Mike Rosario, Rutgers:

Rosario is the first McDonald's All-American to join the Scarlet Knights. In his senior year at Saint Anthony High School in New Jersey, the 6-foot-3 guard led his team to a No. 1 ranking in both the USA Today Super 25 and the ESPN High Elite 25 polls.,”Top Freshman:

Mike Rosario, Rutgers:

Rosario is the first McDonald's All-American to join the Scarlet Knights. In his senior year at Saint Anthony High School in New Jersey, the 6-foot-3 guard led his team to a No. 1 ranking in both the USA Today Super 25 and the ESPN High Elite 25 polls. Rutgers has a lot of young talent and will look to him to lead the team.

Greg Monroe, Georgetown:

One of the best center prospects in the country. The 6-foot-11, 250 pound Monroe will look to fill the immense hole in the Hoyas' frontcourt left by the departure of Roy Hibbert. He is the fourth McDonald's All-American signed by John Thompson III. Just to prove how sought-after he was, his other finalist schools were Texas, Louisiana State, Duke, and Connecticut.

Samardo Samuels, Louisville:

With his large stature, Samuels should be able to out-muscle people in the post. Originally from Jamaica, Samuels has big shoes to fill by replacing David Padgett. If he lives up to his billing as one of the most hyped prospects in Louisville history, this 6-foot-8, 240 pound forward should lead the Cardinals to at least a Sweet 16 appearance.

Top 3 Games: (pick from these)

Dec. 29 – Georgetown @ Connecticut

These two perennial championship contenders combined to take the top rank in nine statistical categories in the Big East last season, including blocked shots, field goal percentage and scoring margin. Look for a high scoring game and the winner to potentially be the next Big East champion.

Jan 14 – Syracuse @ Georgeown – Last season, these two teams played in stunning fashion, with a 64-62 overtime win at Georgetown. The Orange had their revenge beating the Hoyas 77-70 two months later. The losses of Roy Hibbert and Donte Greene from Georgetown and Syracuse, respectively, mean the newcomers will need to continue this old rivalry.

Jan 26 – Marquette @ Notre Dame:

The Golden Eagles were the last team to beat the Irish at the Joyce Center, and they came pretty close to doing it again in come-from-behind fashion last season, losing by just three points. Watch for this game to be tight and another classic between these new rivals.

Three Guarantees:

Despite the loss of Roy Hibbert and Jonathan Wallace to graduation, the Hoyas will not falter in the standings. Young talent, notably freshman All-American Greg Monroe and sophomore point guard Chris Wright (who missed most of last season due to a broken foot), will make them a much more athletic team. The Hoyas' biggest problem last season was handling ball pressure, and the speedy Wright should fix that.

DePaul sophomore Mac Koshwal, who received no love from the coaches this preseason, will lead the conference in rebounding this season after finishing fifth last season with 8.4 per game. He'll have to do something pretty amazing for the Blue Demons to make much of a splash in the Big East, because he doesn't have a supporting cast to speak of.

South Florida will go winless in the Big East. The loss of Kentrell Gransberry will hurt the Bulls because he was one of best players on the team and averaged a double-double last year. The next leading rebounder returning for the Bulls is Chris Howard, who averaged only 3.9 boards per game.

CONTENDERS:

Pittsburgh:

Sam Young proved down the stretch last year that he is one of the elite players in the country, finishing first on Panthers with 18.1 points per game and second in total rebounds with 232. The defending Big East champs bring back all of their key players. Coach Jaimie Dixon knows how to get the Panthers to play tough, as they played through a lot of adversity last year. The only question mark is Levance Fields' foot.

Connecticut:

The Huskies have been picked in many circles to win the Big East because of their returning talent. Specifically 7-foot-3 center Hasheem Thabeet, who showed tremendous improvement between his freshman and sophomore seasons. He went from 6.2 points and 6.4 rebounds per game in his freshman year to averaging 10.5 points, 7.9 rebounds sophomore year. Look for conference assist-leader A.J. Price, who led the squad in scoring 13 times, to lead the team again.

Louisville:

The Cardinals went through an emotional roller coaster last year. David Padgett came back from what should have been a career-ending knee injury to stabilize the team, but Derek Caracter and Earl Clark were routinely suspended for conduct detrimental to the team. This season the team will reload in the post with Jamaican import and freshman-to-watch Samardo Samuels, who will fill the shoes of Padgett. Louisville also returns solid but oft-injured Terrence Williams at forward and swift Edgar Sosa at the point.

