Villanova ranked 8th, Marquette at 24th in new AP Top 25

The Big East Conference now has two teams in the latest AP Top 25.

The Villanova Wildcats retained their standing in the Top 10 after a 2-0 start to the season. The Wildcats jumped up from 9th to 8th, standing with 1,139 points this week. Their jump in the polls was thanks in part to the fall of another pack of Wildcats. Those being the Kentucky Wildcats, who plummeted from 2nd to 4th after being dismantled by the new #1 team in the land — the Duke Blue Devils.

Meanwhile, we’ve got a newcomer to the polls, and one that hasn’t had the pleasure of being ranked in a very long time. The Marquette Golden Eagles are back in the mix, as they ascended up to the 24th spot in the Top 25.

MU has not been ranked in the AP poll since the week of November 25, 2013. That week, they were 25th for the second time, having been there on November 18 as well, after starting off 17th in the 2013 Preseason AP Top 25.

Five years later, and Marquette is back in the poll. We’ll see how long it lasts, but it’s certainly a nice step forward for the program to get national recognition again.

Several Big East teams received votes in this week’s AP Top 25. Those teams were the Butler Bulldogs (4), St. John’s Red Storm (2) and Xavier Musketeers (1).