2023-24 Big East Basketball Power Rankings: Week 4

Mat Mlodzinski gives his Big East basketball power rankings heading into week 4 of the 2023 season.

Matchup of the week: #4 UConn at #5 Kansas (Dec. 1 – 9 p.m.)

Sneaky good matchup of the week: #15 Creighton at Nebraska (Dec. 3 – 4 p.m.)

All games listed are EST

1. Marquette Golden Eagles

Last week’s ranking: N/A

Record: 5-1 (0-0)

Last week: W at #23 Illinois (71-64), W vs. UCLA (71-69), W vs. #1 Kansas (73-59), L vs. #2 Purdue (78-75)

Next week: vs. Southern (Nov. 28 – 9 p.m.), at Wisconsin (Dec. 2 – 12:30 p.m.)

Quality wins: Kansas, Illinois, UCLA

Bad losses: N/A

Marquette might have the best resume in the country, with wins over Kansas, Illinois, and UCLA. Their only loss was to Purdue by 3. Tyler Kolek has been outstanding and his stats don’t even do it justice. The Marquette point guard just seems to find and make passes that few, if anyone else in the country can. He doesn’t miss a beat on defense, either, and hits the right shots and the right times.

Chase Ross has been excellent as well, providing a spark for the Golden Eagles off the bench. For a team that didn’t bring in a lot of additional talent from last year, Ross’s improvements might be the x-factor going forward.

2. UConn Huskies

Last week’s ranking: N/A

Record: 6-0 (0-0)

Last week: W vs. Mississippi Valley State (87-53), W vs. Indiana (77-57), W vs. #15 Texas (81-71), W vs. Manhattan (90-60)

Next week: vs. New Hampshire (Nov. 27 – 7 p.m.), at #5 Kansas (Dec. 1 – 9 p.m.)

Quality wins: Texas, Indiana

Bad losses: N/A

UConn just doesn’t like losing, I guess. The Huskies are 6-0 and picked up an Empire Classic trophy after a 20-point win over Indiana and a 10-point win over #15 Texas. Talk about making sure everyone remembers who you are.

The scariest thing about UConn is how many guys can take over a game. So far, Cam Spencer, Tristen Newton, and Alex Karaban have each led the Huskies in scoring twice. That list doesn’t include Donovan Clingan, the centerpiece for the Huskies, and Stephon Castle, who was averaging 14.5 PPG before he went down with an injury after two games. “Slamson” Johnson has also been an improved piece off the bench. Dan Hurley recruits and makes players better. That’s going to continue to result in wins.

3. Villanova Wildcats

Last week’s ranking: 3 (-)

Record: 6-1 (0-0)

Last two weeks: L at Penn (76-72), W vs. Maryland (57-40), W vs. Texas Tech (85-69), W vs. #14 North Carolina (83-81), W vs. Memphis (79-63)

Next week: vs. St. Joe’s (Nov. 29 – 6:30 p.m.)

Quality wins: North Carolina, Memphis, Texas Tech

Bad losses: N/A

A loss to Penn had everyone worried that this year would be all too much like last season. And then Villanova remembered how to play Villanova basketball, which, by all accounts, just means winning games. The Wildcats took down a trio of Power 6 teams, including #14 UNC. Then they won by 16 over a very good Memphis team to take the Battle 4 Atlantis Championship.

Eric Dixon exploded for 34 points in the win over the Tar Heels and made it a double-double with 10 points. Justin Moore seems back to full strength, and TJ Bamba showed a lot of promise with 13 points against the Tigers. Eight Wildcats are averaging at least 5 PPG, speaking to the depth that Kyle Neptune has at his disposal.

4. Creighton Bluejays

Last week’s ranking: 4 (-)

Record: 5-1 (0-0)

Last two weeks: W vs. Iowa (92-84), W vs. Texas Southern (82-50), W vs. Loyola Chicago (88-65), L vs. Colorado State (69-48)

Next week: at Oklahoma State (Nov. 30 – 9 p.m.), at Nebraska (Dec. 3 – 4 p.m.)

