James Stowell gives his week 15 picks for each team in the Big East basketball power rankings.
Week 14 team of the week: St. John’s Red Storm
Week 14 game of the week: St. John’s over UConn (81-72)
Week 14 player of the week: Zuby Ejiofor, St. John’s
Week 15 matchup of the week: Villanova vs. Creighton (Feb. 14 – 2:30 p.m.)
Week 15 under-the-radar matchup of the week: Providence vs. #22 St. John’s (Feb. 14 – 1 p.m.)
All games are listed as EST.
1. UConn Huskies
Last week’s ranking: 1 (-)
Record: 22-2 (12-1)
Last week: W vs. Xavier (92-60), L at #22 St. John’s (72-81)
Next week: at Butler (Feb. 11 – 7:30 p.m.), vs. Georgetown (Feb. 14 – 8 p.m.)
Quality wins: at Kansas, Illinois (Neutral), Florida (Neutral), BYU (Neutral), Villanova, at Seton Hall, Texas
Bad losses: N/A
UConn suffered its first conference loss of the season in a thrilling matchup on the road. Silas Demary Jr. led the team in four categories with 18 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, and 9 turnovers. Not exactly a near double-double any player would want.
The Huskies had a miserable time at the line, a recurring trend throughout their conference matchups. This time, they shot 5-12 (42%) from the charity stripe. Now, UConn has a critical mark on its calendar later in the month when it hosts St. John’s in a rematch that will have everyone watching.
2. St. John’s Red Storm
Last week’s ranking: 2 (-)
Record: 18-5 (11-1)
Last week: W at DePaul (68-56), W vs. #3 UConn (81-72)
Next week: vs. Xavier (Feb. 9 – 6:30 p.m.), at Providence (Feb. 14 – 1 p.m.)
Quality wins: UConn, at Villanova, Baylor (Neutral), at Creighton, Seton Hall
Bad losses: Providence
The Red Storm got an upset win over the top dog in the conference in the Huskies. Zuby Ejiofor had a complete performance in the victory with 21 points, 10 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 steals, and 3 blocks. He shot 6-10 (60%) from the field and 8-10 (80%) from the line.
While UConn had a rough time at the line, the Red Storm had an even worse time on the perimeter, shooting 5-19 (26%) in their attempts.
3. Villanova Wildcats
Last week’s ranking: 3 (-)
Record: 18-5 (9-3)
Last week: W vs. Seton Hall (72-60), W at Georgetown (80-73)
Next week: vs. Marquette (Feb. 10 – 7:30 p.m.), at Creighton (Feb. 14 – 2:30 p.m.)
Quality wins: Wisconsin, Seton Hall (2x)
Bad losses: N/A
Villanova gets another week in the top three of the Big East basketball power rankings after a pair of wins, including sweeping the Seton Hall Pirates this season.
In a game where they never allowed Seton Hall to take a lead, Tyler Perkins led with 18 points and 5 rebounds. Another player with a great performance was Duke Brennan with 12 points and 10 rebounds while shooting 3-3 (100%) from the field and 6-10 (60%) at the line.
Despite outrebounding the Pirates 37-27, they were outscored in the paint 38-22.
4. Creighton Bluejays
Last week’s ranking: 5 (+1)
Record: 13-11 (7-6)
Last week: L at Georgetown (68-76), W vs. Seton Hall (69-68)
Next week: at DePaul (Feb. 11 – 9 p.m.), vs. Villanova (Feb. 14 – 2:30 p.m.)
Quality wins: at Villanova, Seton Hall
Bad losses: at Providence, at Marquette, at Georgetown
Creighton got a comeback victory over Seton Hall with a minute to go, outscoring the Pirates 8-1 in the final minute of the game to get a great win to end the week.
The Bluejays had a high volume of three-point attempts and converted a good amount of them, going 13-30 (43%) in their attempts. Isaac Traudt had the best performance out of the group, scoring 18 points and 6 rebounds while shooting 6-10 (60%) overall, with all of his points coming from downtown.
5. Seton Hall Pirates
Last week’s ranking: 4 (-1)
Record: 16-8 (6-7)
Last week: L at Villanova (60-72), L at Creighton (68-69)
Next week: vs. Providence (Feb. 11 – 7:30 p.m.), at Butler (Feb. 15 – 6 p.m.)
Quality wins: NC State (Neutral)
Bad losses: at DePaul
Seton Hall’s fall from grace continues. After a previous week with a pair of wins, this time it’s a pair of painful losses. Their loss to Creighton stings the most as their late lead in the second was ripped out from under them.
Despite a great shooting performance from the team overall (27-54, 50%) and from the perimeter (5-9, 56%), like UConn, Seton Hall suffered from an abysmal performance from the line, going 9-14 (64%) in their attempts.
6. Georgetown Hoyas
Last week’s ranking: 7 (+1)
Record: 13-11 (5-8)
Last week: W vs. Creighton (76-68), L vs. Villanova (73-80)
Next week: at #6 UConn (Feb. 14 – 8 p.m.)
