Big East Power Rankings

1. Louisville. This team has the best chance to make it the farthest in the tournament. They have the best wing players in the Big East. Derrick Caracter, Terrence Williams and Earl Clark make it hard to match up. The only knock is that they don’t have a player in the top 30 in scoring.

2. Georgetown. I hope they haven’t used up all their luck. They might need some in the tournament, playing so close to the vest. They make the game about execution. Their strategy is to limit your possessions and play solid defense and they do. Credit that they make the plays when they have to and they have had to.

3. Connecticut. Solid season put together by UConn. They have far exceeded everyone’s, but themselves, expectations. Price has emerged as the best point guard in the league and has 175 assists, the most in the league. He is also tied for 13th in scoring with his teammate Jeff Adrien, at 15 points a game.

4. Marquette. After stumbling in the middle of their season, Marquette and Dominic James put together a string of victories. A team like this, with a talented back court, can do some damage in the tournament.

5. Notre Dame. This team would be National Champs if they played their tournament games at home, but they’re not. They are a different team on the road and haven’t been able to slay an upper echelon team while away. Harangody is clearly the best player in the league, but this team rides on Mcalarney’s shooting.

6. West Virginia. Joe Alexander is sneaky athletic and Ruoff can hit the three. They will be dangerous in the tournament. They are missing a piece or two to be able to match up against bigger and stronger teams.

7. Pittsburgh. There is no other freshman that I believe will be a better pro then DeJuan Blair. He is already a man and will be getting stronger. He scores 12 a game and pulls down 9.3 rebounds a game. Sam Young is a scorer at 18 a game. They just haven’t found that streak yet, winning one then losing two.

8. Syracuse. They had their chance to punch their ticket to the tournament after the Georgetown game. They just needed to knock off either Louisville, Notre Dame, or Pittsburgh, but they lost them all. They are scary athletic, but young and not playing much defense.

9. Villanova. They made a valiant effort at the end of the year, but the loss to Marquette might have shut the door. To bad because Scottie Reynolds is having a fantastic sophomore year.

10. Cincinnati. They started the season beating Louisville, but sputtered down the stretch. They do have some quality wins though. Deonta Vaughn, and Jamual Warren are playing some great ball.

11. Seton Hall. They are a talented offensive team but haven’t put together any semblance of defense. Brian Laing and Eugene Harvey have logged the most minutes in the league and score a ton, but it wasn’t enough to string together some victories.

12. Providence. They had their chance to make some noise but couldn’t put anything together after the win at UConn. They’ve been battling hard but can’t stop teams. They have great potential at the wing positions but they haven’t put a solid 40 minutes in.

13. DePaul. They came out with some gusto in the first half of conference play but faded down the stretch. This team is young and missing a few parts, but has potential.

14. St. John’s. They just don’t have a player that has stepped up and won games. Eugene Lawrence is having a decent senior year. They need lots of pieces.

15. USF. It is a shame that USF couldn’t do better with the season that Gransberry is putting together. 16.5 points a game and 11 rebounds. They just haven’t had that complement for him.

16. Rutgers. They have a promising future with JR Inman, Corey Chandler, and Hamady Ndiaye. They remind me of UConn’s team last year. They have the best chance of the bottom tier teams to rebound next year.