James Stowell gives his Big East basketball power rankings for week 3 of the 2025-26 season.
Week 2 team of the week: UConn Huskies
Week 2 game of the week: #3 UConn over #7 BYU
Week 2 player of the week: K.J. Lewis, Georgetown
Week 3 matchup of the week: #3 UConn vs. #5 Arizona (Nov. 19 – 7 p.m.)
Week 3 under-the-radar matchup of the week: Providence vs Penn State (Nov. 22 – 4 p.m.)
These rankings are based on the performances from each team in the previous week.
All games are listed as EST.
1. UConn Huskies
Last week’s ranking: 1 (-)
Record: 4-0
Last week: W vs. Columbia (89-62), W vs. #7 BYU (86-84)
Next week: vs. #5 Arizona (Nov. 19 – 7 p.m.), vs. Bryant (Nov. 23 – 6 p.m.)
Quality wins: BYU
Bad losses: N/A
UConn remains on top of the Big East basketball power rankings for the second week straight.
The week began with another blowout win over Columbia, a common occurrence for the Huskies as the team could do no wrong against their opponent. They shot for 43% from downtown and 57% from the field. They did this while holding the Lions to a poor 234% from three and 38% overall. Solo Ball led the way with 23 points despite not shooting efficiently from downtown, converting 3-9 (33.3%). Overall, the team play was great, but they ran into foul trouble in the second, committing eight personal fouls in just eight minutes to the second half.
At the end of the first half against BYU, the team led 43-32. During the second, the Huskies would squander that lead down the stretch with less than four minutes to go. Going from a 16-point lead early in the second half to only a 75-70 lead at 3:53 left in the game. The team would hold on in the end and stave off a comeback from one of the best in the Big 12.
Tarris Reed Jr, Alex Karaban, and Silas Demary Jr each scored 21 points against the Cougars. Karaban was electric from beyond the arc, going 4-4 (100%).
2. Georgetown Hoyas
Last week’s ranking: 3 (+1)
Record: 4-0
Last week: W vs. Binghamton (83-70), W vs. Clemson (79-74)
Next week: vs. Wagner (Nov. 22 – Noon)
Quality wins: Maryland, Clemson
Bad losses: N/A
After an amazing victory over Maryland the previous week, the Hoyas rise up to second after a dominant victory over Binghamton and another victory against a previous March Madness team and one of the best in their respective conference, this time in the ACC against the Clemson Tigers.
Against Clemson, the first half was a close battle with the visitors leading 36-33. Going into the second, it seemed at first that Clemson would get the win on the road, but after about a minute of neither team scoring at 10:54 left in the game, the Hoyas woke up.
After some egregious turnovers and missed jumpers from both sides, Malik Mack would score a layup with 10:40 left in the game, and Georgetown would never allow the Tigers to take back the lead. It would get close to that, though, with under five minutes to go, but then the Hoyas went on another run to widen the gap. K.J. Lewis led Georgetown with 26 points, shooting 7-15 (46.7%) from the field and 11-14 (78.6%) from the line. The Arizona transfer has already made his mark for Georgetown.
3. St. John’s Red Storm
Last week’s ranking: 4 (+1)
Record: 2-1
Last week: W vs William & Mary (93-60)
Next week: vs Bucknell (Nov. 20 – 7 p.m.)
Quality wins: N/A
Bad losses: N/A
Like the next team on this Big East basketball power rankings, St. John’s got a win the previous week, but shot poorly from downtown. Against the William & Mary Tribe, the Red Storm shot 21% from three, only scoring six times from the distance.
At the end of the first half, it was a lot closer than most would expect in a non-conference game for the team that won the regular season last year for the Big East, with the team only leading 39-34 going into the break. St. John’s would explode in the second half, scoring 59 points and becoming the worst nightmare for the visitors, forcing 24 turnovers, resulting in 29 points off turnovers.
Bryce Hopkins, the former Providence Friar, led the way with 15 points.
4. Villanova Wildcats
Last week’s ranking: 10 (+6)
Record: 3-1
Last week: W vs. Sacred Heart (94-60), W vs Duquesne (87-77)
Next week: at La Salle (Nov. 19 – 7 p.m.)
Quality wins: N/A
Bad losses: N/A
Villanova jumps high up the rankings following a week of blowout wins.
Against the Pioneers, the Wildcats were led by Bryce Lindsay with 27 points. He shot 9-14 downtown, almost exclusively shooting from beyond the arc, other than one layup that missed.
