Big East Basketball Rankings: St. John's, Marquette vie for the top spot

Big East Basketball Rankings: St. John’s, Marquette vie for the top spot

MIAMI, FL - DECEMBER 01: Shamorie Ponds #2 of the St. John's Red Storm reacts after a basket against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets during the HoopHall Miami Invitational at American Airlines Arena on December 1, 2018 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) /

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INDIANAPOLIS, IN – DECEMBER 15: Butler Bulldogs players react. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /

8. Providence Friars

Record: 10-4 (0-1 Big East)

Providence might be extremely low in these rankings but I do not expect that to remain the case. To put it simply, Ed Cooley always seems to find a way to finish in the upper half of the conference and that should remain the expectation. The Friars will continue to struggle a bit without A.J. Reeves, who is out with injury, but there is a reasonable chance that they rise up the rankings once they are completely healthy.

To this point in the year, PCBB holds a relatively strong record at 10-4 but they only have one quality win (on the road over Texas) to go with a couple of head-scratching losses (to Wichita State and UMass). The biggest concern I have regarding this team, though, is their defense. Unlike the past few seasons, the Friars are not one of the best defensive teams in the nation and will need to rely on their offense a bit more than normal.

7. Butler Bulldogs

What is there to even discuss regarding Butler basketball this season besides how inconsistent the team has been? Throughout the opening two months of the season, the Dawgs have shown flashes of a team that could finish in the top three of the conference but they have also looked like they could be competing for the cellar. And the latter of these two has shown up during the past week with losses to Florida (by 34) and Georgetown (at home). These two performances have decimated the hopes of many Butler fans even though it is still extremely early in the year.

Butler’s once impressive defense has floundered tremendously as of late and their offense lacks the typical ball movement that one would usually see from the program. The addition of pure scorer Jordan Tucker should help the team moving forward but they will need to turn up the intensity in a hurry to keep their NCAA Tournament hopes alive. It might seem early to jump to conclusions but Butler is in dire need of snagging a big-time home win over Creighton this weekend.

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