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We’ve reached the penultimate edition of Power Rankings in February!
We had just 12 ballots submitted this week from our team as well as a few others. These others included:
- Connor Lagore (of AE)
- Dan Stack (DePaul)
- Norman Rose (of Rumble in the Garden)
With that in mind, here are the rankings...
10. DePaul Blue Demons
(Score: 10; Consensus Last Place)
“Like I said, nothing ever changes.” - Robert O’Neill
“The entire Big East imploded this week, but DePaul is, and always will be, DePaul.” - Tyler Pearre
9. Georgetown Hoyas
(Score: 8.58; Highest Vote: 7; Lowest Vote: 9)
“Ranking 3-9 was nearly impossible this week.” - Robert O’Neill
“The Hoyas have talent, particularly in the frontcourt with the Govan/Derrickson combo and if both of them stay for next year, I can definitely see them be a threat. I also really like Jamarko Pickett. Time will tell with how this team will progress but another year of Patrick Ewing and perhaps they can be in the running for a top spot next year. This season, however, I don’t see them making a Big East tourney run.” - Luke Feliciano
“The Hoyas won consecutive Big East games for the first time this season and continued their domination of Hinkle Fieldhouse, where they are 4-1 since conference realignment, with a huge victory over Butler. Jessie Govan and Marcus Derrickson are dominating all around the court. Sounds good, right? If you don’t look at their next four games it sounds perfect. Unfortunately for the Hoyas, they are the only team that still has to play BOTH Villanova and Xavier one more time.” - Tyler Pearre
8. Marquette Golden Eagles
(Score: 7.08; Highest Vote: 3; Lowest Vote: 9)
“The win at Creighton looks like a season saver, at least for now.” - Robert O’Neill
“Another team I expected to be in the hunt for the top of the Big East with the likes of Howard and Rowsey. I think their biggest weakness is the drop off between their top 3 scorers and the rest of the rotation.” - Luke Feliciano
“Marquette at No. 3 is too high, I agree. But can you blame me? They grabbed a monster road win over Creighton thanks to Wojo’s defensive (?) adjustments and are the only team in the Big East that has at least one game remaining against Georgetown, St. John’s and DePaul. The Golden Eagles have a golden (too cheesy?) opportunity to move out of seventh position and secure a first round bye in the BET if they can run the table as they probably should.” - Tyler Pearre
T6. Seton Hall Pirates
(Score: 6.77; Highest Vote: 4; Lowest Vote: 9)
“They still have some stuff to figure out.” - Robert O’Neill
“I’m genuinely confused about the Pirates. I bet they go 1-1 this week, which is good? I think?” - Chris Grenham
“Lately, the Pirates haven’t been doing so well losing the last four out of five games. To be honest, I expected them to be in the mix with Villanova and Xavier atop the conference, so from that standpoint, it’s a little bit of an underwhelming season for them especially having four senior starters.” - Luke Feliciano
“Seton Hall doesn’t have the WORST remaining schedule, but it seems like the Pirates are determined to play themselves out of the NCAA Tournament field. They did everything they could to blow their weekend tilt against DePaul and face Butler and Providence in the coming week, two teams desperately looking to get the 3-seed in the Big East tournament. So, yeah, you could say I’m not loving the Pirates’ immediate prospects.” - Tyler Pearre
T6. St. John’s Red Storm (1)
(Score: 6.77; First-Place Votes: 1; Lowest Vote: 9)
“The reign of dominance continues.” - Robert O’Neill
“If the Johnnies win out and get 1-2 BE Tournament wins, do they make The Big Dance?” - Chris Grenham
“The Johnnies have been a weird team this year because they lost a lot of games by close margins and then knocked off Duke and Villanova. With a few games going there way, they can easily be in the middle pack of the conference. I think Ponds will take them a long way with his scoring ability, but unless they win the conference tournament, their chances of making the NCAA tournament look bleak.” - Luke Feliciano
