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Week 6 BIG EAST rankings....

ncaaball2

Freshman
May 25, 2005
423
79
28
Team (% chance of dancing) synopsis (games this week)

Great weekend of big east basketball. Here is where we stand.

1. Xavier (98%). Most complete team in the league, if not the country. Backcourt is awesome. Sumner emerging as a rookie of the year candidate. MilesDavis is a rock with the ball. Blueitt is establishing himself as a nice go to option with Abel as a nice compliment to Trevon in the wing. The front court is real solid with Reynolds and Farr. Team just keeps looking better and better. (v Auburn sat)

2. Villanova (95%). The tough loss in Honolulu and the Cats are going to be underdogs next Saturay at UVA, so the haters are licking their chops. But the team Is coming around. Best defensive team of the Jay Wright era, good in the transition. The kids are still trying to figure out their half court offense beyond just moving the ball around the perimeter and/or driving and kicking out to the perimeter and chucking a three, but they will get there. They are replacing three starters from last yr and the half court offense seems to be the element that is taking the longest time to click. The rest of their game is still real nice. Mikal Bridges really bursting out along with Jalen Brunson as huge freshman contributors. (@ Virginia sat)

3. Butler (85%). Big win against Tennessee this weekend at Hinkle. Solidified their OOC a bit and puts them in great position. We knew that Dunham and Jones were solid, but Kelan Martin and Tyler Lewis are starting to find their games a bit more. Tyler Wideman had a good game against Tenn. Big game at Purdue on Saturday, will probably be underdogs. (@ Purdue sat)

4. Providence (84.1%). Ben Bentil!! A beast. The absence of Dunn is showing that PC is not just a one man show. Need to get themselves healthy during this soft run on their schedule. With Bentil and Dunn, those are the type of horses a coach can ride into the third weekend if the dance. Very high upside. The debate between butler and PC for the 3 and 4 spots was the toughest for this week. (V Rider Sat)

5. Georgetown. (80%). Not much happening with the hoyas this week. Handled a decent mid-major program this week. Got a little close late but outcome never in doubt. Should finish the ooc slate at 9-3 (not including the Jan UConn game). Solid enough considering who they played. (Cupcakes on Tuesday and Saturday)

6. Marquette. (53.26%). Welcome to the right side of the bubble, marquette! Huge movers this week. Not so much in the standings, but in the chance of dancing. Team seems to be finding their groove and putting it together. Fischer and Ellenson look like the Caucasian twin towers in the middle. Their OOC was weak, but it should be solid enough at the end of the day with the win loss record and marquee road win at Wisconsin. a .500 conference record should have them in the middle of bubble. (No games)

7. Seton Hall (39.61%). I remain bullish on the Hall. That roster has the talent to be a tourney team. They didn't shoot themselves in the foot OOC rgarding a tourney bid, but they haven't put themselves on the right side of the bubble either. These guys are doing what they need to do, and it's not all whitehead and Delgado. Carington and Rodriguez are learning their roles. If they win their next two prior to conference play they are going to be legitimately in the conversation as a bubble team. (V Wichita State Saturday BIG FOX)

8. St John's (19%). Not sure they deserve to be ahead of Creighton, but giving them the edge because of the huge win today. They have the Italian Connection with Mussini and Alibegovin to go along with the monster kids Yakwe and Sina, and johnson is an unstoppable g force bringing experience. I still don't think they are legitimate tourney threats, but they are coming together. Three OOC games left. Incarnate world sucks, but njit can be pesky, and the South Carolina. Win those three games and this has to be considered s good OOC performance by the johnnies. (Incarnate workd Friday).

9. Creighton. (18.9%). Did nothing wrong this week. Looked solid against alphabet soup university. They can turn their season around with a win next weekend. (Oklahoma sat)

10. Depaul. (01%). Building a new arena. Broke ground a couple of weeks ago. New arena looks great. Let's hope that helps. (Northwestern)
 
Andy Katz, one of the only guys on ESPN whose opinion I respect, boldly said he has Xavier as a Final Four team on Saturday night. I was shocked, but once he said it, I can see it if they play this way all season. They have no real weaknesses.
 
Xavier hasn't gotten a lot of love on the board with most posters having Georgetown rated over them to date. Let's see if that now changes.



1. Xavier 10-0 Relentless and deep. Right now no one in the league is playing better.

2. Nova 8-1 Loss to Oklahoma worrisome. Need quality play against Virginia this weekend to keep lofty status.

3. Butler 8-1 Quietly getting the job done. Big game this weekend vs Purdue.

4. Georgetown 6-3 Seems to play up or down to their opponent's level. Meaning they will win some they shouldn't and then lose a head scratcher or two, or three......

5. Providence 10-1 Still not totally sold on the Friars. Dunn and Bentil are monsters. Want to see others step up.



6. Seton Hall 8-2. Need consistency from the starters and especially the bench to move up. Lose focus at some point in almost every game.

7. Marquette 8-2 The twin towers will allow them to play with anyone in the Big East but they will need others to step up to reach the top half of the conference.

8. Creighton 7-3 Right where many expected them to be. Playing on the road against a big time opponent in Oklahoma will give an indication if they can move up.



9. St John's 7-3. Yakwe has helped and the young players on the roster are doing their part as they gain experience.

10. DePaul 5-4 Same old same old. They just never seem to get better.
 
I've seen the light on Xavier.

1) Xavier - Watched what they did to Cinncy and Cinncy is pretty good
2) Villanova - Can get a pass for the Oklahoma debacle
3) Georgetown
4) Butler

5) Providence - Ben Bentil? Wow!!!

6) Marquette
7) Seton Hall
8) Creighton - Which Creighton team shows up?

9) St. John's
10) DePaul - Sad
 
Andy Katz, one of the only guys on ESPN whose opinion I respect, boldly said he has Xavier as a Final Four team on Saturday night. I was shocked, but once he said it, I can see it if they play this way all season. They have no real weaknesses.

Katz is one of those guys who just throws things out of his mouth in the heat of the moment. Far too many of those guys in the college hoops media world.

Xavier may very well get there, but it's a long season. I hate when people make bold/declarative statements, especially at this point so early in the season. I hope Xavier gets there, it would be great for the league. But let's see how the season goes.
 
Katz is a jag off, but Xavier is legit.

Long season to go, but they have the most complete team, coupled with talent and experience, that I have seen so far. Don't see a weakness with them yet. the way they went to Michigan and rolled made be believers.

I find that most people are hating on seton hall. Not like they are hating on DePaul, but not really taking them seriously as tournament bid contenders. I tend to be one of the more bullish posters in the hall among big east fans. Win at Wichita state and you are up there with Marquette in the discussion.
 
Dan, Gtown lost 1 game they should've won. I also disagree about cincy being that good. Xavier hasn't beaten anyone. However, X beat Gtown 3 times last yr. will be interesting to see what happens this year
 
I also disagree about cincy being that good. Xavier hasn't beaten anyone.

I can make the case for top 25 Xavier.

They've beaten Michigan, USC, Cinci and Dayton. That's four top 50 wins plus Alabama.

Compared to what some other AP 25 schools have done it is a great resume.

Kentucky (4), hanging their hats on one Duke win plus Arizona State
Iowa State (5) with one big win over Iowa
Purdue (9) wins over Pitt and Florida
 
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