Quality wins: Clemson
Bad losses: at DePaul, Xavier
Georgetown rises up the rankings again following a great win at home against Creighton. K.J. Lewis and Malik Mack each had great performances, scoring 22 points and 2o points respectively. They both attacked the basket aggressively and converted at the line constantly, going a combined 21-25 (84%) from the line.
Another great performance came from Vince Iwuchukwu, recording a double-double of 14 points and 10 rebounds.
7. Butler Bulldogs
Last week’s ranking: 6 (-1)
Record: 13-9 (4-7)
Last week: L at Providence (87-97), L at Marquette (55-70)
Next week: vs. #6 UConn (Feb. 11 – 7:30 p.m.), vs. Seton Hall (Feb. 15 – 6 p.m.)
Quality wins: Virginia (Neutral), at Seton Hall
Bad losses: Boise State, at Providence, at Marquette
Another rough week for the Butler Bulldogs with a pair of losses to the Friars and Golden Eagles in double-digit fashion.
Their loss to Marquette itself stings more due to wasting great performances from Finley Bizjack and Michael Ajayi. For Bizjack, he had another 20-point performance to add to his catalogue with 23 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 assists. For Ajayi, he nearly recorded a double-double with 8 points and 19 rebounds.
The Bulldogs controlled the glass, outrebounding Marquette 43-30, but they couldn’t buy a bucket from downtown, going 6-21 (29%) in their attempts.
8. Xavier Musketeers
Last week’s ranking: 8 (-)
Record: 12-11 (4-8)
Last week: L at #3 UConn (60-92)
Next week: at #17 St. John’s (Feb. 9 – 6:30 p.m.), vs. Marquette (Feb. 14 – 3 p.m.)
Quality wins: West Virginia (Neutral)
Bad losses: at DePaul, at Marquette
A short, painful week for Xavier with a blowout defeat to UConn on the road. Tre Carroll didn’t have the best of performances with 9 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 turnovers while shooting 4-9 (44.4%) from the field and 1-4 (25%) from downtown.
The Musketeers had a bad night shooting from the field, going 18-49 (37%). Their perimeter shooting wasn’t much better, going 6-17 (35%), with only Malik Messina-Moore converting on more than one attempt from downtown, going 2-3 (66.7%).
9. Providence Friars
Last week’s ranking: 11 (+2)
Record: 11-13 (4-9)
Last week: W vs. Butler (97-87), W vs. DePaul (90-72)
Next week: at Seton Hall (Feb. 11 – 7:30 p.m.), vs. #17 St. John’s (Feb. 14 – 1 p.m.)
Quality wins: at St. John’s
Bad losses: at Xavier, at Marquette, Georgetown
After a week at the bottom of the Big East basketball power rankings, the Providence Friars rise back up after a pair of wins against Butler and DePaul at home.
In the win against DePaul, Jason Edwards returned for the first time since Jan. 10 with a bang, scoring 25 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 assists. He shot 8-13 (61.5%) from the field, 5-8 (62.5%) from downtown, and 4-7 (57.1%) at the line.
The Friars dominated the glass, outrebounding the Blue Demons 41-28 off the back of Oswin Erhunmwunse’s 14 rebounds.
10. Marquette Golden Eagles
Last week’s ranking: 11 (+1)
Record: 9-15 (4-9)
Last week: W vs. Butler (70-55)
Next week: at Villanova (Feb. 10 – 7:30 p.m.), at Xavier (Feb. 14 – 3 p.m.)
Quality wins: None
Bad losses: Maryland, at DePaul, Georgetown
A short week for Marquette with a victory over Butler at home.
Chase Ross had a great game with 19 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists, and 3 steals. He shot 7-10 (70%) from the field and 4-5 (80%) from downtown.
The Golden Eagles had a great performance from beyond the arc, going 14-31 (45%) in their attempts. Another great stat for them came in transition, outscoring the Bulldogs 21-10 in points off turnovers.
11. DePaul Blue Demons
Last week’s ranking: 9 (-2)
Record: 12-12 (4-9)
Last week: L vs. #22 St. John’s (56-68), L at Providence (72-90)
Next week: vs. Creighton (Feb. 11 – 9 p.m.)
Quality wins: None
Bad losses: Buffalo, Northwestern, at Providence
DePaul has gone through a rough patch in Big East basketball conference play, losing four straight games, three of those being on the road.
Their loss to Providence stings the most for them due to multiple factors, one of which continues to occur over the course of their season: inconsistent perimeter shooting. The Blue Demons went 5-23 (22%) from downtown.
Another key factor was their rebounding as Oswin Erhunmwunse and the Friars outrebounded DePaul 41-28.
After great wins early on in conference play against Xavier, Georgetown, and Seton Hall, the team now looks to get their first win since the aforementioned Pirates squad with an upcoming game against Creighton.