NCAA Basketball: Big East Power Rankings (December 22)

Ross Bentley and Chris Tripodi return for another week of Big East power rankings as we near our holiday season.

Syracuse will, of course, be No. 1, but where will the rest of the teams in the Big East fall? Find out below how Chris and I ranked each team 1-16 and what to expect from them as conference play opens up next week.

1. Syracuse (13-0)

Ross and Chris' Rank: 1

The Orange took care of business against N.C. State after a 23-0 run erased another slow start.

The Wolfpack charged back early in the second half and cut the Syracuse lead to two, but Jim Boeheim's squad was able to build another double-digit lead with seven minutes left. Starting slow will eventually come back to bite the Orange, but for now, they remain undefeated

2. Louisville (11-0)

Ross and Chris' Rank: 2

The Cards keep chugging along, as they moved to 11-0 with wins this week over Memphis and College of Charleston.

Although the Tigers have been struggling more than expected, the win was still very impressive for Louisville, who had to fight back from behind against a talented team to beat one of their former conference rivals.

Louisville will get one more warm-up game tomorrow against Western Kentucky before they face their biggest challenge yet, back-to-back games against Georgetown and at Kentucky.

3. Connecticut (10-1)

Ross and Chris' Rank: 3

Questions about UConn's loss to Central Florida have been answered in December, as the Huskies continue to have an unbeaten month. This week, they added Holy Cross and Fairfield to their list of wins.

As odd as it seems, the defending champs seem to be floating under the radar, with much of the attention being put on No. 1 Syracuse, as well as Louisville.

That might be right where the Huskies want to be.

They will likely be favored to win at least their next nine games, so their winning streak could extend possibly through the entire month of January.

4. Georgetown (10-1)

Ross and Chris' Rank: 4

Chris and I both cement the Hoyas into the No. 4 spot this week thanks to an impressive win over Memphis, as well as a loss by Marquette, who was previously ahead of them. 

Georgetown has been a pleasant surprise and looks to be a lock to make the NCAA tournament. However, John Thompson III teams have been known to start hot and finish poorly in the past, so it will be his challenge to make sure his team continues their stellar play through the Big East schedule. 

T-5. Marquette (10-1)

Ross's Rank: 5

It is a tribute to the depth of the Big East that a team who is ranked in the Top 10 and is undefeated can lose one game and then drop down to fifth or sixth in their own conference, but that is the case with Marquette.

While the loss to LSU on the road isn't horrible, it suggests that the Golden Eagles are susceptible to an upset against a possible middle-of-the-pack Big East team later in the year.

The good news is that Marquette still has plenty of nice wins (Wisconsin, Washington, Ole Miss) so far to prove that, even with the loss, they are a legitimate Top 15 team.

Chris's Rank: 6

The Golden Eagles' loss to LSU costs them two spots in the rankings this week.

Both Marquette and Pittsburgh now have average losses on their resume, but Marquette has a marquee win against Wisconsin that Pitt lacks.

Still, I'll take Long Beach State over LSU this season. Darius Johnson-Odom and Jae Crowder couldn't get the Golden Eagles over the hump in crunch time against the Tigers and for now, they slide to sixth.

T-5. Pittsburgh (11-1)

Ross's Rank: 6

In reality, you can make cases for Georgetown, Marquette and Pitt to be ranked anywhere in the 4-6 range, so it's really splitting hairs.

It will be much easier to separate the three once conference play begins, but for now the Panthers are No. 6 in my rankings. They picked up two more wins against cupcake teams this week and won't really be challenged (probably) when they face Notre Dame on the 27th, but in Big East play, you never know who could pull off an upset on a given night.

Chris's Rank: 5

Marquette's loss to LSU would seem to open up a top-four spot for the Panthers, but after Georgetown beat Memphis again last night, I'm finally going to start punishing Pittsburgh for their weak non-conference schedule.

Georgetown has better wins and a loss to a Top 15 team on their resume, and that's becoming harder to ignore as the season progresses. Pitt is still a solid squad, but we will likely know a lot more about them when Big East play begins.

7. West Virginia (9-2)

Ross and Chris' Rank: 7

The Mountaineers won a hard-fought overtime game against Missouri State thanks to a game-tying three-pointer by Gary Browne with a second left.

This team will still need to pull a big upset against Baylor to have any chance of moving into the top six of these rankings, which seem pretty set in stone at the moment, with the Big East boasting six highly-ranked teams.

8. Seton Hall (10-1)

Ross and Chris' Rank: 8

The Pirates just keep winning, with two close victories this week over Mercer and Dayton, two respectable teams.