Overall, the team shot 55% from the field and 54% from downtown. The Wildcats showcased how dangerous they are around the perimeter.
Villanova came back down to Earth against Duquesne in terms of three-point shooting, converting 38% of their shots. This team has been one of the best from downtown this season in the Big East, shooting on average 37.3% from the three, only behind Butler and UConn (40.2%).
5. Seton Hall Pirates
Last week’s ranking: 7 (+2)
Record: 4-0
Last week: W vs. Fairfield (82-59), W vs. Monmouth (70-60)
Next week: vs. New Haven (Nov. 18 – 7 p.m.)
Quality wins: N/A
Bad losses: N/A
Seton Hall in the top five for the Big East basketball power rankings this early in the season is not something a lot of fans had on their bingo cards. A pair of blowout wins that further showcased what the Pirates’ brand of basketball is about.
A.J. Staton-McCray led against Fairfield with 13 points and 4 steals. The transfer from Miami has consistently averaged over a steal per game his entire career in college basketball. You can trace that all the way back to his days at Samford in the 2020-21 season.
He followed that up with another 13-point performance against Monmouth, where the team was led by Tajuan Simpkins.
While their perimeter shooting has been among the worst in the conference this season (31.1%, eighth in the Big East), they have a counter for this. Being a pest in transition, on the ball, and at the glass.
The Pirates average the most steals per game in the conference (10.8 steals), most blocks per game (10 blocks), and their opponents average the most turnovers per game in the Big East when facing them (18 turnovers).
If they can maintain their aggressive defense across the board and improve their perimeter shooting, this Pirates squad will become a threat to the rest of the conference when teams come to play in New Jersey.
6. Creighton Bluejays
Last week’s ranking: 5 (-1)
Record: 2-1
Last week: L at #19 Gonzaga (63-90), W vs. MD Eastern (84-45)
Next week: vs. North Dakota (Nov. 19 – 8 p.m.)
Quality wins: N/A
Bad losses: N/A
Creighton’s era without Ryan Kalkbrenner and Steven Ashworth hasn’t gone off to the best of starts. After ending the previous week 1-0, they came crashing down hard in a blowout loss to another ranked team in Gonzaga. The team was led by Blake Harper and Nik Graves, who each scored 12 points. Harper was the better shooter from the two, converting 4-6 from the field and 3-4 at the line compared to Graves, who shot 5-13 overall and 0-6 from downtown. The team as a whole shot poorly that game, converting only 28% from long range.
Against Maryland-Eastern Shore, the team shot 30% from downtown with Harper leading the team with a 14-point, 9-rebound performance. It’s still a small sample size, so it’s tough to gauge where the team will go as the season progresses, but like a lot of teams below them in this week’s rankings, they have to work on their perimeter shooting.
7. Butler Bulldogs
Last week’s ranking: 6 (-1)
Record: 3-1
Last week: W vs. Chicago State (98-66), L at SMU (85-87)
Next week: vs. South Carolina (Nov. 21 – 2 p.m.), vs. Virginia (Nov. 23 – 2 p.m.)
Quality wins: N/A
Bad losses: N/A
It was a little bit of ups and downs for the Bulldogs this past week, starting off with a blowout win against Chicago State.
Finley Bizjack led the way with 22 points and 6 assists. He shot 7-11 from the field and 5-9 from downtown. As a whole, the team shot well in both categories, converting 53% overall and 47% from three.
Their loss to SMU was a close one, like another team down the list. At the end of the first, Butler led 43-38. That lead would quickly disappear, and the Bulldogs wouldn’t get another lead. The team tied it at 85-85 with 37 seconds left after Michael Ajayi scored a clutch three-pointer off a pass from Bizjack.
Jaron Pierre Jr. would score the dagger off a layup with four seconds remaining, and Butler couldn’t respond after a missed three from Bizjack. One of two teams that faced a close loss this past week due to several factors, including a missed last-second shot.
8. Marquette Golden Eagles
Last week’s ranking: 2 (-6)
Record: 3-2
Last week: L vs. Indiana (77-100), W vs. Little Rock (89-49), L vs Maryland (82-89)
Next week: vs. Dayton (Nov. 19 – 7:30 p.m.), vs. Central Michigan (Nov. 22 – 2 p.m.)
