Big East Mid-season Power Rankings

Coming into the season, the Big East had an unreal amount of hype from the national champions, returning players, and new coaches in the conference. So far, the conference has lived up to the billing.

Power Rankings:

1. UConn (pre-season: 3) 14-2, 2-1

   1. The Huskies lost a solid amount from their national championship winning team a year ago. Rutgers transfer Cam Spencer leads the way with 15.4 ppg on the offensive end with Tristen Newton just behind at 15.2 ppg. Star big man Donovan Clingan has dealt with a number of injuries but still averages 13.9 ppg and 6.3 rpg. The Huskies look primed for another tournament run this year.

2. Marquette (pre-season: 2) 11-5, 2-3

   1. The Golden Eagles have played as tough of a schedule as anyone in the country so far. They picked up a win at Illinois and over Kansas in Maui. They have taken losses to Purdue, at Wisconsin, at Providence, at Seton Hall, and home to Butler. They aren't playing great right now, but there is no reason this team cannot compete at the top of the conference. Kam Jones leads the way with 14.9 ppg while do-it-all PG Tyler Kolek fills up the stat sheet with 13.8 ppg, 5.1 rpg, and 6.4 apg.

3. Creighton (pre-season: 1) 12-4, 3-2

   1. Expectations for the Jays were high coming into the season after an Elite Eight appearance a year ago, which have not been met so far. Creighton has been thoroughly beaten by Colorado State and UNLV while taking a home loss to Villanova before losing on the road at Marquette. Baylor Scheierman leads the way with 18.9 ppg while former Big East Defensive Player of the Year Ryan Kalkbrenner has 15.8 ppg and 2.4 bpg. The Jays rely heavily on their starters, which has cost them at times this year.

4. St. John's (pre-season: 6) 12-4, 4-1

   1. Rick Pitino's St. John's came into the season with a completely turned over roster, with captain Joel Soriano (17.3 ppg and 10.1 rpg) the only returner. The Red Storm looked lost early, getting run off their own floor by Michigan. Since then, they have improved tremendously. They knocked off Utah in Charleston, and have beaten Butler, @Villanova, and Providence to start off the resumption of conference play. Iona transfer Daniss Jenkins has made the step up in competition look easy, averaging 13.0 ppg and 6.1 apg. The Johnnies have a deep squad and look primed for a Tourney run.

5. Seton Hall (pre-season: 8) 11-4, 4-1

   1. Shaheen Holloway's Pirates started off the season quite poorly, losing to USC and Iowa at the San Diego Invitational. Since then, they have turned it around, picking up a win at Missouri, against UConn, @Providence, and at home against Marquette. Seton Hall always got after it on the defensive end, but have started to make shots, making them a tough out for anyone. Kadary Richmond (15.9 ppg) looks like a first-team All League player while Al-Amir Dawes (13.6 ppg) can turn a game on its head real quick.

6. Villanova (pre-season: 4) 10-5, 3-1

   1. Nobody has had as up-and-down a season as the Villanova Wildcats. They came in last place in the Big 5, taking losses to Penn, St. Joseph's, and Drexel. On the other hand, they won the Battle 4 Atlantis, picking up W's against Texas Tech, UNC, and Memphis. Since then, they won a road battle against Creighton and have started off Big East play 3-1 (could be 4-1 with a win against DePaul on now). Eric Dixon (14.7 ppg) and Justin Moore (13.3 ppg) carry the load offensively in a team that needs more consistent.

7. Providence (pre-season: 5)11-5, 2-3

   1. Kim English's first season in charge has been very up and down. They looked pretty solid in the non-conference picking up wins against Wisconsin with only two losses (to Kansas State and Oklahoma). They started Big East play well, but lost Bryce Hopkins (15.5 ppg and 8.6 rpg) to a season-ending injury. The rest of the way the entire offensive load will fall on Devin Carter's (17.8 ppg and 8.5 rpg) shoulders. He is primarily an elite defender, but will have to become a go-to scorer for the Friars to go dancing.

8. Butler (pre-season: 10) 11-5, 2-3

   1. Year 2 for Thad Matta's crew has gotten off to a pretty solid start. They seem to have made a big improvement from a year ago. They went 2-1 in the ESPN Events Invitational and knocked off Texas Tech in the Big East - Big 12 Challenge. Michigan State transfer Pierre Brooks leads the way with 16.4 ppg while Northeastern transfer Jahmyl Telfort (14.0 ppg) just behind. The Bulldogs did just pick up an unlikely win at Marquette, which would boost a tournament resume come end of season.

9. Xavier (pre-season: 7) 7-8, 1-3

   1. Sean Miller's team was supposed to turn over their roster from a year ago, but before the season they lost their two biggest contributors in Zach Freemantle and Jerome Hunter for the season. Ever since then, it has been an uphill battle for the Musketeers. They lost buy-games to Oakland and Delaware. They had a nice home win over Seton Hall but have not shown much to show they'll finish in the top half of the conference.

10. Georgetown (pre-season: 9) 8-8, 1-4

    1. Ed Cooley has been tasked with building Georgetown from scratch after the last couple years under Patrick Ewing. Illinois transfer Jayden Epps is the first option offensively with 18.2 ppg while Fairfield transfer Supreme Cook (10.6 ppg and 7.9 rpg) has made the step up to the Big East quite well. The Hoyas are hoping that this is year 1 of a long reign for Coach Cooley.

11. DePaul (pre-season: 11) 3-12, 0-4

    1. The Blue Demons are bad, seriously bad. They did beat Louisville to win the unofficial toilet bowl, but they will be finishing last in the conference yet again.