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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Paul Scruggs Xavier Musketeers (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)
Paul Scruggs Xavier Musketeers (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images) /

5. Xavier 8-2 (1-2)

The Musketeers 8-0 start was big for Travis Steele coming off a season where his team was probably going to be on the wrong side of the bubble for the second straight season.

That 8-0 start, however, was not very pretty. Three of those wins were one-possession victories over mid-majors (Toledo, Bradley, Eastern Kentucky), and they got a couple of nice Ws over Oklahoma and Cincinnati, but in no way did Xavier look like a sure-fire NCAA Tournament team in the non-conference.

Unlike most other teams on this list, Xavier’s best win is probably in the Big East over Marquette, giving them the leg up on the Golden Eagles and the Friars for the fifth spot in these power rankings. Paul Scruggs (14.8 Pts, 3.6 Reb, 6.8 Ast) put up 29 points in that win and if he can continue the career season he is having not only as a scorer but as a passer, the Musketeers will be in the hunt all season for a March Madness appearance. Scruggs’ 6.8 assists per game are 4x better than last season’s average.

The Big East looks like a maximum 6-bid league, and that might be pushing it, so it will be important for Xavier to break its two-game losing streak this week to stay ahead of Providence and Marquette. Scruggs only averaged 9.0 points an outing in that two-game stretch.

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