Quality wins: N/A
Bad losses: N/A
After being ranked second in last week’s Big East basketball power rankings, Marquette comes crashing down after a bumpy week that started off with a blowout loss to the Hoosiers.
Chase Ross, like he’s done for the entire season so far, led the Golden Eagles in scoring with 19 points and 5 rebounds. He shot woefully from the field (4-13) and downtown (1-4). He drew a lot of fouls, which allowed him to score 10 of his 19 points at the line.
Against Little Rock, he led with 16 points and 5 assists while shooting 5-9 overall and 2-4 from beyond the arc. Ross would then lead Marquette with 31 points against Maryland, shooting 10-19 overall and 4-11 from the three-point arc.
Ross has led the Golden Eagles throughout the season, but the team as a whole has shot badly from long range, especially in their losses, converting 28% from three against Maryland and 25% against Indiana.
9. Providence Friars
Last week’s ranking: 11 (+2)
Record: 2-2
Last week: W vs. Penn (106-81), L at Colorado (88-97)
Next week: vs. New Hampshire (Nov. 18 – 7 p.m.), vs Penn State (Nov. 22 – 4 p.m.)
Quality wins: N/A
Bad losses: N/A
Another up-and-down week for the Friars, they come in at ninth on the Big East basketball power rankings. Like last week, Providence recorded a win and a loss. Their win against Penn saw them dominate on the glass with 49 rebounds to the Quakers’ 30. 12 of those came from Ryan Mela, which complemented his 18 points to give him a double-double.
Corey Floyd Jr. led the team in scoring with 20 while shooting 80% from downtown.
Their loss to Colorado stung, but the team showed promise from Jason Edwards, a transfer from Vanderbilt who has shown promise this season, scoring 24 points and 6 assists. The Friars also saw much action at the glass, with Oswin Erhunmwunse recording 7 of the team’s 10 blocks. He currently leads the nation in blocks, averaging 4.5 per game.
10. DePaul Blue Demons
Last week’s ranking: 8 (-2)
Record: 2-2
Last week: L vs. Buffalo (53-66), L vs. Northwestern (79-81)
Next week: vs. Gardner-Webb (Nov. 18 – 8 p.m.), vs. Detroit Mercy (Nov. 23 – 6 p.m.)
Quality wins: N/A
Bad losses: Buffalo
Another Big East basketball team that started off 2-0 saw a rough week. A loss to Buffalo that saw the team commit 20 turnovers, many of which caused the team scoring opportunities. This game also only saw one Blue Demon score double-digit points in N.J. Benson (11 points). Poor free-throw shooting throughout the game also hampered them, only converting on 50% of their opportunities (10-20).
Chris Holtmann and the Blue Demons followed that up with a close loss to their nearby rival Northwestern Wildcats. This game was competitive to the end. It also showed a bright spot off the bench in freshman guard Kruz McClure, who led the team with 15 points and a few clutch shots. This included his last bucket that tied the game at 79-79 after he converted an and-one layup after getting fouled by Arrinten Page. He would complete the three-point play at the line before Nick Martinelli made a pair of clutch free throws of his own.
This team has to be more disciplined. DePaul has committed more than 20 personal fouls in the last two games, although their last game against Northwestern saw lots of fouls called on both sides.
11. Xavier Musketeers
Last week’s ranking: 9 (-2)
Record: 2-2
Last week: L vs. Santa Clara (68-87), L at Iowa (62-81)
Next week: vs. Old Dominion (Nov. 18 – 7 p.m.), vs. Georgia (Nov. 21 – 9 p.m.)
Quality wins: N/A
Bad losses: Santa Clara
Like most of the conference, Xavier took a hit this past week in the win/loss column. A bad loss to Santa Clara doesn’t help a team trying to find a new direction after Sean Miller left for the supposed greener grasses in Austin.
Not to sugarcoat it, they got dominated at home by the Broncos. The Musketeers shot 34% from the field to Santa Clara’s 55%. From downtown, it wasn’t better – 28% to their opponents’ 38%. Neither team shot that well from long range, but 28% is not a good sign. This team was carried by Tre Carroll and Roddie Anderson III, who scored 21 and 29 points, respectively. The bench scored a combined five points.
Their second loss of the week to Iowa wasn’t much different. Another bad shooting performance from downtown, 24% to the Hawkeyes’ 27%. The team has shown they can defend the three, but so far haven’t translated that into three-point scoring. Their win against Le Moyne has been the only time this season the Musketeers have shot over 30% from the three-point line (52%).