Big East Conference Outlook
The Big East is an underrated conference this year, led by a really good team in Villanova. They have two top 6 teams in both the AP and coaches poll (Oklahoma and Xavier). Right now on kenpom.com, Villanova is the number one team in the country (they are #4 in the AP poll). I think I agree with AP poll ranking more than the kenpom.com ranking, as the kenpom ranking may favor early season cupcakes too much. Oklahoma beat Villanova by 23 points, so in my opinion there is no way they are behind the Wildcats. I do think Villanova is really good though, just like they were last year before they fell in the NCAA tournament to NC State. Villanova beat Xavier by an astonishing 31 points, which is Xavier's only loss on the year. Xavier is pretty good as well, with plenty of good wins. The Musketeers have beaten Alabama, USC (who should be ranked this week), Michigan, Cincinnati, Dayton, Wake Forest, Butler and Marquette. I'm not sure many teams can boast about this many good wins, while also having just one loss, to a top team in 'Nova. I think Villanova will ultimately win the conference, with Xavier following closely behind.
The next level of the Big East is where it gets tough. There's Butler, who has three losses, but to Providence, Xavier and Villanova. There's Providence, who looked really good until recent losses to Marquette and Seton Hall. There's Seton Hall, who suffered a puzzling loss to Long Beach State early, but has beaten Providence and Wichita State since then. Not to mention other quality teams like Georgetown, Marquette and Creighton. That's eight pretty good teams, with St. John's and DePaul clearly lagging a few steps behind. I think Butler will finish third in the conference, despite being 7th right now. Kellen Dunham is going to start to heat up, and Butler's offensive talent and experience will pull them through. Providence looks like the team to beat for 4th, but Seton Hall has played well as of late, so I'm going to give them that spot, followed by Providence in 5th, and then Georgetown, Creighton, and Marquette in that order.
The next level of the Big East is where it gets tough. There's Butler, who has three losses, but to Providence, Xavier and Villanova. There's Providence, who looked really good until recent losses to Marquette and Seton Hall. There's Seton Hall, who suffered a puzzling loss to Long Beach State early, but has beaten Providence and Wichita State since then. Not to mention other quality teams like Georgetown, Marquette and Creighton. That's eight pretty good teams, with St. John's and DePaul clearly lagging a few steps behind. I think Butler will finish third in the conference, despite being 7th right now. Kellen Dunham is going to start to heat up, and Butler's offensive talent and experience will pull them through. Providence looks like the team to beat for 4th, but Seton Hall has played well as of late, so I'm going to give them that spot, followed by Providence in 5th, and then Georgetown, Creighton, and Marquette in that order.
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