When the new Big East formed in 2013 following a wave of conference realignment, nobody was sure what to expect from the newly configured league. Before long it became obvious that one school was separating itself from the rest, and seven years later Villanova stands as the unquestioned top team in the conference.

With six regular season titles, four Big East Tournament titles and two national championships in the last seven years, Villanova has enjoyed one of the most dominant decades of any program in college basketball. Now, with UConn set to rejoin the Big East after its long exile in the American Athletic Conference, the Wildcats stand as the Huskies' biggest roadblock on the journey back to the top.

Today longtime Villanova men's basketball reporter Joe Juliano from the Philadelphia Inquirer joins the show to talk about Villanova's rise in the new Big East, how the Wildcats have become one of the nation's premier program and what UConn fans can expect this year and beyond. We also touch on some of the best UConn-Villanova games in recent memory, including Kemba Walker's epic game-winner at Gampel Pavilion in 2011 and last year's frustrating yet encouraging loss in Philadelphia.

Like what you hear? Want to offer feedback? Feel free to reach out at [email protected]. You can also find me on Twitter at @MacCerullo.

Podcast artwork courtesy of Jon Kulakofsky/The Daily Campus 2014.

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