DePaul Head Coach Dave Leitao; the focus features Creighton senior guard Maurice Watson Jr., and Whitey Rigsby, the voice of the Villanova Wildcats, the defending national champions, gives his national perspective.    

BIG EAST play heats up as the BIG EAST Spotlight shines this week on Xavier Head Coach Chris Mack. The focus features Seton Hall junior guard Khadeen Carrington discussing his stellar season and long time Georgetown radio announcer Rich Chvotkin who gives his national perspective after calling the game for 43 years.  

As BIG EAST conference play begins in the BIG EAST Spotlight shines this week is Providence Head Coach Ed Cooley; the focus features BIG EAST Associate Commissioner Stu Jackson to discuss the state of the game and FS1 television analyst Tarik Turner gives the national perspective.

The hosts for This Week In The BIG EAST are John Rooke, a well-known BIG EAST play-by-play voice for 27 years and Kevin McNamara, who has covered the BIG EAST for 25 seasons at the Providence Journal and is a columnist for Basketball Times. Rooke and McNamara give a comprehensive look at the teams, coaches, players and storied tradition of the top basketball conference in America. This Week in the...