Busting Brackets
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Big East Basketball: 2020-21 power rankings heading into New Year

By Drew Schmelzer

WASHINGTON, DC - DECEMBER 14: The Big East conference logo on the floor during a college basketball game between the Georgetown Hoyas and the Syracuse Orange at the Capital One Arena on December 14, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - DECEMBER 14: The Big East conference logo on the floor during a college basketball game between the Georgetown Hoyas and the Syracuse Orange at the Capital One Arena on December 14, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images) /
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Dave Leitao DePaul Blue Demons (Photo by Quinn Harris/Getty Images) /

With nearly a month and a half of hoops under our belts, Big East Basketball is starting to come into form. How do the teams stack as the league turns the page to the new year?

College basketball fans knew Big East Basketball would not be the same in 2020-21. The losses of Myles Powell, Markus Howard, Naji Marshall, and many others changed the complexion of this league. Not as many teams are knocking on the door of the top 25 with only two BE programs (Villanova and Creighton) ranked in the latest AP Poll, and only one team receiving votes in Xavier.

Unlike a season ago, there is not a lot of national hubbub surrounding individual players either, although there are several guys deserving, like UConn’s James Bouknight (23.2 Pts, 5.4 Reb, 1.8 Ast) who is seventh in the country in points per game or Villanova’s Jeremiah Robinson-Earl.

Despite the different complexion of the conference this year, the pundits and computers still seem to like the Big East. The league is widely considered a top 5 league in college hoops with Andy Katz ranking it third in his latest release only behind the Big 10 and Big 12.

Let’s take a look at how the team inside the conference rank as we head into 2021.

11. DePaul 1-2 (0-2)

Well, I guess some things haven’t changed in the Big East. While the Blue Demons have the smallest sample size to review, they haven’t looked great in the attempts to replace Paul Reed or Jalen Coleman Lands.

The defensive end of the floor has been the big problem for DePaul as they have given up the 15th most points per game to the competition in the nation. Sure, they played a double-overtime game against Providence where they gave up 95 points, but the Friar’s aren’t exactly an offensive juggernaut and they followed up that performance by surrendering 82 points to UConn in a 21-point blow out loss.

While DePaul still looks like the worst team in the conference, the future looks good as touted freshman Kobe Elvis (9.0 Pts, 1.0 Reb, 2.0 Ast) has been a clear bright spot, shooting over 70% from 3-point range and nearly 65% overall from the field.

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