“Spots 3-9 are about as messy as one could imagine, with each team splitting its pair of games this week (Georgetown and SJU exempted; they played just one). So my power rankings solely reflect how favorable the remainder of a team’s schedule is. Georgetown and SJU get a boost for not losing last week, though.” - Tyler Pearre
5. Providence Friars
(Score: 4.92; Highest Vote: 3; Lowest Vote: 6)
“When you beat Villanova and punch your ticket to the NCAA Tournament, you move up.” - Robert O’Neill
“Once again we saw how this team goes as Kyron Cartwright does, but shooting 30% at Hinkle doesn’t help either. Regardless of the cold shooting day, I like where PC is trending.” - Chris Grenham
4. Creighton Bluejays
(Score: 4.31; Highest Vote: 3; Lowest Vote: 6)
“The loss to Marquette wasn’t ideal, but the Bluejays are fine.” - Robert O’Neill
“Even without Krampelj, they are fairing well in Big East play. They have an explosive backcourt in Foster and Khyri Thomas who both have professional potential. They made some noise while making it to the Big East Tournament final a year ago, so I definitely wouldn’t count them out.” - Luke Feliciano
3. Butler Bulldogs
(Score: 3.38; Highest Vote: 3; Lowest Vote: 4)
“The Bulldogs are where they need to be going forward.” - Robert O’Neill
“Butler has a game in hand over Creighton and Providence. The Bulldogs desperately need a win over Creighton at Hinkle on Tuesday night. If they can pull it off, they have a favorable final two games and will be in prime position to secure the 3-seed in the BET.” - Tyler Pearre
2. Xavier Musketeers
(Score: 2.08; Highest Vote: 2; Lowest Vote: 3)
“Why don’t they make the whole team out of Trevon Bluiett?” - Robert O’Neill
“Villanova ended the Musketeers undefeated season at home, but they have been great at winning close games. That will be ever important come March because they are battled tested late in games.” - Luke Feliciano
1. Villanova Wildcats (12)
(Score: 1.08; First-Place Votes: 12; Lowest Vote: 2)
“The Wildcats are still the best despite everything because nothing ever changes.” - Robert O’Neill
“You have to love the way Nova bounced back at Cintas after losing to Providence. I don’t see them losing for the remainder of their regular season schedule.” - Chris Grenham
“I witnessed first hand on Saturday how legit they can be when they are clicking on offense. In my mind, makes them an instant title contender. When Phil Booth comes back, they will be even better and will essentially play with six starters.” - Luke Feliciano
Feb. 27 Power Rankings
Voter | Butler | Creighton | DePaul | Georgetown | Marquette | Providence | Seton Hall | St. John's | Villanova | Xavier |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Voter | Butler | Creighton | DePaul | Georgetown | Marquette | Providence | Seton Hall | St. John's | Villanova | Xavier |
Alex Sindelar | 4 | 3 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 2 | 1 |
Besay (AE) | 4 | 3 | 10 | 9 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 8 | 2 | 1 |
Brooks Conrad | 3 | 4 | 10 | 9 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 8 | 1 | 2 |
Charlie Goldsmith | 4 | 3 | 8 | 10 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 9 | 1 | 2 |
Chris Novak | 4 | 3 | 9 | 10 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 8 | 1 | 2 |
Dan Stack | 5 | 3 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 4 | 10 | 1 | 2 |
Joel (Banners Parkway) | 4 | 3 | 10 | 7 | 9 | 8 | 5 | 6 | 1 | 2 |
Kevin Urquhart | 3 | 4 | 7 | 8 | 5 | 6 | 9 | 2 | 1 | |
Matt Ambrose | 5 | 3 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 7 | 1 | 2 |
Matthew Gelenites | 4 | 3 | 10 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 4 | 9 | 2 | 1 |
Raymond Simms | 4 | 3 | 9 | 10 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 8 | 1 | 2 |
Rob O'Neill | 4 | 3 | 10 | 9 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 8 | 2 | 1 |
Sam Newberry | 5 | 3 | 10 | 9 | 7 | 6 | 4 | 8 | 1 | 2 |
Sean Saint Jacques | 5 | 3 | 10 | 8 | 9 | 6 | 4 | 7 | 1 | 2 |
First Place Votes | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 5 |
Average | 4.14 | 3.14 | 9.62 | 8.71 | 7.50 | 5.93 | 4.86 | 8.00 | 1.36 | 1.64 |
Highest Vote | 3 | 3 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 1 | 1 |
Lowest Vote | 5 | 4 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 6 | 10 | 2 | 2 |