NCAA Basketball: Big East Power Rankings (December 7)

As the NCAA Basketball schedule continues to heat up, The Big East conference continues to prove itself as one of the nation's deepest conferences.

While they may not get 10 tournament teams again, they still have an excellent chance to get around eight and repeat UConn's feat last year as National Champions.

This week, I am joined by my colleague, Chris Tripodi, for the Big East rankings. Chris and I agree on some squads, but we have most of them in different spots. Check out our combined list of the Big East power rankings after the first week of December. 

16. South Florida (5-4)

Ross' Rank: 15

Predictably, the Bulls could not manage a win against VCU or Kansas this week, dropping their record to 5-4. South Florida is 295th in the country in points per game with just over 61, which pretty much says all you need to know about what they have to offer in the Big East this season.

Chris' Rank: 16

Ross summed it up about South Florida because this team just can't put the ball in the basket, as seen by leading scorer Victor Rudd's 11.7 scoring average. They may not hold down last place all season, but it will be a dogfight with Rutgers and Notre Dame to see which Big East teams have virtually no chance of pulling any big upsets.

15. Rutgers (4-5)

Ross's Rank: 16

Two more losses this week against LSU and Princeton reaffirm my belief that the Scarlet Knights are the weakest team in the Big East conference this season. Rutgers has already lost three games to mid-major schools, and they could be feeding for the top Big East teams once they open up their conference schedule. 

Chris' Rank: 14

Just like there's an obvious dropoff after the top six in the conference, there's also a huge cliff between the top 13 teams and the bottom three (despite differences in order, Ross and I do agree on the teams that make up the top 13 and the bottom three).

Any of the bottom-three teams can find their way into the tournament if they click, but none of these teams can. With losses to Illinois State and especially Princeton on their resume and no impressive wins, it looks to be another down year for a Scarlet Knights team that had a glimmer of hope after being picked 11th in the preseason.

14. Notre Dame (5-4)

Ross' Rank: 14

For a team that had legitimate NCAA Tournament expectations this season, things are not looking promising for the Fighting Irish.

It's not entirely their fault, as losing their top player Tim Abromaitis to a season-ending injury certainly couldn't be helped, but Notre Dame has shown no signs they are capable of winning consistently without him.

The positive for Notre Dame fans is that none of their losses have come against bad teams, but on the flip side, they haven't managed a win against a good team yet (Detroit is the closest thing) either.

Chris' Rank: 15

You have to feel a little bad for the Fighting Irish, as losing Tim Abromaitis was an absolute death blow to any tournament hopes they may have had.

But even with him on the court, they didn't look like an at-large candidate after losing by 29 to Missouri and by four to Georgia after he returned from suspension. Maybe things would have changed once the team had regained their chemistry, but we'll never know.

What we do know is that they are now a Big East bottom-feeder.

13. Saint John's (4-5)

Ross' Rank: 13

St. John's may be tied for the worst record in the Big East right now, but you won't find too many people out there who think the Red Storm are the conference's worst team. St. John's is young and raw, but they have a ton of talent and could easily turn it around.

For now, though, losses to top-ranked Kentucky and Detroit have dropped Steve Lavin's team below the .500 mark. 

Chris' Rank: 12

The Red Storm have a couple of bad losses on their early-season resume in Northeastern and especially Detroit, but they also flashed their upside by losing to Texas A&M by just a point at the Garden.

They also showed their youth in that game, shooting just 2-for-8 from the foul line down the stretch, including two by starting guardNurideen Lindsey that would've given them a one-point lead with two seconds left.

If St. John's can put it all together by the time the Big East starts, they have as much talent as any team outside the top six of these rankings.

12. Providence (7-2)

Ross' Rank: 11

While the Friars haven't beaten any one of stature, Ed Cooley's team takes seven wins at this point in the season.

Providence has shown great balance as four players are currently averaging over 13 points per game. Providence's toughest test to maintain their winning streak before Big East play begins is a matchup coming up tonight against Boston College.