Quality wins: Iowa

Bad losses: N/A

Creighton stays in fourth, following a surprise loss to Colorado State. Actually, losing to the Rams isn’t a surprise, but losing by TWENTY-ONE points has me scratching my head a bit. I guess even the best offensive teams sometimes have off days.

Regardless, the Bluejays are playing high-quality basketball, with three players all averaging at least 15 PPG. The Jays will need Steven Ashworth to start coming into his own. He’s only putting up 8 PPG so far and had 0 against Iowa, taking just 3 field goal attempts. Ashworth is doing everything else well and only had 9 total turnovers in 6 games. If he can raise his play, the Bluejays will be tough to beat.

5. Providence Friars

Last week’s ranking: 7 (+2)

Record: 5-1 (0-0)

Last two weeks: W vs. Wisconsin (72-59), L vs. Kansas State (73-70), W vs. Georgia (71-64), W vs. Lehigh (78-64)

Next week: vs. Wagner (Nov. 28 – 7 p.m.), vs. Rhode Island (Dec. 2 – 7:30 p.m.)

Quality wins: Wisconsin

Bad losses: N/A

I had my doubts about Kim English being the right fit at Providence and they’re officially gone. Talk about a week, taking down Wisconsin by 13 and almost defeating Kansas State in the next game.

The biggest positive for Providence has been Josh Oduro. The George Mason transfer is averaging 15.0 PPG and 6.7 RPG. So much for adjusting to Power 6 basketball. Oduro’s biggest game came against Lehigh, where he erupted for 29 points, but a 6-for-6 shooting night against the Badgers was also pretty darn good.

With Odoru and Bryce Hopkins, the Providence frontcourt is all of the sudden one of the best in Big East basketball.

6. Xavier Musketeers

Last week’s ranking: 5 (-1)

Record: 4-2 (0-0)

Last two weeks: L at #2 Purdue (83-71), L vs. Washington (74-71), W vs. Saint Mary’s (66-49), W vs. Bryant (100-75)

Next week: vs. Oakland (Nov. 27 – 6:30 p.m.), vs. #6 Houston (Dec. 1 – 6:30 p.m.)

Quality wins: Saint Mary’s

Bad losses: N/A

I could think of worse things than keeping it close (enough) with Purdue and nearly taking down Washington. The Huskies game really could have gone Xavier’s way, because the Musketeers led by 7 at the half, with Washington eventually pulling in front in the second half.

How did Xavier respond? Only with a 17-point win over a quality Saint Mary’s group. The Musketeers held the Gaels to – wait for it – 25.7% from the field. Call it poor shooting, but Saint Mary’s also only had 9 assists all game. That’s unlike the Gaels, who have plenty of experienced players.

This week, Xavier has a buy game against Oakland and a very challenging test against Houston. If the Musketeers can even keep it close with the Cougars, it would be a win.

7. Butler Bulldogs

Last week’s ranking: 9 (+2)

Record: 5-2 (0-0)

Last two weeks: W vs. ETSU (81-47), L at #18 Michigan State (74-54), L vs. #19 FAU (91-86), W vs. Penn State (88-78), W vs. Boise State (70-56)

Next week: vs. Texas Tech (Nov. 30 – 6:30 p.m.)

Quality wins: Penn State, Boise State

Bad losses: N/A

The Bulldogs were blown out by an angry Michigan State team but responded by nearly knocking off #19 Florida Atlantic. So, following two losses, I have to give kudos to Butler for coming back with two straight wins over solid teams in Penn State and Boise State. So far, the Nittany Lions and Broncos have struggled, but they are still Big Ten and Mountain West teams and Boise State is a potential NCAA Tournament team if they live up to the hype.

