The days of Syracuse and Georgetown going down to the wire and Connecticut invading the Big Apple to steal the spotlight away from St. John’s is over, but the new Big East Conference hopes to generate immediate buzz by introducing its league with a New Year’s Eve bang.
The league kicks its season  off Dec. 31 with all 10 teams in action, it announced Thursday as the schedule was released. All five games will be on Fox Sports 1, the brand new network which will broadcast a majority of the league’s games. It begins with two of its marquee programs as St. John’s visits newcomer Xavier. It is followed by Seton Hall taking on Providence, DePaul at Georgetown, Villanova against Butler and Marquette facing Creighton and Preseason Player of the Year candidate Doug McDermott.
St. John’s will take on Butler Jan. 25 at renowned Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indiana and get its first look at McDermott on Jan. 28 in Omaha. It will also host Marquette the day before the Super Bowl at the Garden, as part of a doubleheader that also features Michigan State against Georgetown. Local rivals Seton Hall and St. John’s meet for the first time Jan. 23 at Carnesecca Arena in Queens and the rematch is slated for Feb. 13 at the Prudential Center in Newark.
Each program will play 18 league games, and face one another twice apiece, the first time the Big East has featured home-and-away games for every member of its conference against each other since the 1994-95 season. The Big East Tournament will remain at Madison Square Garden, from March 12-15.