Big East basketball: Way-too-early power rankings

Marquette

The Golden Eagles had one of the most prolific offenses in the country last season, finishing at No. 17. Now, two of their top three scorers are back. However, someone needs to get them the ball, as no one returning averaged more than 2.5 assists a season ago.

Another glaring issue is the team defense, which was 259th in the country. Marquette has some guys who can score the ball, but it certainly doesn’t have the scorers to get in track meets and win in March.

On the bright side, though, I think Marquette does make it to the NCAA Tournament, which would give the Big East a remarkable seven of 10 teams.

St. John’s

St. John’s should be much improved from a year ago, but just not improved enough to compete with most of the conference.

As a freshman, Shamorie Ponds and Marcus LoVett combined for more than 32 points. If they bump that number up to a combined 45, the Red Storm will make the NCAA Tournament. If not, they’re probably an NIT team. Still a big improvement from 14 wins a year ago.