Big East Men’s Basketball Power Rankings – 1/11/13

Added by Greg Rappaport on January 11, 2013.

(Andy Lyons/Getty Images)

1. Louisville (14-1)- Number three-ranked Louisville has earned their seat atop the Big East power rankings. Since their sole loss to now-top-ranked Duke, the Cardinals have been in total cruise control, rolling over opponents with ease.

2. Syracuse (15-1)- I had the pleasure of seeing the Orange play in person last week and believe me, these guys are good. With five-star athletes at every position on the floor, Syracuse’s 2-3 zone is capable of giving any team fits. All basketball fans should have January 19^th circled on their schedules, when the Orange square off against conference foe Louisville.

3. Notre Dame (14-1)- Count me in as one of the many people surprised at Notre Dame’s early success this season. For the Irish, sharing is caring, as they rank second in the nation in assists per game with 19.5.

4. Cincinnati (13-3)- Cin-city or Cinci-NASTY (I got these for days) has failed to live up to their 12-0 start dropping three of their last four games. While they continue to beat up opponents on the glass (3^rd in the nation in total rebounding), the Bearcat’s offense has been struggling. Their leading scorer Sean Kilpatrick has been mired in a shooting slump in his past four games, shooting 17/55 (30%).

5. Georgetown (10-3)- Despite a 10-1 start to the season, the Hoyas have yet to capture a Big East victory with losses Marquette and Pittsburgh. Having said that, Georgetown undoubtedly has the athleticism and coaching to ascend quickly in the conference. Their recent struggles are somewhat of a mystery.

6. Pittsburgh (13-3)- After a strong start to the season, the Panthers have already dropped two Big East games, but a win against nationally ranked Georgetown has given Pitt fans hope that their squad (ranked 3^rd nationally in assists per game) can turn it around.

7. Marquette (11-3)- The Golden Eagles are 2-0 in the Big East, but neither win came easy. They needed overtime to beat UConn, and edged 15^th ranked Georgetown by one point. Both wins are impressive, but Marquette needs to find some consistency if they want to succeed down the road.

8. Villanova (11-4)- After stumbling through their nonconference schedule, ‘Nova has come away with two Big East wins to kick off conference play. They face off against Syracuse at the Carrier Dome tomorrow evening. If they can eek out a win, then consider ‘Nova back on track.

9. Rutgers (11-3)- Following their all-out embarrassment by Syracuse, the Scarlet Knights have rebounded strong with wins over Pittsburgh and St. Johns. The Knights have continued to get large contributions from Eli Carter (averaging 16.9 ppg), but are still looking for another consistent offensive threat.

10. Connecticut (11-3)-UConn continues to play with heart so far this season despite being banned from the postseason. The Huskies, led by Shabazz Napier, appear to be comfortable playing the roll of spoiler for Big East bubble teams this year, because, you know, misery loves company.

11. Seton Hall (12-4)- It’s hard to fault Seton Hall for dropping games to Louisville and Notre Dame, but Hall is still looking for a signature win this season. Luckily for Hall, Junior Fuquan Edwards has continued his impressive play, averaging 17.6 ppg and 5.8 rpg.

12. St. John’s (9-6)- Other than a win over Cincinnati, St. John’s has not been impressive this season. While his numbers don’t jump off the page, the play of Sir’Dominic Pointer (owner of the best name in college basketball) has officially caught my eye, he has shown excellent court vision and ball handling in his limited minutes.

13. DePaul (10-6)- There aren’t many positives to say about DePaul, with their only Big East win thus far coming against equally inept Providence. At this point it seems like they are best off setting their sights on the NIT.

14. South Florida (9-5)- USF just doesn’t look like last years squad that made an impressive tournament run. They are only scoring 63.9 points per game, which puts them at 259^th in the country. Clearly Bulls have quite a few issues to work out in their game before they can become contenders.

15. Providence (8-7)- The Friars are in the midst of a five-game skid in which they cracked 70 points only once. Their recent woes on both sides of the ball have netted them the honor of being at the very bottom of the power rankings; it’s only up from here!