Big East basketball has not gotten off to the strongest start. With conference play approaching, though, where does each team stand?
Big East basketball has struggled to start this season. That much has been obvious. Villanova is no longer the national title contender that it has been for the past few seasons and seemingly no other team has leaped at the opportunity to fill that void. So, for the first time in a while, the Big East is not regarded as one of the top three conferences in the nation but rather just another major league that should send 3-to-5 teams to the NCAA Tournament in a few months.
Per KenPom’s conference rankings, the Big East currently stands at fifth in the nation with a +12.55 average rating. And considering the conference had finished third in each of the past three seasons, this has been a significant step backward for the league. With that said, though, this does not mean that the Big East is a bad conference. On the contrary, the league is still one of the best in the nation and will send many teams to the NCAA Tournament.
At this point in time, though, it seems like nobody has any idea who those “many teams” will be. Still, this will make for an incredibly competitive season in the Big East. Without a clear top or bottom in the league, every game should be incredibly close and that will make for one of the more engaging seasons in recent history. Additionally, since the league was far from dominant in non-conference play, fewer teams will receive NCAA Tournament bids and this will make each game mean that much more.
So, without any further ado, let’s dive into my updated power rankings for the league as of Dec. 20, 2018. (All statistics used in this piece were found via Sports-Reference and KenPom.)