Mat Mlodzinski gives his Big East basketball power rankings heading into week 13 of the 2023-24 season.
Matchup of the week: UConn at St. John’s (Feb. 3 – Noon)
Sneaky good matchup of the week: Marquette at Villanova (Jan. 30 – 7 p.m.)
All games listed are EST
1. UConn Huskies
Last week’s ranking: 1 (-)
Record: 18-2 (8-1)
Last week: W vs. Xavier (99-56)
Next week: vs. Providence (Jan. 31 – 8:30 p.m.), at St. John’s (Feb. 3 – Noon)
Quality wins: North Carolina, Creighton, St. John’s, Texas, Gonzaga, at Villanova, Indiana
Bad losses: N/A
UConn continues to blow past anyone in their way, beating a solid Xavier team by a whopping 45 points. The Huskies shot almost 60% from three. It really doesn’t matter who you are, when a team shoots that well, it’s nearly impossible to beat them. Of course, when you add in Donovan Clingan’s 8-for-9 night for 18 points and 8 rebounds, it’s a whole other monster to try and take down. Good luck to Providence and St. John’s this week.
2. Creighton Bluejays
Last week’s ranking: 3 (+1)
Record: 16-5 (5-3)
Last week: W vs. Xavier (85-78), W vs. DePaul (85-62)
Next week: vs. Butler (Feb. 2 – 9 p.m.)
Quality wins: Alabama, at Nebraska, at Seton Hall, St. John’s, Providence, Iowa
Bad losses: UNLV
Creighton still seems to be flying under the radar of the national scope, despite winning seven of their last eight games. Trey Alexander averaged 25 PPG across last week’s wins and is playing like the First-Team All-Big East player he can be. With just a one-game week at home against Butler, we could see Creighton back inside the top ten of the AP and CBB Review Rankings by next week.
3. Marquette Golden Eagles
Last week’s ranking: 4 (+1)
Record: 15-5 (6-3)
Last two weeks: W at DePaul (86-73), W vs. Seton Hall (75-57)
Next week: at Villanova (Jan. 30 – 7 p.m.), at Georgetown (Feb. 3 – 2 p.m.)
Quality wins: at Illinois, Kansas, Creighton, at St. John’s, Texas, Seton Hall
Bad losses: N/A
20 games in and Marquette STILL doesn’t have a single bad loss, something very few teams in the country can say. In fact, their worst loss to this point is at home to Butler and a Bulldogs team that is still very much in the bubble conversation. Against DePaul and Seton Hall, we saw a very promising game from David Joplin, who averaged 20.5 PPG over the week for his first back-to-back 20-point outings of the season. Marquette’s been searching for more help with Kam Jones battling an ankle injury and Joplin answered the bell.
4. St. John’s Red Storm
Last week’s ranking: 5 (+1)
Record: 13-7 (5-4)
Last week: W vs. Villanova (70-50)
Next week: at Xavier (Jan. 31 – 6:30 p.m.), vs. #1 UConn (Feb. 3 – Noon)
Quality wins: Utah, Providence, Villanova (x2)
Bad losses: N/A
St. John’s beat Villanova twice in a season for the first time since 1999-2000. If that doesn’t show the impact of Rick Pitino, I’m not sure what does. Still, it’s not the same Wildcats team and the Johnnies have work to do before they become an NCAA Tournament lock. That starts this week on the road in Cincinnati to face Xavier and hosting the No. 1 team in the country. A win over UConn might be enough to crown Pitino the next President of the United States of America.
5. Providence Friars
Last week’s ranking: 10 (+5)
Record: 14-6 (3-4)
Last two weeks: W at Seton Hall (67-63), W vs. Georgetown (84-76)
Next week: at #1 UConn (Jan. 31 – 8:30 p.m.), at Villanova (Feb. 4 – 6 p.m.)
Quality wins: Marquette, Wisconsin, at Seton Hall, Georgia, Butler
Bad losses: N/A
Kim English, I didn’t know you had that in you and I apologize for ever having your Friars at 10th in the Big East Basketball Power Rankings. That was a huge mistake on my part. I was at the Prudential Center to witness Providence’s comeback to take down the Pirates. Devin Carter caught my eye as if he needed to prove any more after the past month. Then, the Friars took down the Hoyas in an emotional game with the return of Ed Cooley. Team. Of. The Week.
6. Butler Bulldogs
Last week’s ranking: 8 (+2)
Record: 14-7 (4-5)
Last two weeks: W at Georgetown (90-66), W vs. Villanova (88-81)
Next week: at #13 Creighton (Feb. 3 – 9 p.m.)
