1. Pitt-22-2 (10-1)
The obvious choice for the #1 ranking in the Big East. Outside of the fact that have the best record, they also have a good inside man in McGhee, which is crucial in the Big East. They pulled out a big win against West Virginia without leading scorer Ashton Gibbs (16.3ppg). Look for a big run in the NCAA tournament for Pitt, with a lot of talent and experience.
2. Georgetown-19-5 (8-4)
At the start of the Big East season, this team look weak. Without a true inside scorer, they were looking to drop right out of the top 25. However, they have racked up 7 straight wins, including wins over Syracuse, Louisville and Nova. Vaughan has emerged as a big man that can score and rebound in the post, and the 3 point shooting of Freeman (18.5ppg) and the leadership of Chris Wright (12.5ppg) makes this team the second best in the Big East. Without Pitt on their schedule for the rest of the way, look out for my pick as the Big East championship game.
3. Notre Dame 20-4 (9-3)
One game ahead of Georgetown in the rankings, I am still skeptic to call them better. Notre Dame is not flashy and doesn't really wow you with their play. In fact they sometimes play games where they hold the ball every possession until the shot clock is at 10, like the did at the win against Pitt. However Ben Hansbrough is playing like a first team all Big East player (17.5ppg), and they do not turn the ball over. After the big win over Louisville in OT on Wednesday night, they do have me leaning towards them as a contender. However I wait until their last two big East Games at Uconn and against Nova to see what they are truly made out of.
4. Syracuse 20-5 (7-5)
I have Cuse higher then they are in the real Big East standings, that being 6th. This is for a few big reasons. The most important being they will not loose 4 in a row again. That was just a cold stretch, where they couldn't hold on to the ball and couldn't score. Ricky Jackson is averaging 11.4 rebounds per game, making him the best rebounder in the league. With that kind of inside presence, they can beat anyone on any given night. Also the other important fact is Kris Joseph (15ppg) is not only attacking the rim, he is shooting from behind the arch. My biggest problem with this team was 3 point shooting, and if he can keep hitting consistently, watch out.
5. Louisville 18-6 (7-4)
I love the teams that can hit the three, and Louisville is first in the Big East in that department. It was a tough call picking Nova or the Cardinals to be in the 5 spot and i edged Louisville for a couple reasons. First off as I stated was the three point shooting. Secondly, the play of Terrence Jennings in the middle, is becoming huge for the Cardinals. At the beginning of the season he played not up to expectations, as the unexpected early leave of Samuels to the NBA. However scoring in double digits in their last 4 games, watch out for a huge boost from their junior big man.
6. Villanova 19-5 (7-4)
It has been shown that if Stokes and Fisher cannot score on a high level every night then Nova has no chance, and I do not like this for a championship team. Like I said, Nova and Louisville are hard to choose from. However, with Nova coming off that horrible loss at Rutgers in an embarrassing fashion, and Pitt coming to town Saturday night how much do the Wildcats have left?
7. Connecticut 18-5 (6-5)
At least the Dukies aren't alone, them Uconn Huskies got blew out in the garden as well. Uconn is falling backwards in a bad way. Kemba Walker suddenly can't hit a shot, and his scoring has gone down 4 points over the last 4 games. There is not one other player that is stepping up and consistently hitting shots for this Uconn team. After loosing two straight tough games to Syracuse and Louisville, then barley edging past Seton Hall, you expected them to at least respond well against St.Johns. Of course they didn't getting blown out by 17 points. They still have a good record and still have talent. However, unless someone else steps it up not named Kemba Walker, then as soon as he has a couple more bad games, you can say bye to Connecticut's season.
8. St. Johns 14-9 (6-5)
This team makes you scratch your head sometimes. How can you blow out Duke, Uconn and Georgetown at home, but loose to Fordham (0-10 in the A10) in the early season? I do not quite understand it either. However, this team has 10 seniors. And coming off the huge win over Uconn they have to be placed in the top half of the Big East. They have the firepower, and the quality wins to make the tournament. Hardy (15.8) is coming together and becoming an elite scorer. I would be much more confident about this team if they could have beat UCLA last weekend at UCLA. Watch out, they get Pitt in Madison Square Garden on the 19th. Look out for that as a season defining game for St.Johns.
