NCAA Basketball Power Rankings: Indiana, Marquette quietly rising

MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN - DECEMBER 08: Joey Hauser #22 and Sam Hauser #10 of the Marquette Golden Eagles celebrate after beating the Wisconsin Badgers 74-69 in overtime at the Fiserv Forum on December 08, 2018 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images) /

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VILLANOVA, PA – DECEMBER 05: Gillespie #2 of the Villanova Wildcats drives. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images) /

17. Villanova Wildcats

Last Week: No. 21

Let’s just ignore the narratives surrounding Villanova’s play early this year and look at their resume objectively. From a pure record standpoint, they stand at 8-2 while playing a reasonably, albeit not rigorous, difficult schedule. Their two losses to this point have come against two teams (Michigan and Furman) with a combined record of 20-0. The Wildcats also hold wins over Oklahoma State, Florida State, and a couple of Atlantic 10 teams. Having said this, Villanova more than belongs in the top-25 at this point in time.

They do, though, definitely have room for improvement. Head coach Jay Wright is still seemingly figuring out his rotation and scheme for this season. And with back-to-back road games approaching (Penn then Kansas), his team is about to be tested in a big way. Thankfully, though, Villanova should be able to perform admirably on the road thanks to their senior leaders in Phil Booth (15.6 points, 3.1 assists) and Eric Paschall (15.0 points, 5.8 rebounds).

Villanova is playing at a slower pace this year than some of those in the past and therefore their margins of victory are also smaller. But that does not mean that they are not still incredibly talented. The Wildcats are going to continue to grow throughout this season and Coach Wright will unlock the potential of this team sooner rather than later.

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