Episode 7

SEGMENT 1 – John & Kevin welcome you to Season 12, Episode 7 of This Week in the Big East! Connecticut’s winning streak is no more after the Huskies hit their first Big East bump in the road last Friday night at Madison Square Garden in front of an electric crowd. The Friday night marquee matchup also boasted more than 1.5 million viewers on Fox. Villanova remains in third place behind St. John’s and UConn and has settled in as a March Madness contender. Connecticut will get their rematch with St. John’s February 25th in Hartford and that game could go a long way in determining a regular season Big East Champion.

SEGMENT 2 (@6:50) – Big East Spotlight: St. John ‘s Head Coach – Rick Pitino: John and Kevin welcome Hall of Fame St John’s Head Coach, Rick Pitino into This Week in the Big East. With over 50 years of coaching experience, Coach Pitino is having as much fun as ever competing in the Big East and leading his St. John’s Red Storm towards the top of the Big East standings. Coach Pitino explains his views on roster construction and hos his team continues to evolve and grow each week as they push toward a March Madness run.

SEGMENT 3 (@17:30) – 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 the 2003-04 season. Emeka Okafor was a large part of catapulting Jim Calhoun’s Connecticut Huskies into the national spotlight as an All-American and helped lead UConn to their 2nd National Title in six seasons. Okafor was a Big East Player of the Year, NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player, and National Defensive Player of the Year before being the first NBA draft choice of the then Charlotte Bobcats.

SEGMENT 4 (@22:45) – Big East Focus: – Georgetown Junior Guard – KJ Lewis: John and Kevin welcome Georgetown standout junior guard, KJ Lewis into This Week in the Big East. Lewis transferred to Georgetown after two seasons at Arizona. Finding a great match with Ed Cooley, Lewis has blossomed into an all-around performer averaging over 15 points, 5 rebounds, and 2 assists per game and is widely considered one of the best defenders in the Big East Conference.

SEGMENT 5 (@32:15) – The National Perspective: NY Post NCAA Basketball Writer – Zach Braziller: Kevin and John are joined by St. John’s Red Storm beat writer Zach Braziller of the New York Post. Zach, John, and Kevin recap St John’s huge home win last Friday over Connecticut. Zach also provides an overview of the Big East from top to bottom and predicts how many teams the conference could enter into March Madness. Braziller also makes a case for St. John’s standout center, Zube Ejiofor as the best St. John’s player this century.

SEGMENT 6 (@41:40) – Who’s Got Next? John & Kevin wrap up the seventh episode of This Week in the Big East for the 2025-26 season by previewing the best games coming up this weekend including looking at an action packed Big East Conference slate of games on Saturday. A big east quadruple header takes place on Valantine’s Day bookended by St. John’s at Providence and Georgetown at Connecticut.

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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.

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This Week in the Big East (2025-26)

Episode 5

SEGMENT 1 – John & Kevin welcome you to Season 12, Episode 5 of This Week in the Big East! Connecticut’s midseason dominance marches forward with their winning streak now reaching 16 games heading into this weekend. It’s the third longest winning streak in program history, and at 20-1 overall, they are ranked #2 in the media and coaches’ polls behind Arizona. The Huskies are 10-0 in Big East play and asking the question yet again, can they go undefeated in conference? Meanwhile, St. John’s behind Rick Pitino’s 900th career win has returned to the Top 25 and have just one Big East loss while winning seven straight games.

SEGMENT 2 (@6:25) – Big East Spotlight: Villanova Head Coach – Kevin Willard: John and Kevin welcome coach Willard back to the Big East! In his first season at Villanova following successful stops at Seton Hall and Maryland, coach Willard tells us what it’s like to reconstruct an entirely new roster through the transfer portal. He also speaks about how important legendary Villanova Head Coach, Jay Wright is to the program and how Wright and Willard’s long-time friendship led to Coach Willard’s difficult decision to leave Maryland for Villanova.

SEGMENT 3 (@17:00) – 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 1987 and the start of a legendary Hall of Fame career for St. John’s Head Coach Rick Pitino. Pitino earned his 900th career victory last week beating his son Richard Pitino and the Xavier Musketeers. However, all the way back in 1987 a young Coach Pitino took his upstart Providence College Friars all the way to the Final Four.

SEGMENT 4 (@20:30) – Big East Focus: – Connecticut Senior Forward – Tarris Reed Jr.: John and Kevin welcome UConn’s Tarris Reed Jr. to This Week in the Big East! In his second season in Storrs after transferring from the University of Michigan, Tarris is averaging an impressive 14.5 points, 8 rebounds, and 2 assists for the Huskies. He talks about what it’s like to play for legendary Connecticut Head Coach Dan Hurley and the lofty expectations the Huskies have for this season.

SEGMENT 5 (@30:15) – The National Perspective: TNT/Tru TV play-by-play Announcer – Spero Dedes: Kevin and John are joined by Spero Dedes of TNT and TruTV after the networks agreed to a new broadcasting deal with the Big East Conference. In addition to calling NCAA Tournament games since 2010, Dedes is thrilled to be broadcasting Big East games this season and moving forward for Turner. He breaks down what he has seen out of the teams in the Big East this season and just how many of those teams may make it into the field come March.

SEGMENT 6 (@42:20) – Who’s Got Next? John & Kevin wrap up the fifth 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 featuring UConn at Creighton on Saturday night in a heavyweight bout in Omaha.

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