Mat Mlodzinski gives his Big East basketball power rankings heading into week 2 of the 2024 season.
Matchup of the week: New Mexico at St. John’s
Sneaky good matchup of the week: Villanova vs. St. Joe’s
Before you read this, keep in mind this is solely judging the first week. This doesn’t take into account any preseason rankings, only each team’s performance so far this season.
All games listed are EST
1. UConn Huskies
Last week’s ranking: N/A
Record: 2-0
Last week: W vs. Sacred Heart (92-56), W vs. New Hampshire (92-53)
Next week: vs. Le Moyne (Nov. 13 – 7 p.m.)
Quality wins: N/A
Bad losses: N/A
UConn’s non-conference dominance continues, as the Huskies steamrolled to a 2-0 start with a 36-point win over Sacred Heart and a 39-point win against New Hampshire.
Alex Karaban is scoring at an elite level and seems to like the number 5.5 – that’s how many assists, rebounds, and BLOCKS per game the forward is averaging through two games.
It’s also been a party for the newcomers. Liam McNeeley, Solo Ball, Tarris Reed, and Jayden Ross may sound like unfamiliar names, but pretty soon, you’ll get to know the new Huskies. Dan Hurley just reloads every single season and makes people look stupid for doubting his process.
2. Creighton Bluejays
Last week’s ranking: N/A
Record: 2-0
Last week: W vs. UT Rio Grande Valley (99-86), W vs. Fairleigh Dickinson (96-70)
Next week: vs. Houston Christian (Nov. 13 – 9 p.m.), vs. Kansas City (Nov. 16 – 7 p.m.)
Quality wins: N/A
Bad losses: N/A
There are two ways to look at this Creighton team early on. On one hand, Ryan Kalkbrenner is playing like the best player in the nation. His 49-point monster game against UT Rio Grande Valley put the nation on notice. Steven Ashworth is playing at an extremely high rate right next to Kalk, which gives the Jays an amazing 1-2 punch.
But defensively? It’s been a nightmare. Creighton is allowing 78 points per game to mid-major schools and teams are shooting 53.2% from the floor against them. What’s even more surprising is how well teams are shooting from inside the arc – 72.1%. With Kalkbrenner back there, those defensive numbers almost don’t even seem real. It’s early, but the Bluejays need to figure that end of the floor out soon.
3. St. John’s Red Storm
Last week’s ranking: N/A
Record: 2-0
Last week: W vs. Fordham (92-60), W vs. Quinnipiac (96-73)
Next week: vs. Wagner (Nov. 13 – 6:30 p.m.), vs. New Mexico (Nov. 17 – Noon)
Quality wins: N/A
Bad losses: N/A
Rick Pitino overhauled the St. John’s roster to get it closer to how he wants it to look and so far, so good. The Johnnies are averaging 94 points per game, they’re forcing turnovers at a high rate, and stud transfer Kadary Richmond has yet to really get going as a scorer.
This week, the Red Storm play a critical game against New Mexico. Pitino will coach against his son Richard, and the Lobos must be taken seriously after they knocked off UCLA over the weekend. It’s gone from an entertaining storyline to a must-have as the Big East has quickly fallen behind after a few loses to mid-major teams in week one.
St. John’s has gone from a question mark to a key piece of Big East basketball in the matter of one week.
4. Marquette Golden Eagles
Last week’s ranking: N/A
Record: 2-0
Last week: W vs. Stony Brook (102-62), W vs. George Mason (82-63)
Next week: vs. Central Michigan (Nov. 11 – 9 p.m.), at Maryland (Nov. 15 – 8 p.m.)
Quality wins: N/A
Bad losses: N/A
Marquette survived a tough battle with George Mason, overcoming a 1-point deficit at the half to win by 19. In a week where Big East basketball took a tumble, it’s important Marquette found a way to win that one.
With that being said, I’m worried about this Golden Eagles team going forward. David Joplin and Kam Jones are playing like stars and Chase Ross has also become an offensive threat to deal with. But from top to bottom, it’s not that deep of a team. Nine players are averaging 12+ minutes, which at this early in the season, isn’t a huge number to have. Of those players, only six are putting up at least 5 PPG.
Shake Smart chose to ignore the transfer portal in the offseason and while he still has a quality team, it seems as if the bench could be an issue, even just two games into the season.
5. Xavier Musketeers
Last week’s ranking: N/A
Record: 2-0
Last week: W vs. Texas Southern (78-69), W vs. IU Indy (94-80)
Next week: vs. Jackson State (Nov. 12 – 8:30 p.m.), vs. Wake Forest (Nov. 16 – Noon)
Quality wins: N/A
Bad losses: N/A
Zach Freemantle’s return was highly anticipated and he’s lived up to the hype. The Xavier big man is putting up 18 PPG and 8.5 RPG through two games. He’s not alone in scoring buckets either. Dayvion McKnight and Ryan Conwell have been off to scoring hot starts.
But Xavier hasn’t had a blowout game yet. While they won by 9 and 14 points, they both came against teams you would have thought the Musketeers could have glided by.
I don’t want to put too much of an importance on winning margin, but it’s something to keep an eye on this Tuesday when they take on Jackson State.