Herb Pope is showing the kind of ability that can carry a mediocre team like Seton Hall to a few big conference wins and a bid to the NCAA tournament. He's putting everything together in his senior season, which makes the Pirates a team to watch.

9. Cincinnati (9-3)

Ross's Rank: 10

I admit I may have jumped the gun a bit last week in dropping the Bearcats down to 12 in my power rankings, but considering the immense negative publicity surrounding the team after their brawl with Xavier—not to mention losing 33 percent of their scoring for the next six games—I was unsure how they would respond.

So far, so good for Mick Cronin's squad, as they managed three wins this week, scoring over 100 points in the latter two, even without their best player, Yancy Gates.

After assuredly beating up on winless Chicago State tonight, they get Oklahoma on the 29th, which will be a real test of how well this team can play without Gates in the lineup.

Chris's Rank: 9

The Bearcats have taken advantage of their easy schedule since the Xavier debacle and haven't missed Yancy Gates just yet.

They will when they have to play Oklahoma on Thursday and Pittsburgh on New Year's Day, however.

Cincinnati should be able to take care of business against Chicago State before those matchups.

Cashmere Wright has stepped up with consecutive 20-point games with Gates out of the lineup, and the experience some players may gain during this stretch could help this team in the long run.

10. Providence (10-2)

Ross's Rank: 9

I'm not entirely sure Providence is the ninth best team in the conference, but I cannot deny Ed Cooley's team their rightful position for now.

At a surprising 10-2, Providence continues to win games while teams below them do not. Although none of their wins jump out at you, for a team that was picked to be in the bottom three of the conference, Friars' fans have to be pleased with the direction this year's team is taking.

Chris's Rank: 11

The Friars played just once this week, but jump two spots thanks to the ineptitude of Villanova and St. John's.

They will warm up for their game with the Red Storm at MSG next week with what should be a cupcake victory over Rhode Island, who hasn't been good since Lamar Odom played there in the 1990s.

A road win against St. John's could cement this team's status above Steve Lavin's squad.

11. DePaul (9-3)

Ross's Rank 11:

Along with Providence, DePaul has been the other surprise in the middle of the Big East, sitting at an impressive 9-3 to start their season.

As Chris mentioned, the Blue Demons have almost two weeks to prepare for top-ranked Syracuse at home on New Year's Day. If they can hang with the Orange, their confidence (as well as mine in them) will continue to grow.

Chris's Rank: 10

The Blue Demons continued their winning ways by beating Arkansas-Pine Bluff and Cal-Poly and now get almost two weeks off, with their next game coming against top-ranked Syracuse.

Cleveland Melvin continues to impress. Much like Seton Hall with Herb Pope, having a great top player gives this squad a better chance than most to hang with the big boys.

12. Villanova (7-5)

Ross and Chris' Rank: 12

The Wildcats' loss to Saint Joseph's last week makes Jay Wright's team 0-4 in games against RPI Top 100 teams.

DePaul and Providence may not have any signature wins, either, but at least they're winning basketball games. With five losses and not much help alongside Maalik Wayns this season, it's time to drop Villanova until they start making some noise in the conference, if they can.

13. St. John's (6-5)

Ross and Chris' Rank: 13

Chris and I both see the Johnnies' potential, but to this point in the season, they have not been able to show it on the court.

We knew Steve Lavin's team would be young, but he assuredly hoped they would mature sooner then they have so far, with only six wins in their first 11 games, including losses to Northeastern and Detroit.

A matchup with Providence on Tuesday opens up the Big East schedule for St. John's. A win would go a long way in their hopes for making any kind of postseason play.

14. Notre Dame (8-5)

Ross and Chris' Rank: 14

The Fighting Irish fought against a ranked Indiana team that upset Kentucky, but never seriously threatened in the second half.

That's a game in which a healthy Tim Abromaitis may have helped, but without him, Notre Dame seems to be hopeless against legitimate competition. Tuesday's matchup with Pittsburgh might tell us something we don't know about both teams.

15. South Florida (7-6)

Ross and Chris's Rank: 15

Their win against Cleveland St. is actually somewhat impressive, considering it's a game I would have pegged this team to lose. But right when you think USF may have turned a corner, they follow it up with a complete stinker against Southern Miss, dropping them back to 7-6 on the season.

The Bulls move ahead of Rutgers and out of cellar on the strength of the Cleveland State victory alone, however, as the Vikings are a much better team than anybody the Scarlet Knights have beaten.

16. Rutgers (7-5)

Ross and Chris's Rank: 16

The Scarlet Knights played just once this week, winning an unimpressive game against Stony Brook. They took care of business against NJIT, but will have to face off against Florida at the end on next week, a game which they really have no legitimate shot to win, barring a massive upset.