The 2010–11 Big East Conference men's basketball season was the 32nd season of competitive basketball played by the Big East Conference, since its inception in 1979, and involved its 16 full-time member schools. The season officially opened on December 27, 2010, when Pittsburgh defeated Connecticut, 78–63, and ended on March 5, 2011, with a 72–56 victory for St. John's over South Florida.
Pittsburgh captured the regular season title for the fourth time, and third outright, with a conference win–loss record of 15–3. The Panthers also received the no. 1 seed in the Big East tournament, and a bye into the quarterfinals, along with 2nd-seed Notre Dame, 3rd-seed Louisville, and 4th-seed Syracuse. St. John's, West Virginia, Cincinnati, and Georgetown rounded out the top eight, and all received a bye into the tournament's second round. Play began at noon on Tuesday, March 8 in Madison Square Garden, when 9th-seed Connecticut defeated 16th-seed DePaul, 97–71. Play ended on Saturday, March 12, when Connecticut won their fifth game in five days, defeating Louisville, 69–66, for their seventh Big East Championship.
At the finish of the regular season, prior to seeding for the 2011 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, it was widely speculated that the Big East would eclipse its NCAA record 8 bids, sending as many as 11 teams to the tournament. The official tournament selection process took place on Sunday, March 13, and the predictions were accurate, as the following 11 Big East teams received bids into the tournament. Connecticut won the national title, its third-ever national championship.
Preseason
Coaching changes
Prior to the start of the 2010–11 season, four Big East programs hired new coaches, following the dismissal or resignation of their former coaches:
DePaul: Jerry Wainwright was fired in the middle of the 2009–10 season, after a 7–8 start, and a 22-game Big East losing streak. Wainwright, who compiled a 59–80 record, and a 20–51 conference record, in five seasons at the school, was replaced on an interim basis by assistant coach Tracy Webster, who remained with the team until a new head coach was hired. On April 6, 2010, Clemson head coach Oliver Purnell was named the 13th head coach of the Blue Demons. Rutgers: After a lackluster performance by the Scarlet Knights during his four-year tenure, and a postseason incident at a Pittsburgh—Rutgers baseball game, in which he got into a shouting match with several of the Pittsburgh coaches, Fred Hill resigned his position as head coach on April 19, 2010. It was reported that Hill had been asked to return for the 2010–11 season, however the shouting incident prompted Rutgers athletic director Tim Pernetti to ask for Hill's resignation, settling for an $850,000 contract buyout in exchange. On May 6, 2010, Robert Morris head coach Mike Rice Jr. was announced as the 17th head coach of the Scarlet Knights. Rice came to Rutgers after a successful three-year tenure at Robert Morris, achieving a 73–31 (.702) record, a 46–8 (.852) conference record, and two consecutive Northeast Conference tournament championships, leading to automatic bids into both the 2009 and 2010 NCAA Tournaments. Seton Hall: Bobby Gonzalez was fired on March 17, 2010 after four tumultuous seasons with the Pirates, in which both his on and off court actions were heavily scrutinized. The decision followed Seton Hall's 87–69 loss to Texas Tech in the first round of the 2010 National Invitation Tournament, in which then-sophomore forward Herb Pope was ejected from the game for punching Texas Tech player Darko Cohadarevic in the groin, and Gonzalez himself received his seventh technical foul of the season. In a statement, Seton Hall University president Monsignor Robert Sheeran said he told Gonzalez that he had "lost [his] confidence in [Gonzalez's] ability to coach and lead this program," and had made the decision to fire Gonzalez on his own after consulting members of the campus community. On March 29, 2010, former assistant to Rick Pitino at Louisville and Iona head coach Kevin Willard was named the 19th head coach of the Pirates. St. John's: Norm Roberts was fired as head coach on March 19, 2010, after losing its first round NIT game against Memphis, 73–71. Roberts left the team after six seasons, compiling an 81–101 (.445) record, a 32–70 (.314) conference record, and only one winning season. He was replaced on March 31, 2010 by former UCLA head coach (1996–2003) and then-ESPN analyst Steve Lavin.
Conference predictions
At Big East media day in October, the conference released their predictions for standings and All-Big East teams.