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

6. Providence 7-4 (3-2)

The only reason that I have the Friars ahead of Marquette is because of its three Big East wins but mainly the one at Seton Hall. This is what Ed Cooley does. Despite a non-conference resume that left a little to be desired, the man knows how to win in the Big East and doesn’t care how it looks, just like he did a season ago.

There is no reason to be impressed with a double-overtime win over DePaul or an easy win over a  depleted Butler team, but they were able to turn it in on to beat one of the hottest teams in the country in Seton Hall, a team that has only lost once in its last eight tries.

The reason Providence is so intriguing is that it is 7-4 without playing the way they expected. St. Joe’s transfer Jared Bynum has been a disappointment thus far, making only two of 28 three-point attempts and Gregg Gant (4.5 Pts, 4.1 Reb, 2.6 Ast) has not yet made the jump many hoped he would heading into the season.

Instead, the Friars are winning in the post. Nate Watson (19.0 Pts, 6.9 Reb, 0.5 Ast) has turned into what looks to be an All-Big East player in his senior season and alongside the spectacular play of Big East POY hopeful David Duke (19.9 Pts, 6.3 Reb, 4.3 Ast), they have Providence afloat despite not playing great basketball.

The teams that handle adversity best are the ones most capable of making the 2020-21 college basketball season a special one, and it looks like Providence is uniquely built to manage things. For now, though, Providence is only the sixth-best team in the Big East.