Chris' Rank: 13

Providence has done everything you could ask of them so far this season in beating all their bad teams on their schedule while losing to the good ones. While Boston College may be their toughest test left in non-conference play, it's difficult to call a 2-6 team ranked 282nd in the RPI "tough."

If the Friars deserve the ranking we've given them, they should be 11-1 heading to the Garden to face St. John's on December 27.

11. Depaul (5-4)

Ross' Rank: 12 

Optimism is the in the air at DePaul as Cleveland Melvin is proving that he can be one of the best players in the conference.

The Blue Demons are nowhere near an NCAA Tournament team yet, but they're on the right track after a solid showing in the Old Spice Classic. Fans had to be disappointed that they followed that performance up with a loss against UW-Milwaukee this week, but if they get hot, DePaul could score an upset or two once Big East play rolls around.

Chris' Rank: 11

I've been impressed by DePaul's ability to keep it close with teams like Minnesota and Ole Miss, but they will need to learn to close out big games like that if they want to elevate themselves into a tournament contender.

With a player like Melvin on their squad, the Blue Demons will always be a threat to upset a big-name team on an off night, but they may need two or three of those wins to enter the tournament discussion. I think it's safe to say that if they're the conference 11th's best team, the Big East will not be sending more teams to the dance than last season.

T-9th. Villanova (5-3)

Ross's Rank: 10

To credit the Wildcats, they hung in there better then I expected against a Top-10 Missouri team at MSG last Tuesday. However, I'm still suspicious about this team at this point in the year.

With losses to Santa Clara and St. Louis to this point, Villanova has missed out on getting any quality wins in the non-conference. The good news for them is that they still have one more opportunity to impress as they face off against a talented Temple team this Saturday.

Chris' Rank: 8

Villanova may not have a great non-conference win on their resume, but neither do any of the teams I put below them.

The Wildcats kept it close against Missouri, and while their best win is against La Salle, the A-10's Explorers lost by just four at Pittsburgh (T-5th in these rankings) earlier this season and had a chance to tie in the final seconds.

Villanova was eighth in the preseason rankings, and I haven't seen any reason to drop them lower just yet in what looks to be a down year for the Big East, at least in comparison to last season.

T-9th. Seton Hall (7-1)

Ross and Chris' Rank: 9

Predicted to finish 13th in the conference's preseason rankings, the Pirates have moved into the top 10 thanks to their 7-1 record and the struggles of teams like Rutgers, St. John's and Notre Dame.

Seton Hall had a late lead on Northwestern in the Charleston Classic title game but couldn't hang on, otherwise they would be undefeated. As it is, their best win has come against Saint Joseph's, which is more than you can say about most of the teams below them on this list.

8. Cincinnati (5-2)

Ross' Rank: 7

I seem to be much more optimistic about the Bearcats then my counterpart. Cincy managed a win over Georgia last week to keep their non-conference schedule intact. While it's true their losses have been suspect, Mick Cronin's team is still very talented, especially on the defensive end.  Eighth-ranked Xavier may very well have their hands full when these two teams meet on Saturday.

Chris' Rank: 10

This is the spot where Ross and I disagree the most, and while I may be overreacting to one game, that Presbyterian loss still has me scratching my head about the Bearcats, especially offensively.

To score just 54 points against a team that has allowed 103 to Division-II Montreat and 80 and 72 to West Carolina and Radford, respectively, doesn't bode well for them against legitimate competition, especially after they scored just 57 against an average Georgia team.

I may change my tune if they can contain Tu Holloway and Mark Lyons to upset Xavier or even keep it close at home, but I want to see more from the Bearcats, who were overrated starting the season as a Top-25 team.

7. West Virginia (4-2)

Ross' Rank: 8  

After losing to Kent State earlier in November, the Mountaineers failed in their first road test of the season when they fell to Mississippi State on Saturday.

Now West Virginia will get two more tough match ups this week against Kansas State and Miami. When those two games are over, we will get a much better view of where Bob Huggin's team falls among the Big East's best.

Chris' Rank: 7

The Mountaineers haven't beaten anybody this season, but their losses to teams in the RPI Top 100 are definitely excusable.

