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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DETROIT, MI – MARCH 16: Butler’s Baldwin (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) /

Butler might not have the best record in the Big East at this point in time but predictive metrics certainly believe that they are one of the best teams in the conference. Ranked in the top-50 in just about every major metric used by the NCAA Tournament committee, the Dawgs might not be a sure-fire at-large team but they sit firmly on the bubble at this point in time. Butler’s offense, which is rated as the second-most efficient in the conference by KenPom, can be quite potent and is seemingly improving with every game.

In addition to the superb play of star guard Kamar Baldwin (17.0p/5.6r/4.1a), midseason transfer Jordan Tucker is just starting to his stride with the team. In five conference games, the sophomore is averaging 9.0 points and 6.6 rebounds per game (also boasts the best defensive rebounding rate in the Big East). As long as he continues to grow on the defensive end of the floor, J-Tucks will see more minutes and he could take on the secondary scorer role on the team.

Looking ahead, Butler has a couple of monster opportunities coming up to make a significant move in the rankings. In the coming week, the Dawgs will take on both St. John’s and Villanova in Hinkle Fieldhouse and securing both victories would solidify Butler’s position in the upper half of the Big East. This team, though, has been incredibly inconsistent so nobody knows if their performance at DePaul was a sign of things to come or just a blip on the radar.

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