Will there be surprises at the Big East Tournament to alter these rankings? We'll find out
We’re here.
The final weekend of the Big East regular season is about to get underway.
Plans for the conference tournament have been made. The amount of work that some bubble teams have to do when they reach Madison Square Garden has come into focus.
Connecticut, Creighton, Marquette and Seton Hall should all feel relatively safe. The Pirates taking care of Villanova at home might have been the last hurdle for Shaheen Holloway to clear on the road back to the NCAA Tournament.
More: It's been a season of growing pains for Ed Cooley and Georgetown.
The Wildcats, St. John’s and Providence all remain on edge. Villanova, the Red Storm and the Friars are all scouring for favorable bracket projections as they enter their final conference games of the regular season. None should feel completely confident of inclusion in the 68-team field as of today.
It’s already something like elimination time before the ball goes up in Manhattan. That’s part of what makes it interesting coming down the stretch.
Here’s the latest batch of power rankings as we enter crunch time in 2023-24:
1. Connecticut (27-3, 17-2)
Last week, 1: Beat Seton Hall, Marquette
This week: At Providence
What to know: The Huskies have clinched a first outright Big East title since the 1998-99 season. That was the same year they captured the first of their five national championships. Dan Hurley’s crew is the new betting favorite to make it a sixth over the next month and UConn has both the firepower and the depth to make a serious run.
2. Creighton (22-8, 13-6)
Last week, 3: Beat Marquette
This week: At Villanova
What to know: The Bluejays entered a bye with wins in six of their last seven games and will be playing for NCAA Tournament seeding over the next week or so. Creighton has scored at least 78 points and collected at least an adjusted 1.04 points per possession in each of those victories — that potency makes for a dangerous opponent.
3. Marquette (22-8, 13-6)
Last week, 2: Lost to Creighton, Connecticut
This week: At Xavier
What to know: Results matter less than health for the Golden Eagles at the moment. Tyler Kolek (oblique) has missed the last two games and Marquette, not surprisingly, has authored two of its worst offensive performances since late January. How Kolek heals will be critical to this team’s postseason hopes.
4. Seton Hall (19-11, 12-7)
Last week, 4: Lost at Connecticut, beat Villanova
This week: DePaul
What to know: The Pirates celebrated a return home with a victory over the Wildcats — that could go a long way toward easing some NCAA Tournament tensions entering the conference tournament. Taking care of DePaul and winning a couple of games in New York would all but secure a second bid in the last four seasons.
5. Villanova (17-13, 10-9)
Last week, 6: Beat Providence, lost at Seton Hall
This week: Creighton
What to know: The Wildcats followed a solid road win against the Friars with a poor offensive performance in a loss against the Pirates. They shot just 35.2% from the field in a game that could have all but sealed an NCAA Tournament berth. A home victory against the Bluejays could do the same, but it figures to be difficult.
6. St. John’s (18-12, 10-9)
Last week, 7: Beat DePaul
This week: Georgetown
What to know: The Red Storm have taken advantage of a soft schedule to get right ahead of the conference tournament. They used wins over Georgetown and the Blue Demons to bracket downing Creighton and blasting Butler. This could be a dangerous team on its home court for the conference tournament next week.
7. Providence (19-11, 10-9)
Last week, 5: Lost to Villanova, beat Georgetown
This week: Connecticut
What to know: The Friars have one last chance to burnish their March Madness credentials on Senior Night against the Huskies. They suffered in the second half while falling to the Wildcats and did nothing more than hold serve while downing the Hoyas. Devin Carter awoke with 20 of his 24 points and eight of his 12 rebounds in the second half against Georgetown.
8. Xavier (15-15, 9-10)
Last week, 8: Beat Georgetown, lost at Butler
This week: Marquette
What to know: The Musketeers haven’t beaten a team other than DePaul or Georgetown since early February. They have one last chance this weekend against the diminished Golden Eagles and could finish at .500 in league play for just the second time since the 2018-19 campaign.
9. Butler (18-13, 9-11)
Last week, 9: Beat DePaul, Xavier
This week: Bye
What to know: The Bulldogs are on a bye and will enter the conference tournament with some extra rest. Butler dispatched the Blue Demons and built a 17-point lead before holding off the Musketeers. Jahmyl Telfort led four in double figures with 18 points, and his team could be an unwelcome thorn at Madison Square Garden.
10. Georgetown (9-21, 2-17)
Last week, 10: Lost to Xavier, Providence
This week: At St. John’s
What to know: The Hoyas faded late in a high-scoring loss against the Musketeers and didn’t really come all that close in a defeat against the Friars. Ed Cooley’s first season in charge will finish a long way from what had become the typical standard during his 12 years with the Friars.
11. DePaul (3-27, 0-19)
Last week, 11: Lost to Butler, St. John’s
This week: At Seton Hall
What to know: The Blue Demons have one game left to avoid becoming the third conference team to go winless against league opponents since 1998-99. Georgetown had a game canceled due to COVID-19 in 2021-22 — the Hoyas closed 0-19. DePaul was 0-18 in 2008-09 and is about to produce a second team to reach that sad ending.
On X: @BillKoch25
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Big East basketball rankings ahead of conference tournament at MSG
