Big East Basketball Power Rankings: Butler, Seton Hall secure road wins

Seton Hall is one of two teams that recorded a true road win during the opening week of Big East play. For the Pirates, they gladly welcomed Myles Powell (concussion) back to the rotation and he responded with a 27-point performance in a victory over DePaul in Wintrust Arena. Seton Hall, even following the injury to Sandro Mamukelashvili, has been very successful over the past few weeks and is looking like a potential contender in the conference.

They still lack a true secondary scorer next to Powell (Jared Rhoden maybe?) but their defense is absolutely for real.

Romaro Gill and Ike Obiagu cannot share the floor for extended minutes of time but both anchor the paint remarkably well during their segments of playing time. The two 7-footers have been excellent rim-protectors so far this season as they are forcing teams to score from mid-range and three. They simply will not allow any easy finishes at the rim and that is the core defensive principle for the team this season. The two bigs are combining to average 4.4 blocks in 33.5 minutes per game. Opponents will have a difficult time finishing inside against the Pirates all season long.

Seton Hall is currently in the midst of a three-game winning streak that includes victories over Maryland and DePaul. That has warranted a climb up the rankings and the team will now face Georgetown at home in its next game. It is very reasonable to think that the Pirates will start 2-0 in conference play and not many teams will be able to say that.

Myles Powell + Elite Defense = NCAA Tournament bid. It’s a pretty simple formula.