Butler will get another crack at a quality win when they host Texas Tech on Thursday. It already seems as if Thad Matta is turning this program in the right direction and a win over the Red Raiders would start to draw some attention to Indianapolis.

8. St. John’s Red Storm

Last week’s ranking: 6 (-2)

Record: 4-2 (0-0)

Last two weeks: L vs. Michigan (89-73), W vs. North Texas (53-52), L vs. Dayton (88-81), W vs. Utah (91-82), W vs. Holy Cross (91-45)

Next week: at West Virginia (Dec. 1 – 7 p.m.)

Quality wins: Utah

Bad losses: N/A

Ultimately, the Red Storm moved down in the rankings thanks to a loss to Michigan in which they looked lost, barely escaping North Texas, and then losing to Dayton. However, a win over Utah shows the potential of this St. John’s team.

In that game, four of the five starters for St. John’s hit at least 50% of their shot attempts, with Daniss Jenkins going 8-of-17 for a team-high 19 points. The Johnnies also outrebounded Utah by 10 and had 19 assists on 35 field goals. That’s the type of offense that will thrive in the hard-nosed Big East. This week, a road tilt against West Virginia will say a lot about what St. John’s has learned over the past few weeks. With six days in between games, I’m expecting a fiery Red Storm squad looking for a second win over a Power 6 school.

9. Seton Hall Pirates

Last week’s ranking: 8 (-1)

Record: 4-2 (0-0)

Last two weeks: W vs. UAlbany (96-71), W vs. Wagner (72-51), L vs. #23 USC (71-63), L vs. Iowa (85-72)

Next week: vs. Northeastern (Nov. 29 – 6:30 p.m.)

Quality wins: N/A

Bad losses: N/A

The Pirates have won the games they should win, but went 0-2 in the Rady Children’s Invitational, leaving two chances of quality wins on the table.

Seton Hall was down double-digits against both the Trojans and Hawkeyes but found a way to make second-half comebacks and nearly pull off a win or two. The effort is notable, but SHU needs to be better out of the gates, especially since they’re not a jump-shooting team. Dylan Addae-Wusu shot well against Iowa though, going 3-for-6 from deep. If the Pirates can get someone to step up offensively, their defense will keep them in most games.

10. Georgetown Hoyas

Last week’s ranking: 10 (-)

Record: 4-2 (0-0)

Last two weeks: L at Rutgers (71-60), W vs. Mount St. Mary’s (83-72), W vs. American (88-83), W vs. Jackson State (88-81)

Next week: vs. Merrimack (Nov. 29 – 8:30 p.m.), vs. TCU (Dec. 2 – 5:30 p.m.)

Quality wins: N/A

Bad losses: Holy Cross

After a loss to Rutgers, Georgetown has enjoyed a three-game winning streak, but it hasn’t been easy. The Hoyas saw their lead against Mount St. Mary’s dwindle to as much as just 7 with under four minutes to go. American and Jackson State also hung in their late in the second half.

One positive has been the play of Jayden Epps. The sophomore had 31 against American and followed it up with 34 points last time out. He’s also leading the team in assists. It’s rare to have a player who can score that well and still find a way to get other players involved. Hoyas fans should feel lucky.

11. DePaul Blue Demons

Last week’s ranking: 11 (-)

Record: 1-5 (0-0)

Last two weeks: W vs. South Dakota (72-60), L vs. South Carolina (73-68), L vs. San Francisco (70-54), L vs. Northern Illinois (89-79)

Next week: vs. Iowa State (Dec. 1 – 8:30 p.m.)

Quality wins: N/A

Bad losses: Purdue Fort Wayne, Long Beach State, Northern Illinois

DePaul has been consistently bad over the years, but this might be a new low. The Blue Demons are 1-5 and over half of those losses are to mid-majors. Defense is the biggest reason for the poor play. Letting up 89 points to Northern Illinois tells you all you really need to know.

If the Blue Demons somehow beat Iowa State on Friday, they should throw a party in Chicago. All are invited.