Big East Power Rankings: The Best Teams in the Nation’s Top Conference
With conferences all over, the nation is preparing for their respective tournaments. Bracketologists everywhere are speculating on NCAA Tournament positioning for the top teams in the country.
With seven teams represented in the top 25, the Big East Conference is clearly the deepest one around.
But it's not just the ranked teams that deserve all the credit. Teams such as St. Johns, Cincinnati and West Virginia have all made their presence known in a conference where it's easy to get lost in the shuffle.
At this point, the conference appears to be in a great position to have more teams represented than any other in the nation.
16. DePaul
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In what has been a forgettable season for the DePaul Blue Demons (7-19; 1-13), the team beat Providence this past week, earning their first conference victory.
The Blue Demons then gave Villanova all they could handle this past weekend, but would ultimately come up short, losing 77-75 in overtime.
DePaul will face three unranked conference opponents in the coming weeks before finishing off their regular season against No. 20 Syracuse on March 5.
15. South Florida
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The Bulls have spent the better part of the conference season at the bottom of the Big East.
Having lost their first five conference matchups, South Florida rebounded to win games against Providence and DePaul, both teams that share the same futility.
Despite averaging 12 points and six rebounds per game, Junior Augustus Gilchrist hasn't been able to lead his team to more success.
The Bulls have road games against DePaul and St. Johns book-ending their home finale against Pitt before ending the season.
14. Providence
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With a 3-11 conference record, the Providence Friars find themselves near the bottom of the Big East.
The Friars lost their first six Big East games before showing signs of brilliance in earning consecutive victories over No. 15 Louisville and No. 7 Villanova at home.
Beyond that, it's been a season to forget for Providence, who is currently riding a four game losing streak as they head into the final stretch of the season.
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13. Rutgers
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After a 9-3 start to the season, reality set in for Rutgers as Big East play began.
The Scarlet Knights lost four of their first five conference matchups before winning consecutive games against South Florida and Seton Hall.
In the midst of a 25 point effort from Senior forward Jonathan Mitchell, Rutgers knocked off No. 10 Villanova in what has been their most impressive victory to date.
The team will host Louisville and West Virginia this week before traveling to DePaul and Providence in early March to finish off their regular season.
12. Seton Hall
5 of 16
Despite an impressive victory over then-No. 10 Syracuse on January 25, it's been a rough season for Seton Hall.
Despite strong play from Senior guard Jeremy Hazell (18.9 ppg), the Pirates are currently 11-16 overall and find themselves 12th in the Big East Conference.
With three games remaining in their regular season schedule, the Pirates don't have many opportunities to salvage what is left of their season.
11. Marquette
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Despite wins over ranked Big East opponents Notre Dame and Syracuse, the Marquette Golden Eagles still find themselves searching for direction.
The team is currently 16-11 overall and 7-7 within the conference—good enough for just 11th in the Big East.
The team will need to rely on strong performances down the stretch from team leaders Darius Johnson-Odom and Jimmy Butler if they hope to gain enough momentum to make a run at an NCAA Tournament bid.
10. Cincinnati
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With an 8-6 conference mark, the Cincinnati Bearcats find themselves in the middle of the Big East standings.
Junior guard Dion Dixon leads the team with 11 points per game, while 6'9'' forward Yancy Gates pulls down a team high 6.6 rebounds per game.
The Bearcats have looked like an NCAA Tournament team during some of their victories.
The team does however face a tough road ahead as they wrap up their conference season with three games against ranked opponents.
Two games against No. 9 Georgetown and a home contest with No. 12 Connecticut will surely test the team as they prepare themselves for a potential postseason run.
9. West Virginia
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In what has been an up and down season for West Virginia, the 17-9 Mountaineers have been able to make enough waves in their schedule that a strong finish may give the team a shot at the NCAA Tournament.
Wins over ranked opponents Georgetown, Purdue and Notre Dame have solidified the teams ability to contend with the best of the best.
Among the statistical leaders of the team is Junior forward Kevin Jones, who is averaging 13 points and seven rebounds per game.
Of the Mountaineers four remaining games, three will be against ranked opponents (No. 4 Pitt, No. 12 UConn and No. 16 Louisville), giving the team more opportunities to build momentum as March approaches.
