Big East Coaching Legend from Seton Hall PJ Carlesimo says the way referees officiate the games in the conference is different from the SEC because of how much physicality they allow before calling fouls.

Carlesimo appeared as a special guest on an episode of The Ryen Russillo Podcast on Wednesday. He says that the refs from other conferences would think they’re on another planet watching how a Big East game is officiated over the rest of the country.

“If referees from these other leagues refereed any of the games in the Big East Conference, they would think they’re in a different planet. Guys are tackling guys, they’re unfazed, they just play that way, it’s so physical. The BIG 10 to a slightly lesser degree, incredibly physical. I don’t think the SEC is like that,” Carlesimo said at the 8:38 mark.

“What the SEC is, is they’re bigger, and stronger, and quicker. Its not NBA but there are some match-ups you just look when the teams are on the floor, you go these guys can’t play with them. These guys just have bigger, stronger, quicker, athletes.”

It's an interesting comparison for PJ Carlesimo to make about the SEC and Big East, especially with how they fared in the 2025 NCAA Tournament so far.

The Big East had five teams make the NCAA Tournament in UConn, Creighton, Marquette, St. John's and Xavier. On the other hand, the SEC had a record 14 out of 16 squads make the tournament. Seven of them are currently in the Sweet 16.

Unfortunately for the Big East, they failed to reach the Sweet 16. UConn, Creighton, and St. John's fell in the second round. As a result, they won't have any representation in the deeper rounds of the tournament.

For the SEC, they maintain their huge presence on the brackets as Auburn, Florida and Alabama remain in the mix as some of the favorites for the national championship. Their matchups are as follows: Auburn vs. Michigan, Florida vs. Maryland, Alabama vs. BYU, Ole Miss vs. Michigan State, Arkansas vs. Texas Tech, and Kentucky vs. Tennessee.