Big East Basketball Rankings: SJU remains undefeated, DePaul surprising

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - NOVEMBER 21: Marquette Golden Eagles head coach Steve Wojciechowski directs his players during the first half of the game against Kansas Jayhawks during the NIT Season Tip-Off tournament at Barclays Center on November 21, 2018 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images) /

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NEW YORK, NY – DECEMBER 08: Cale #22 and Powell #13 of the Seton Hall Pirates reacts. (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images) /

I had Seton Hall dead-last in my early-season edition of the Big East power rankings but I specifically stated that I did not expect them to stay there for long. In fact, just two short days later, the Pirates landed their biggest win of the season by going to a neutral site and taking down Kentucky at Madison Square Garden. Sure, we do not know quite how good UK will be this season but it is safe to say that that was a huge win for head coach Kevin Willard and Co.

On the whole, I think that the Pirates have put themselves in somewhat decent shape to make a potential run at an NCAA Tournament bid this season. They do not have a disastrous loss on the resume yet (SLU, Nebraska, Louisville) and they have that win over UK as well. Add in the possibility of taking down Maryland on the road this weekend and the Pirates could be a surprise team to compete near the top of the Big East.

As was expected heading into this season, Myles Powell is the clear offensive leader this season. He has averaged 22.7 points per game through the first month of the season and definitely would be my pre-conference-play selection for BE Player of the Year if his team was more competitive near the top of the league. He is simply that good of a scorer. Around him, the Pirates have also gotten some strong contributions from Sandro Mamukeslashvili (10.3 points, 8.0 rebounds) and Michael Nzei (10.2 points, 5.2 rebounds)

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