Big East Basketball Power Rankings: Should Villanova remain No. 1?

Record: 10-1

KenPom Rank: 57

NET Ranking: 39 (Q1: 3-0, Q2: 0-0, Q3: 3-1, Q4: 4-0)

Best non-conference win(s): at Wisconsin, vs Texas Tech

Bad loss(es): Virginia (this was a bad game, but it could end up just being a quad 2 loss)

Let me start off by apologizing to Providence fans, but no matter where I rank the Friars I’ll probably get yelled at. It’s fine.

I’ll defend myself by saying most people did not have Providence pegged to be this good. Most analysts consider them one of the biggest surprises of the year. Let’s review.

The Friars are 3-0 against Quad 1 opponents, and I actually don’t think they’ve even started playing their best basketball. I’m not sure they will though, which is why I have them sitting at 5. I have trust issues with Providence. Will they continue to build on their momentum, or will they falter in Big East play?

Al Durham (13.5 ppg, 3.7 apg) has looked great for Providence. Still, he turns the ball over too much (3 per game) and his three-point shooting leaves something to be desired. The turnovers might just be the result of Durham having to take over point guard duties until Jared Bynum gets healthy, and you have to figure he will get his shooting numbers up a bit though. Overall, he has been the spark of confidence and energy that Providence needed after losing David Duke.

If the Friars are going to make some noise in the Big East and NCAA tournament, they need AJ Reeves (10.7 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 36.4% from three) to play more consistently. He is quietly putting together a good season and has had better games of late, but it feels like he can do more. He is at his best when he is aggressive and not just settling for threes.

What about the frontcourt? The expectations for Noah Horchler (10.6 ppg, 8.2 rpg, 40.5% from three) are high, or at least my expectations for him are. He has put together impressive stats. Still, similar to AJ Reeves, it feels like he hasn’t quite found his stride which can only help the Friars once he does. Maybe my expectations for the two of them are just too high, but I don’t think so.

Justin Minaya (5.5 ppg, 5.1 rpg) is an instant burst of energy and confidence off the bench, but his offensive numbers could use some improvement. He has been an important addition to this squad and put together one of his best all-around performances against Central Connecticut.

Not much needs to be said about Nate Watson (15.3 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 1.0 bpg). Even when teams like Texas Tech slow him down, he is helping his team. He attracts so much attention, but the talent around him is too good to double him all game. If you don’t double team him though, he can score at will.

Providence has the potential to be a very good team this season. They rank in the top 70 in adjusted defense and offense, but they get to the foul line at a high clip. Can they ride their hot start into Big East play? If they can continue their momentum or even just hover around .500 in the league, that will surely be enough to get back to the tournament.