There is a definite dropoff after the top six teams in the Big East this season in terms of consistency, and while any of the bottom 10 could feasibly struggle enough to miss out on March Madness, I think the senior leadership of Kevin Jones and Truck Bryant should help them weather the storm in conference play.

Still, I'd like to see a victory or two against Kansas State and Miami this week to make me feel better about this team.

T-5th. Pittsburgh (8-1)

Ross's Rank: 6

Pitt has rolled off six straight since losing to Long Beach State, including an impressive win this week against Tennessee. While Ashton Gibbs is putting up predictably high numbers, Travon Woodall has perhaps been the star of this team, scoring nearly 15 points per game while shooting over 52 percent from the field and over 45 percent from the three-point line.

Chris' Rank: 5

The Long Beach State loss may look bad to some, but the 49ers are a solid team this season despite a 4-4 record, as evidenced when they lost to Kansas by just eight on the road. The Panthers are still a very talented team after losing a few players,and it's definitely a toss up between them and Georgetown, who has two solid victories on their early-season resume.

I suppose you can fault Pitt for not playing a difficult non-conference schedule, but beating Oklahoma State on Saturday would go down as their best win of the season so far. They don't play a ranked team until their fifth conference game in mid-January.

T-5th. Georgetown (7-1)

Ross' Rank: 5

The Hoyas have been the surprise team in my eyes in the Big East so far this season. They already have wins over both Memphis and Alabama on their resume.

Georgetown is 13th in the nation in field goal percentage at 50 percent and, as a result, they are scoring at nearly 80 points per contest. This week Georgetown gets a few easy games before a stretch starting on the 22nd where they will play three top 20 teams in four games.

Chris' Rank: 6

Georgetown is definitely the surprise of the conference this season, as they were predicted to finish 10th in the preseason poll. Now in the top 25, the Hoyas are for real.

The Memphis win looks weaker now with them falling out of the Top 10, but it's still a quality win, as is the victory over Alabama despite the Tide's 12-point loss to Dayton last night.

Georgetown played a talented Kansas team close in Maui, but I'd still like to see them pick up another big victory or two when they get Memphis, Louisville and Marquette around the new year as Ross alluded to.

4. Marquette (8-0)

Ross and Chris' Rank: 4

If there were questions about Marquette's legitimacy, they were likely answered this week. The Golden Eagles won a gut check game at Wisconsin and then followed that up with a hard-fought victory over Washington at Madison Square Garden after Jae Crowder's three-pointer lifted them over the Huskies.

Now Marquette has a few warm-up games before their next real challenge versus Vanderbilt on December 29.

3. Connecticut (8-1)

Ross and Chris' Rank: 3

The Huskies responded nicely after a poor performance at the Battle 4 Atlantis Tournament with a bounce-back victory over Arkansas on Saturday.

Now they will get a huge test tonight against 24th-ranked Harvard at home. The good news for the Huskies is that Jeremy Lamb and Ryan Boatwright are both averaging north of 18 points a game, and the team is currently shooting nearly 50 percent from the field.

While UConn has a loss already on their resume, they should be right in the thick of the Big East race come season's end.

2. Louisville. (8-0)

Ross and Chris' Rank: 2

Thanks to some help up in front of them, Rick Pitino's Cardinals have crept up to fourth in the AP poll, giving the Big East two of the top four spots.

The Cards' previous game was a 30-point drubbing of IUPUI on Wednesday, and Louisville has only one more game this week against Farleigh Dickinson before they take on Memphis on December 17. 

1. Syracuse (9-0)

Ross and Chris' Rank: 1

Tuesday's six-point win against Marshall looks a lot closer than the game actually was, as the Orange led by double-digits for most of the game until two late three-pointers made it look tight.

Syracuse has started slow in the first half against power-conferences teams this season, but have an impressive win against No.9 Florida on their resume while Stanford and Virginia Tech are also quality victories. Their 2-3 zone allows fewer than 60 points per game and will keep them in every game they play, even if they're struggling to score.