9. West Virginia 15-8 (6-5)
I give West Virginia the slight edge over Marquette and Cincy for the big reason that they have big wins against Georgetown and Purdue. Without much scoring or star power, this team relies on a lot of good defense to win games. They are right in the middle of the pack, and a bubble team in my opinion on making the tournament. Mitchell (15.3 ppg) is getting healthier now though and a team playing under Huggins will always compete. They are in dire need of another quality win, watch out for them traveling to the Carrier dome to play the Orange Men on Valentines Day.
10. Marquette 15-9 (6-5)
Near identical record wise with West Virginia, and with the head to head win you might expect me to place them ahead of them. However, Marquette needs a big win more then anyone in the league. Definitely a talented team, with the scoring of Johnson-Odom (16 ppg) and Butler (15.5ppg) can compete against anyone. However if they want to be playing in the postseason they NEED a big win, because of a lack of ability to beat the good out of conference teams (Duke, Vandy, Zaga). They have many chances, their next 2 games being at Georgetown and against St. Johns.
11. Cincinnati 19-5 (6-5)
I bet you are wondering how i could put a 19-5 team all the way at the 11 spot in the Big East. It is simple, they are not that good at all. The only NCAA tournament possible team they have beaten out of conference was Xavier. They have a ridiculously weak out of conference schedule. Also, they have no beat one ranked team all year. All 5 of their losses were to teams I ranked higher then them. Plus, only scored 69 points a game doesn't usual make you a force in the Big East. However, you can not count them out. With games against Georgetown, Louisville, Marquette and Uconn remaining, they have a chance to win a couple and make a statement going into the Big East tournament.
12. Seton Hall 10-14 (4-8)
Sure, I am putting them ahead of some teams with better records, however this is with good reason. They could have, and probably would have won many more games if Hazel(17.9ppg) didn't miss significant time because of getting shot, and the knee injury. Without him in the lineup, there is no offensive flow at all. We saw what Seton Hall can do if they are on point, beating Syracuse badly in the Carrier Dome. They also were a great Kemba shot away from beating Uconn as well. With Hazel playing at the level he is playing at, do not sleep on Hall to beat a couple more good teams. They have Marquette, St.Johns and Nova coming to their house before the season ends.
13. Providence 14-10 (3-8)
A tough call between Providence and Rutgers. However, since Providence beat Louisville, Nova and were a turnover away from beating Georgetown I give them the nod. With 10 of their players being freshman and sophomores they definitely are an on the rise type of team. However, they proved they can beat great teams. This is of course playing behind star Marshon Brooks (24.1 ppg) who is the leading scorer in the Big East. Since they have been playing so competitively a game to watch for is Notre Dame coming to Providence on the 23rd. This will be no cakewalk for the Irish.
14. Rutgers 13-11 (4-8)
Another good team who is subject to a Big East schedule. They beat Providence and Hall, but until yesterday saw nothing significant about this team. However thanks to a HUGE 4 point play by Mitchell, they got a signature win over Nova. They are playing well though, and in no way are a team that you can expect to roll over. Coming off the big win, they have Hall tomorrow night, which is a big game in terms of pride and placing for the conference tournament.
15. South Florida 8-17 (2-10)
The most this team has to hang their heads on is taking BYU and Fredette to double OT early in the season, before loosing. Besides that, USF is weak, and is competing well against the top of the league, loosing in big fashion. Leading the league in turnovers, they really had no way to handle Dominque Jones leaving for the NBA last year.
16. Depaul 6-17 (0-11)
There is not much to say. The record says it all. Same story for the last three years. Depaul lacks any talent, or good coaching for that matter. Needless to say, this team is an afterthought in the college basketball world.
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