Big East Coast Bias Power Rankings: Villanova #1, Georgetown soars to #3

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Like Villanova, the Musketeers only played one game this week. Also like Villanova, they took care of business against a local opponent, knocking off Western Kentucky 95-64. Xavier is 8-0 for the first time since 2011-12, and should move to 9-0 against Wright State on Tuesday night before heading into their Crosstown Shootout showdown with Cincinnati. - Robert O'Neill

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Georgetown proved they're a better team than their 1-3 start indicated on paper, grabbing a convincing quality win over rival Syracuse. Their jump to third on our Power Rankings - over two one-loss teams, no less - is certainly a stunner, but it's a show of faith in a very talented team with two quality losses from top-five teams. The Hoyas were late to the party, but they're only beginning to pick up steam - Pierce Roberson

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Kellen Dunham led the comeback with 24 points and Roosevelt Jones banked in Butler's game-winner over No. 17 Cincinnati with a tenth of a second left. In their first true road game of the year, the Bulldogs rallied and grabbed a quality road win it needed to build some momentum. Should Butler pick up wins this week against Virginia Military & Tennessee - both at Hinkle Fieldhouse -  it sets up a major December matchup with Caleb Swanigan & No. 11 Purdue. - Pierce Roberson

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Wait...the Friars go undefeated and drop to fifth? It's possible Friartown throws a conniption over this week's rankings, but Providence's slide has nada to do with a bad week and everything to do with the strength of the conference. To have a ranked team as your fifth (at worst) team in the Big East is great for the conference. But yeah, just in case, Providence might not want to let it go to the wire against Boston College and Bryant this week as it did with Rhode Island. - Pierce Roberson

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After a rough start to the season, the Golden Eagles continue to impress. They've now won five in a row, with number six likely coming Monday night at home against San Jose State.  Even better for Marquette, Henry Ellenson and Luke Fischer have been, arguably, the best 4-5 pair in the country this season. - Robert O'Neill

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The Hall bounced back from a road loss at George Washington to flat out annihilate Rutgers in the Garden State Classic. Seton Hall has beaten the Scarlet Knights three times in a row; its first 3-peat over its in-state rivals since 1986-1988.  - Pierce Roberson

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With Creighton's losses against Arizona State and Loyola-Chicago, it's going to be an uphill climb for the Bluejays from here on out. The atrocious free throw shooting and inability to play solid defense in the 2nd half of games has been a frightening development in the previous week, though the Bluejays can win over their faithful fans with a win against Nebraska this week. - Alex Sindelar

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'Twas a tale of two boroughs for St. John's. After dropping a dud in the Bronx to Fordham, the Johnnies felt a little more at home in Madison Square Garden, beating St. Francis Brooklyn in the MSG Holiday Festival. It was Chris Mullin's first game as a coach in the Garden, ushering memories of winning MVP of the '81 Classic. "I love this place," Mullin said. "Always have, always will." - Pierce Roberson

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#DoYourJob. DePaul had two games against two beatable teams in UIC and Chicago State and demolished them by a combined 51 points to move above .500. Much of the same from Billy Garrett & Myke Henry, but freshman Elijah Cain is really stepping it up in Dave Leitao's backcourt, breaking out for a career-high 20 points on Chicago State. - Pierce Roberson