8. Connecticut
9 of 16
Thanks to the strong play of Junior guard Kemba Walker, who is averaging 23 points per game, the Connecticut Huskies have spent the better part of this season in or near the top 10 in the AP polls.
The Huskies have been struggling of late however. Losers of four of their last seven games, the team has twice fallen to Louisville and also came up short against Syracuse and St. Johns.
Connecticut has three consecutive conference games against unranked opponents (Marquette, Cincinnati and West Virginia) before hosting Notre Dame in their regular season finale.
7. Villanova
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After getting off to a blistering start this season, things have cooled off for the Villanova Wildcats.
The sky appeared to be the limit for the team after winning 16 of their first 17 games.
Since then, the team has gone 5-5 and has lost to Providence and Rutgers, both of which are towards the bottom of the Big East standings.
With three games left against ranked conference opponents (Syracuse, Pitt and Notre Dame) the Wildcats will need to regain their early-season form if they hope to earn a high seed in the NCAA Tournament.
6. Syracuse
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After an 18-0 start, Jim Boeheim appeared to have his team prepped for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament and a potential Final Four run.
Since then, there's been a number of roadblocks that threaten to put a wrench in the Orangemen's plans.
Having gone 4-6 in their last 10 games, Syracuse have fallen to No. 4 Pitt, No. 7 Villanova, No 11 Georgetown and No. 15 Louisville—as well as unranked Seton Hall and Marquette.
The team will need to rely on the leadership of Senior forward Rick Jackson and Junior forward Kris Joseph down the stretch as the they close out their season. Road tests at Villanova and Georgetown await, before they head home to host DePaul in the regular season finale.
5. St. John's
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In one of the best stories in college basketball this season, the St. Johns Red Storm have made waves throughout the Big East.
After a very pedestrian non-conference portion of the season, expectations were relatively low for head coach Steve Lavin's squad.
Things would turn quickly for the Red Storm, and they've been hot thus far in 2011. Among the teams they've beaten since the turn of the calendar are Georgetown, Notre Dame, Duke, UConn and Pittsburgh.
Currently sitting fourth in the Big East standings, the Red Storm have four games remaining, and only one against a ranked opponent (No. 14 Villanova), giving the team a chance to build on their already impressive résumé.
4. Louisville
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It's at times been a feast or famine schedule for the Louisville Cardinals, having had their share of both successes and failures.
Head coach Rick Pitino has led his squad to an impressive season sweep of Connecticut. It hasn't all been positive for the Cardinals, however, as the team lost to Drexel during the non-conference season and were upset at Providence in late January.
The team will travel to Rutgers this week before hosting Pitt at the weekend in what will be their toughest test in their remaining Big East schedule.
3. Notre Dame
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With competition at an elite level in the Big East this season, expectations for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish were relatively modest.
The Irish were up to the challenge as conference play commenced, notching victories over ranked opponents Connecticut and Georgetown in their first three matchups.
After losing consecutive games against Marquette and St. Johns in mid-January, the Irish rebounded and won their next seven games before falling to West Virginia just this past weekend.
The team currently finds themselves with a 21-5 overall record and only trails Pitt in the Big East standings.
2. Georgetown
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After an 11-1 start to their season, the Georgetown Hoyas showed some signs of struggle as they went on to lose four of five games.
Behind the leadership of Senior guard Austin Freeman (17.7 ppg), the Hoyas were able to rebound from their shaky start and currently find themselves near the top of the Big East Conference standings.
The Hoyas are currently 10-5 in the conference and despite a recent loss at the hands of UConn, the team still finds themselves at 9-1 in their last 10 games. They also have a great shot at winning their three remaining regular season games before entering postseason play.
1. Pittsburgh
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Pittsburgh guard Ashton Gibbs has played a vital role in the success of the Panthers this season.
The Junior has averaged almost 17 points and three assists per game, while shooting over 47 percent from three point range.
After losing their second game in conference play against West Virginia last weekend, the Panthers still find themselves atop the Big East with a 12-2 conference mark and 24-3 overall record.
The Panthers have two remaining regular season games against ranked opponents (Villanova and Louisville) and have a great shot at a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
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