Big East Basketball Rankings: Villanova rising, Creighton struggling

VILLANOVA, PA - NOVEMBER 06: Jermaine Samuels #23, Phil Booth #5, Eric Paschall #4, Collin Gillespie #2, and Dylan Painter #42 of the Villanova Wildcats huddle prior to the game against the Morgan State Bears at Finneran Pavilion on November 6, 2018 in Villanova, Pennsylvania. The Wildcats defeated the Bears 100-77. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images) /

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SYRACUSE, NY – DECEMBER 08: Pickett #1 of the Georgetown Hoyas dribbles. (Photo by Brett Carlsen/Getty Images) /

Georgetown has arguably played the most difficult schedule in the Big East to this point in time. And while they do boast a fairly solid 2-3 record that includes a win over Butler, who is ahead of them on this list, the Hoyas sit at No. 9 n these rankings based on their overall resume. Head coach Patrick Ewing’s team might not be eliminated from NCAA Tournament contention but it already seems as though they would need an extremely impressive regular-season run or a conference tournament title in order to go dancing.

Thankfully, though, the Hoyas have shown obvious signs of growth in year two under the former NBA superstar. Most notably, Georgetown’s trio of freshmen (James Akinjo, Mac McClung, and Josh LeBlanc) is playing at a very high level and the future looks extremely bright thanks to their performances. With those three roaming the court and a couple of experienced seniors in Jessie Govan and Greg Malinowski also playing a fair amount of minutes, this is a very dangerous team who can take down anyone on any given night.

Through the first five games, Georgetown is leading the Big East in team 3-point percentage while connecting on 40.0% of their trifectas. And while they are certainly struggling inside the arc (48.3% on 2PA, 9th), their abilities from beyond the arc will keep them in many games. With Creighton coming to town in the next game, Georgetown will have a chance to move up the standings.

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