Greetings, and welcome back to the BECB Power Rankings. We apologize for the lulls with this over the last few weeks. A few things have happened, a few missteps were made, but we’re back, and we’ll make sure to make this consistent now going forward.

As always, we’ve had a few outside votes made. This week, they were made by:

• Anonymous Eagle
• Besay (Anonymous Eagle)
• Brad D. (Banners on the Parkway)
• Casual Hoya
• Connor Lagore (Anonymous Eagle)
• Dan Stack (We Are DePaul)

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10. St. John’s Red Storm

(Score: 10; 10th Place Votes: 22)

“I’m pretty sure this is the first time I can ever remember a consensus last place team. Even back in the day, DePaul could challenge St. John’s for that honor. This is crazy.” - Chris Novak

“It’s amazing to get 22 people to agree on literally anything, so this is truly a special day.” - Robert O’Neill

“In the interest of full disclosure, I’ll confess that I don’t think I’d watched St John’s play a full game this year until I watched Butler pummel the Red Storm on Saturday. I found myself asking how St John’s kept it close against some of the Big East powerhouses... looked like a JV team against Butler.” - Kevin Urquhart

9. DePaul Blue Demons

(Score: 8.82; Highest Vote: 8th; Lowest Vote: 9th)

“DePaul gutted out a win over Georgetown. Perhaps that’s something they can grow from, even after getting beat down by Seton Hall” - Robert O’Neill

8. Georgetown Hoyas (1)

(Score: 7.86; First-Place Votes: 1; Lowest Vote: 9th)

“I’m impressed by Patrick Ewing’s coaching prowess. The loss to DePaul last week was tough to swallow, but the Blue Demons had to pick somebody off. The Hoyas need more players, and luckily, they’re getting talent in D.C. in 2018.” - Chris Novak

“Coming into the year, the biggest question for Georgetown was if Patrick Ewing could coach. He can. Now, the Hoyas just need to get a bit better at closing out games.” - Robert O’Neill

7. Marquette Golden Eagles

(Score: 6.59; Highest Vote: 5th; Lowest Vote: 8th)

“Certainly, Marquette has pushed Villanova to the limit twice. Not being on the winning side either time probably hurts quite a bit.” - Chris Novak

“Andrew Rowsey and Markus Howard are incredibly fun to watch, but some defense would be nice for Marquette.” - Robert O’Neill

“Markus Howard’s recent inconsistency has gotta be killing Marquette fans. The Golden Eagles desperately need to beat Butler on Wednesday or they will find themselves fighting to get in the Big Dance down the stretch.” - Kevin Urquhart

T-5. Providence Friars

(Score: 5.55; Highest Vote: 4th; Lowest Vote: 7th)

“The Friars were the Big East’s hottest team prior to their loss to Villanova. They’re looking likely to make an unprecedented fifth straight NCAA Tournament appearance.” - Robert O’Neill

“It’s been a while since Providence has hit the floor, so that means it’s been a while that Friar Dom has been seen at The Dunk or anywhere for that matter. That’s a good thing.” - Chris Novak

T-5. Butler Bulldogs

(Score: 5.55; Highest Vote: 4th; Lowest Vote: 7th)

“Regardless of who the coach is, Butler is gonna be Butler. That’s the law of the land at this point.” - Robert O’Neill

“The Bulldogs enjoyed the DePaul-St. John’s back-to-back quite a bit more than the earlier part of their Big East schedule. If the Dawgs manage to beat Marquette on the road, they get another freebie (knock on wood) against DePaul and will be sitting at an encouraging 7-4 conference record.”- Kevin Urquhart

4. Seton Hall Pirates

(Score: 4.09; Highest Vote: 3rd; Lowest Vote: 6th)

“Angel Delgado is everyone’s favorite large adult son, and the Pirates look poised to go deep into March” - Robert O’Neill

“I still think Seton Hall is fine, but this week is a big test for them.” - Chris Novak

3. Creighton Bluejays

(Score: 3.45; Highest Vote: 3rd; Lowest Vote: 6th)

“Losing Martin Krampelj is a bummer, but any team with Marcus Foster and Khyri Thomas is still dangerous” - Robert O’Neill

“I’m guessing the absence of Martin Krampelj is really going to hurt against Villanova.” - Kevin Urquhart

2. Xavier Musketeers

(Score: 2.05; Highest Vote: 2nd; Lowest Vote: 3rd)

“It feels like the nation is sleeping on Xavier. Do that at your own risk.” - Robert O’Neill

1. Villanova Wildcats (21)

(Score: 1.05; First-Place Votes: 21; Lowest Vote: 2nd)

“There’s nothing left to say about Jay Wright’s Basketball Robots at this point.” - Robert O’Neill

“Villanova’s win over Marquette actually cooled me on the Wildcats a little bit. If it weren’t for Jalen Brunson completely taking over the game in the second half, Villanova probably would have lost. Can Nova count on that from Brunson every game? I’m probably just grasping at straws here lol.” - Kevin Urquhart

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