Big East Basketball Power Rankings: DePaul, Butler exceeding expectations

One bad game is not enough to drop Villanova far, even in the first two weeks of the season. The Wildcats looked absolutely dreadful in their 25-point loss to Ohio State but still have arguably the most talented roster in the conference. Head coach Jay Wright is working with an extremely inexperienced squad and that should be viewed as one of the major reasons for early-season struggles. With more practice time together, and the return of five-star recruit Bryan Antoine, Villanova should be right back on track shortly. They are simply far too talented to struggle for a prolonged period of time, especially while boasting a Hall of Fame caliber coach on the sidelines.

It is also possible that everyone is simply overreacting *way too much* regarding Villanova. Every team lays an egg every once in a while, and it just so happened that the Wildcats did so in their second game of the season. Villanova has looked great in their other two games, both victories, and those performances might actually be more indicative of who this team will be rather than the OSU loss. Who knows?

Diving a bit into their personnel, I once again want to highlight the play of Cole Swider. A highly-touted recruit from the 2018 class, Swider struggled throughout last season due to injury and lack of confidence. This time around, though, the 6-foot-9 forward is showcasing his all-around game. Swider is averaging 11.7 points per game to begin this year while shooting 9-for-18 from beyond the arc. His ability to space the floor as a versatile forward off the bench is huge for this team. Villanova’s strengths lie almost entirely in the frontcourt right now with Swider as a reserve and Jeremiah Robinson-Earl/Saddiq Bey in the starting lineup.

The return of Bryan Antoine, a superb two-way guard with elite scoring ability, in the near future will hopefully improve the balance of Villanova’s attack.