6. Providence Friars
Last week’s ranking: N/A
Record: 2-0
Last week: W vs. CCSU (59-55), W vs. Stonehill (76-49)
Next week: vs. Hampton (Nov. 12 – 6:30 p.m.), vs. Green Bay (Nov. 16 – 5 p.m.)
Quality wins: N/A
Bad losses: N/A
Providence is 2-0, but a 4-point win over CCSU won’t settle any anxiety from Friars fans. That was too close for comfort against a program that has been near the bottom of the country for years. Maybe this year, the Blue Devils are better than usual, and it could help settle those fears.
Regardless, the struggles have come in a few forms. PC is struggling to hit threes efficiently, isn’t creating a lot of turnovers, and is coughing the ball up. A LOT.
All of those things can be traced back to early-season jitters, but also shouldn’t be written off. They need to be fixed, and in a week where Providence plays Hampton and Green Bay, seems like the perfect time.
7. Villanova Wildcats
Last week’s ranking: N/A
Record: 2-1
Last week: W vs. Lafayette (75-63), L vs. Columbia (90-80), W vs. NJIT (91-54)
Next week: at St. Joe’s (Nov. 12 – 5 p.m.), vs. Virginia (Nov. 15 – 5 p.m.)
Quality wins: N/A
Bad losses: Columbia
Talk about a week that was all over the place. Villanova won a close game to a mid-major squad, then picked up a bad loss, and followed it up with a dominant win. Kyle Neptune’s seat keeps getting hotter and hotter and you have to think that without a 20-win season and March Madness appearance, he’s out of here.
But that’s a long ways a way and there are some positives. Eric Dixon has been playing with vengeance and the addition of Wooga Poplar has been one of the top moves so far in Big East basketball.
When it gets down to it, Nova can’t have off days. In their two wins, defense was phenomenal. In their lone loss, 90 points were given up. It was a drastic difference and one that can’t happen if they want to put together a tournament resume.
8. Georgetown Hoyas
Last week’s ranking: N/A
Record: 2-0
Last week: W vs. Lehigh (85-77), W vs. Fairfield (69-57)
Next week: vs. Notre Dame (Nov. 16 – 1 p.m.)
Quality wins: N/A
Bad losses: N/A
Georgetown at 8 says much less about the Hoyas than it does the rest of Big East basketball to start this season. It’s been about as bad of a start as you could expect, but in the end, Georgetown didn’t pick up a loss in the first week of the season.
Instead, Ed Cooley’s bunch are 2-0 with close wins over Lehigh and Fairfield. Big man Thomas Sorber looks like he could be a problem for the rest of the conference and Micah Peavy is looking like a steal in the transfer portal. You can already tell a difference from last season.
9. Seton Hall Pirates
Last week’s ranking: N/A
Record: 1-1
Last week: W vs. Saint Peter’s (57-53), L vs. Fordham (57-56)
Next week: vs. Hofstra (Nov. 13. – 8 p.m.), vs. Wagner (Nov. 16 – Noon)
Quality wins: N/A
Bad losses: Fordham
Without mincing words, Seton Hall is a mess. Under Shaheen Holloway, the Pirates are usually a work in progress. This year, it’s even worse of a start. It’s tough to tell who the offensive leader of this team is, which is never a good problem to have.
Chaunce Jenkins, Isaiah Coleman, and Yacine Toumi all seem to be key pieces of this team, but it remains to be seen if they will be able to separate the Pirates from the rest of the Big East.
An early buzzer-beater loss to Fordham doesn’t help the case as Seton Hall isn’t off to a good start resume-wise either. But games against Hofstra and Wagner could help them get back on track this week.
10. Butler Bulldogs
Last week’s ranking: N/A
Record: 1-1
Last week: W vs. Missouri State (72-65), L vs. Austin Peay (68-66)
Next week: vs. Western Michigan (Nov. 11 – 7 p.m.), vs. SMU (Nov. 15 – 7 p.m.)
Quality wins: N/A
Bad losses: Austin Peay
Much like Seton Hall, Butler is off to a horrendous start. A 7-point win over Missouri State won’t do the Bulldogs any favors in terms of KenPom and a loss to Austin Peay makes the win over Missouri State seem like a quality win at this point.
The Bulldogs are shooting well enough from the field, but they can’t seem to find a big edge on the boards and are turning the ball over at an extremely high rate. It’s a challenging week for them too – with SMU set to be a very tough contest and one Butler would like to have to help their tournament chances.
11. DePaul Blue Demons
Last week’s ranking: N/A
Record: 2-0
Last week: W vs. Southern Indiana (80-78), W vs. Prairie View A&M (92-59)
Next week: vs. Mercer (Nov. 11 – 9 p.m.), vs. Duquesne (Nov. 15 – 9 p.m.)
Quality wins: N/A
Bad losses: N/A
With DePaul, the start has been better than Butler and Seton Hall, but the question marks are still there. They narrowly escaped SIU and a win over Prairie View A&M doesn’t really mean much in the grand scheme of things.
There are some positives like the play of Isaiah Rivera and how well the Blue Demons have been able to rebound the ball, but given DePaul’s overall track record as a program, it’s tough to tell how much this 2-0 start means.