Big East Basketball Rankings: Marquette holds strong, middle muddles

2. Villanova Wildcats

For a team that will receive a relatively high seed in the NCAA Tournament, Villanova is as sporadic as anyone else in the country. Despite boasting a couple of elite senior leaders in Eric Paschall and Phil Booth, this team does not have the firepower of those ‘Nova teams of the past and their defense is also not up to their usual standards. Even with that said, though, they are the type of team that can beat anyone in the country. They have also already put together two extensive winning streaks so far this season.

The ‘Cats, though, have dropped three of their last four games after starting conference play a 10-0. Villanova is still clearly in the top tier of the Big East but it will be interesting to see which version of the team shows up down the stretch. I am not going to be the one that bets against Jay Wright, especially in March.

1. Marquette Golden Eagles

Marquette has made a statement in conference play so far this season. Despite many having their doubts about the Golden Eagles being “overrated”, the team has seemingly dominated every opponent not named St. John’s so far this season. At 11-2, Coach Wojo’s team controls its own destiny with regards to winning the Big East regular-season title. In addition to boasting one of the most potent offenses in the country, Marquette’s defense is vastly improved.

With Markus Howard running the show, Marquette has the guard play needed to make a deep run in the Big Dance. His supporting cast is playing at a high level right now as well as the Golden Eagles have shown their ability to “flip a switch” in close games as of late. Marquette should win the Big East.

That concludes this edition of my Big East basketball power rankings. The season is coming to a close relatively soon and these teams are definitely making their arguments for moving up or down on this list. Which teams will emerge as serious risers in the coming weeks?