Big East Basketball Power Rankings: Seton Hall, Villanova leap ahead

Providence came back down to earth a little bit during this past week with back-to-back road losses to fall to 4-3 in conference play. This has still been a surprising start to the Big East season for the Friars considering how poorly they performed in non-conference play but these past two losses have set back their NCAA Tournament hopes even more.

After previously winning four straight games over KenPom Top 75 opponents and regaining some momentum, Providence has now lost three of its last four.

Through the first few weeks of the Big East schedule, Providence has asserted that it will not finish in the basement. It is one of the few teams in the conference with a winning record to this point and it has also played a relatively difficult intra-conference schedule to get to this point.

In order to regain and potential hopes of reaching the Big Dance, though, the Friars need to win two of their next three games: Villanova (home), Butler (away), and Creighton (home). That will be easier said than done.

This has been a disappointing season on the whole for Providence but there could still be a glimmer of hope. If the Friars are able to hold steady around .500 in Big East play, they could be a viable threat at Madison Square Garden even if they are not an at-large contender.

It is hard to really peg just how good Providence will be during the rest of the conference season, though. I am yet to figure this team out and that is a testament to its inconsistency through 20 games.