Big East Basketball Is BACK: UConn, St. John's, Marquette & Ed Cooley's Make-or-Break Year

College basketball is back, and so is Big East Energy Weekly. Mark Zanetto and Casey open the 2026-27 season with a full lap around the league: Bryan Hodgson bringing a new identity to Providence, Alan Huss taking over Creighton, Ronald Nored at Butler, and why Shaka Smart and Marquette belong in the Big East title conversation. Plus: what Donnie Freeman's Achilles injury means for Rick Pitino and St. John's, how Dan Hurley keeps building UConn on loyalty and the right portal pieces, and whether this is a make-or-break year for Ed Cooley at Georgetown. The guys close with the Big Ten and SEC's new rule on players who signed pro contracts, why the Big East hasn't followed, and a prediction that the league gets back to six or seven NCAA Tournament bids. Big East Energy Weekly is powered by MyBookie.ag. New customers get up to $1,000 in bonus bets with promo code BBE100. Must be of legal age. Please bet responsibly. Subscribe to the Big East Energy Network on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts for Big East basketball all season. Who wins the Big East this year? Tell us in the comments. 0:00 College basketball is back 2:00 Why the sport isn't dying 5:30 Bryan Hodgson and Providence's new identity 9:10 Alan Huss takes over Creighton 11:00 Ronald Nored and Butler 12:30 Marquette is a Big East title contender 14:30 Loyalty and recruiting high school players 16:30 St. John's, Pitino, and the Donnie Freeman injury 20:30 UConn's roster and the Hurley formula 26:45 Make-or-break year for Ed Cooley 31:30 Big Ten and SEC pro contract rule 35:20 "Was that wrong?" 38:00 Big East bid prediction and sign-off #BigEast #CollegeBasketball #UConn #StJohns #Marquette #Creighton #Providence #Georgetown #DanHurley #RickPitino #BigEastBasketball #BigEastEnergy