Big East Power Rankings

1.Pittsburgh. They proved that they are for real with the win against Duke. It is the signature win so far for The Big East. They play solid defense, ranking 3rd, and consistent offense. They attack the boards and are led by the effort of freshman DeJuan Blair, who leads the league in offensive rebounds. Junior, Levance Fields has become a solid point guard. This team has balance and plays hard every game. Though Sam Young is a great scorer, the only knock against this team is their offensive output, only ranking 8th.

2. Marquette. This team is only going to go where Dominic James carries them to. Jerel Mcneal and James make a nasty defensive combo. Together they average 4.80 steals a game. They are in the top 6 in both offensive and defensive scoring but they are horrendous on the glass which could be their downfall.

3. Georgetown. Their poor offense finally cost them a game but this team is still not clicking on all cylinders. They still hold the best defense in the league but when you combine that with a 12th ranked defense, then your bound to lose some close games. They weren’t able to slow down Memphis and with The Big East full of fast back courts, it could pose a problem for this team. They are lacking a legitimate point guard.

4. West Virginia. They hold the top spot in offense and second in defense. The only reason why they sit behind Georgetown is their easy schedule. Their last 8 games where against, New Mexico State, MD Eastern Shore, Winthrop, Auburn, Duquesne, UMBC, Radford, and Canisius. They make up for their lack of athletic ability inside with pin point outside shooting and a smothering perimeter defense. Their assists to turnover margin is at an insane +7.73. Juniors, Alex Ruoff and Joe Alexander, combine for 31.5 points a game and play a great inside-outside game.

5. Villanova. This team is still trying to figure things out. They’ve played a relatively easy schedule so far and their problems are evident. They need to shore up the defense or they are prime to plummet down the standings. They have a great perimeter game and Scottie Reynolds is the real deal but they are going to need more from the rest of the crew.

6. Connecticut. 1st in defense field goal percentage and 4th in scoring has shown that the Huskies are improved over last year. They rank 1st in offensive rebounding and block shots a game and have a well balance mix of front and back court players. A.J. Price leads the league in assists to turnovers and assists a game. They lack a perimeter game and a legitimate scorer and they need to beat a team with comparable talent.

7. Notre Dame. Luke Harangody and Kyle Mcalarney lead the Fighting Irish in a great inside-outside threat. Notre Dame leads the league in assists and battle hard on the boards. Ryan Ayers is a player that teams need to stay close to. He can shoot from anywhere on the court. The jury is still out as to if Notre Dame is for real. Their easy schedule has produced favorable numbers.

8. Louisville. This is by far the most disappointing team. They have not shown up at all on the offensive side of the ball, only breaking 80 points once in the last 9 games. They bring it defensively but with the 13th ranked offense, it leaves Louisville in tight ball games and they have had a hard time closing them out. They are average or worse in most of the leagues stats except outside shooting. They have little room for error left with a long season still to go.

9. Syracuse. With a young team, the hardest thing to teach is to play hard every possession on defense. They rank 14th in that department. They make up for it with the 2nd ranked offense but they rely to heavily on the perimeter game. Freshmen Donte Greene and Jonny Flynn average 33.6 points a game combined. Greene and Rick Jackson are also in the top 11 in block shots a game and help secure the zone but teams are still able to get to many easy buckets.

10. Seton Hall. It will be amazing if Brian Laing and Eugene Harvey keep up their torrent pace while playing every minute of every game. They pose the greatest scoring threat in the league with a combined 38.3 points a game. With all their effort on the offensive side, their defense is terrible, coming in dead last. Its amazing that they can put up the numbers on offense without a great perimeter game. They have to many deficiencies that they are not a legitimate threat to the top tier of Big East teams.

11. Providence. They are a middle of the row team right now and haven’t taken advantage of their size like many experts thought they would. Coming in at 10th in rebounding margin is disappointing for this promising team. They are dead last in defensive rebounds and are giving up to many second chance points. Brian Mckenzie and Jeff Xavier are great outside shooters and Weyinmi Efejuku is turning into a solid player but this team needs more from Geoff McDermott to turn this season around.

12. USF. After a lousy start, Southern Florida has righted the ship but they still have an ocean to travel before making a splash into the upper echelon. They sit in the middle or lower end of every statistic and Dominique Jones can’t do it all himself. He needs Chris Howard and Kentrell Gransberry to score more before they take that next step.

13. Rutgers. Being dead last in offense and middle of the pack in defense isn’t a good recipe for success. They are last in 3-point percentage, assists and assists to turnovers. Hamady Ndiaye is turning into a great enforcer down low but they lack any offensive threat and are in desperate need of a point guard.

14. St. John’s. D.J. Kennedy and Eugene Lawrence are playing well but this team is lacking in every department. Larry Wright has a great outside shot but freshman Justin Burrell hasn’t produced yet and the team just hasn’t gelled.

15. Cincinnati. This historic school has taken quite a slide. They rank near to last in both offense and defense. They can’t make an outside shot and are getting killed on the glass. Nothing is going right. Deonta Vaughn is playing well but he can’t do it all by himself. John Williamson needs to step up.

16. DePaul. Having a league worst -4.5 point scoring margin a game is all you need to know. They can’t score and can’t stop the opposing team. Draelon Burns and Dar Tucker are playing well but not good enough to bring DePaul out of the Big East cellar. Mac Koshwal and Cliff Clinkscales need to contribute more. They are counting to much on freshmen to pull the load.