Georgetown:

If the Hoyas can continue the success they had last year, they should have a great shot at winning the Big East. Last season the team was ranked first in field goal percentage (.490), scoring margin (+11.5) and rebounding defense (32.1). The Hoyas should be a more complete team with DaJuan Summers as a dangerous scorer, Jesse Sapp scoring from the perimeter, Chris Wright providing speed at the point guard position and Greg Monroe stabilizing the post spot vacated by Roy Hibbert.

Notre Dame:

The Fighting Irish return Big East Player of the Year Luke Harangody, who led the conference in scoring with 20.4 and finished second in rebounds with 10.6 per game. Next to him will be sharpshooter Kyle McAlarney, who led the conference in 3-point shots made last season with 108. Look for coach Mike Brey to win Coach of the Year for a third straight season if his team continues to put up these numbers.

POTENTIALS:

Marquette:

The Golden Eagles have the same old problems this season — neither size nor depth in the post. Marquette will need to pressure the other team's point guard and pray to the Jesuit fathers that Lazar Hayward doesn't get into foul trouble. The team's leading scorer Jerel McNeal (14.9 per game) was unstoppable in the postseason and returns as one of the most dangerous scorers (and defenders) in the conference. But it's not just on the players — new coach Buzz Williams will have to step up to fill the shoes of departed coach Tom Crean.

Villanova:

Jay Wright's class of Corey's (Fischer and Stokes) are another year older and will be expected to improve on their combined 15.5 points per game and 4.2 rebounds per game. Scottie Reynolds needs to have a superb senior campaign, after a less than stellar sophomore campaign, with 15.9 points but only 3.1 rebounds per game.

Syracuse:

Syracuse has the ability to crack into the leader board in the Big East this season if the team can stay healthy. However with the loss of Donte Greene, who was fourth in scoring in the Big East last season with 17.7 points per game, the Orange will need junior forward Paul Harris to step up. If junior guard Andy Rautins stays healthy, the team could go far — Syracuse was 12-0 when he scored in double digits last year.

Providence:

One of the most reliable Big East storylines of the past several seasons has been the underachieving of the Friars. New coach Keno Davis (formerly of Drake) can change that. Davis took Drake — picked to finish last in the Missouri Valley Conference — to a 28-5 record, a conference championship and an NCAA tournament berth.

PRETENDERS:

Rutgers:

The Scarlet Knights have some of the best young talents in the league, but they are doomed by their individualistic style of play. Their leading scorer, JR Inman, only averages 12.2 points per game. As a team they ranked dead last in the Big East in assists, averaging only 9.45 per game, and were last in turnover margin with -2.55. Without a team effort there will be no relief in the standings.

West Virginia:

The Mountaineers had offseason trouble with Joe Mazzulla and Cam Thoroughman, who plead guilty to drinking charges, will surely throw the team into disarray. But expect consistency from class act Alex Ruoff, who was one of the best 3-point marksmen in the country last year with a 0.410 average from beyond the arch. Without Joe Alexander, who was drafted into the NBA, they lack a true dominant scorer.

Cincinnati:

Deonta Vaughn is a great scorer and finished fourth in the Big East in 3-point percentage (0.398) and sixth in scoring (17.3 points per game). He can also play several positions for the Bearcats. Cincinnati lacked confidence when handling ball pressure and the team usually need Vaughn to bring the ball up the floor.

St. John's:

Overall, this is a very young team that suffered a lot of growing pains last year. The Red Storm's offense averaged only 62.1 points per game – last in the conference. Senior Anthony Mason Jr. is probably screaming "help me" every night in his sleep because even with his team-leading 14.0 points per game, the Red Storm are going nowhere fast.

PUNCHING BAGS:

Seton Hall:

They graduated their best scorer Brain Laing, who was second in scoring in the Big East with 18.6 points per game. But the Pirates are just average in the conference. They were ranked 11th in the conference in 3-point percentage (0.338), sixth in blocked shots (4.94 per game) and 13th in assists (13.03 per game). They don't play good defense either — Seton Hall finished last in the Big East in scoring defense allowing 77.2 points per game.

DePaul:

Mac Koshwal, an all-freshman selection last year, should develop into one of the league's dominate inside players, but there won't be anyone around to get him the ball. This team had a lot of competing egos last year, so perhaps the removal of several of them, due to graduation, will help DePaul have more success.

South Florida:

The Bulls, who were last in the Big East with a 0.638 free throw percentage last year. Dominique Jones is the only returning player worth mentioning after scoring 17.1 points per game. Last season — especially after the departure of Kentrell Gransberry, who led the conference in rebounds (10.8 per game) and was second in scoring (16.0 per game) for the Bulls last year.

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