Quality wins: at Marquette, Texas Tech, Boise State
Bad losses: N/A
Butler, welcome back to the bubble! The Georgetown win was dominant, which resembled some of Butler’s early-season performances. The Villanova win might hardly be considered quality, but it was still a crucial win to get Butler back in the pack of the conference. DJ Davis and Jahmyl Telfort were fantastic all week and have the Bulldogs in a very good spot heading into a massive resume chance at Creighton. A win, and Butler just might be projected into the NCAA Tournament at the start of February.
7. Seton Hall Pirates
Last week’s ranking: 2 (-5)
Record: 13-8 (6-4)
Last week: L vs. Providence (67-63), L at #14 Marquette (75-57)
Next week: at DePaul (Jan. 30 – 9 p.m.)
Quality wins: UConn, Marquette, at Providence, St. John’s
Bad losses: N/A
The Pirates were without Kadary Richmond for both games last week and it showed. While they played well at times, they didn’t have the shotmaking to stay ahead of Providence or to keep up with Marquette. Averaging 60 PPG for a week won’t get you many wins. Richmond reportedly made the trip to Chicago, so if he does play against DePaul, that will be a good sign, but above anything, they need to get back on track with a win.
8. Xavier Musketeers
Last week’s ranking: 6 (-2)
Record: 10-10 (4-5)
Last week: L at #17 Creighton (85-78), L at #1 UConn (99-56)
Next week: vs. St. John’s (Jan. 31 – 6:30 p.m.), at DePaul (Feb. 3 – 9:30 p.m.)
Quality wins: Saint Mary’s, at Providence, Seton Hall, Cincinnati
Bad losses: Oakland, Delaware
The Musketeers are cutting themselves thin, already sitting at 10 losses with one more game before February. In my book, despite a solid amount of quality wins, Xavier is off the bubble. At some point, losses become too many, and at this point in time, a 10-10 record just isn’t appealing. But, with two winnable games at home against the Red Storm and at DePaul, the Musketeers can still get back into the conversation. One thing’s for sure – getting blown out by 45 against UConn will either crush the team’s morale or instill in them a fight like never before.
9. Villanova Wildcats
Last week’s ranking: 7 (-2)
Record: 11-9 (4-5)
Last two weeks: L at St. John’s (70-50), L at Butler (88-81)
Next week: vs. #9 Marquette (Jan. 30 – 7 p.m.), vs. Providence (Feb. 4 – 6 p.m.)
Quality wins: North Carolina, at Creighton, Memphis, Texas Tech
Bad losses: Drexel, Penn
There’s really not much separating Villanova from Georgetown and being 10th in the Big East Basketball Power Rankings, which is kind of crazy, considering the Wildcats had so many great wins early in the season. However, these Jay Wright-recruited players are just not clicking under Kyle Neptune and with a challenging week ahead of them, are running out of time to turn this around. Luckily, those Quad 1 wins won’t go anywhere, but like Xavier, at some point, losses just add up and become too many. Nova is in a dangerous territory.
10. Georgetown Hoyas
Last week’s ranking: 9 (-1)
Record: 8-12 (1-8)
Last week: L vs. Butler (90-66), L at Providence (84-76)
Next week: vs. #9 Marquette (Feb. 3 – 2 p.m.)
Quality wins: N/A
Bad losses: Holy Cross
There are officially two bad teams to lose to in the Big East and Georgetown is one of them. Losing at Providence wasn’t ideal for Ed Cooley, but losing at home to Butler by 24 points wasn’t ideal for the brand. You can’t excuse that kind of performance for a program looking to turn things around. The Hoyas were outrebounded, finished with 9 assists, shot 9-of-34 from deep, and 34.8% from the field. The Hoyas have hit their season low.
11. DePaul Blue Demons
Last week’s ranking: 11 (-)
Record: 3-17 (0-9)
Last week: L vs. #14 Marquette (86-73), L at #17 Creighton (85-62)
Next week: vs. Seton Hall (Jan. 30 – 9 p.m.), vs. Xavier (Feb. 3 – 9:30 p.m.)
Quality wins: N/A
Bad losses: Purdue Fort Wayne, Long Beach State, Northern Illinois, at Georgetown
We know it. DePaul is projected to lose every game from here on out and might have their only chance at home against Georgetown. But could they get Seton Hall AND Xavier at a better time? Both are home games against struggling, injured teams. Can the Blue Demons pull off a shocker? I’m not betting on it, but it’s their best chance of the season.