The Way I See It: Big East Power Rankings (Feb. 14)

1.    Syracuse (24-2)

The Orange fell asleep at the wheel in their loss to Louisville this weekend, after beating a Connecticut team that cant get out of its own way. They still are front-runners for a No. 1 seed in the tournament next month.

2.    Villanova (22-2)

The Wildcats are closing the gap between them and Syracuse, but it’ll take another loss by the Orange to unseat them from the top spot. That loss may come  at the end of the month when Nova finally gets a shot at them.

3.    Pittsburgh (19-6)

The Panthers get the nod over West Virginia after avenging the previous loss with a thrilling overtime win last week. They host Villanova this week in what will be another prime time Big East match-up.

4.    West Virginia (19-5)

The Mountaineers had a rough week with back-to-back losses to Villanova and Pittsburgh. This week’s schedule is drastically easier and it should be easy for them to get back on track before going to Connecticut.

5.    Georgetown (18-6)

This team has lacked consistency since the Syracuse loss back in January. They either look very impressive in wins, or out of sync in bad losses. The Hoyas have beaten both Duke and Villanova, both of which are top 10 teams during that time. Unfortunately for them they also have losses to USF and to Rutgers, neither of which will help their seeding much.

6.    Marquette (16-8)

This team is much better than its record says it is. The Golden Eagles just couldn’t win the close game during the first half of the season. Right now Marquette is in the midst of a five game winning streak and has a lot of momentum going for it right now.

7.    Louisville (16-9)

The Cardinals get a lot of respect beating Syracuse. This team is good enough to be a tournament team, but right now sits on the bubble. The remaining schedule will be difficult, but they are given plenty of chances to prove they deserve to be in the Big Dance.

8.    Notre Dame (17-8)

The Irish have anything but an easy remaining Big East schedule. I don’t think they have three more wins on the schedule, and that won’t be enough to get in the tournament this year. Harangody has had a very impressive season either way, averaging 24 points and 10 rebounds a game.

9.    Cincinnati (15-9)

The Bearcats got thrashed by the Orange earlier in the week, and then took full advantage of a Connecticut team that’s a complete mess right now. The trip to Tampa this week will be a difficult one now that Augustus Gilchrist is back in the lineup for the Bulls.

10.  South Florida (15-9)

Dominique Jones can now breathe a sigh of relief with Gilchrist back in action. He no longer will be relied on to win games on his own for the Bulls.  Don’t forget about this team once the Big East Tournament starts, it’s capable of knocking off the elite teams and is hungry enough to do it.

11.  Seton Hall (14-9)

The Pirates have been over matched much of this season. This week, however, the picked up two good wins over Notre Dame and DePaul. Jeremy Hazell is the second leading scorer in the Big East this season, and the heart on soul of this team.

12.  Connecticut (14-11)

The Huskies are a mess right now, and I’m not even talking on the court. Jim Calhoun won’t say how long he’ll be coaching at Connecticut, and the uncertainty is seeping onto the court. Since the start of January this team is 5-8. They were once though of as a for sure tournament team, not the NIT is a stretch.

13.  Rutgers (13-12)

The Scarlet Knights got a win they can be proud of going into the off season, beating Georgetown 71-68. It’s been a rough year in the Big East for Rutgers, winning only three games so far in conference play. This is a young team, and they’ve shown improvement throughout the year. Mike Rosario and Jonathan Mitchell continue to have productive seasons even with the losses.

14.  St. Johns (13-10)

The Red Storm picked up an impressive 74-55 win over Louisville this week. That win ended a five game losing streak; all of the losses were by double digits. On another positive note they did have their 1985 Final Four team honored at Madison Square Garden this week as well.

15.  Providence (12-13)

The friars might have packed it in for the season. Looking at the remaining schedule only the Seton Hall or USF game might be winnable. I doubt if Providence is favored in any of the remaining game, as it should be with the dismal performances we’ve witness lately.

16.  DePaul (8-16)

The Blue Demons are anything but, at 1-11 in conference play they’ve been in the cellar all season long. Rutgers and St. Johns are the only games remains that might prove to be victories. Every other team they’ll match up against has a shot at the tournament and will need the win. There’s always next year DePaul fans, but don’t get to excited