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

Record: 10-1

KenPom Rank: 23

NET Ranking: 15 (Q1: 3-1, Q2: 1-0, Q3: 2-0, Q4: 3-0)

Best non-conference win(s): vs Ohio State, Virginia Tech (neutral, is any win over the ACC a good win?), at Oklahoma State, vs Cincinnati

Bad loss(es): None

Xavier has been impressive in the non-conference and most of that was without arguably their best player, Zach Freemantle. Their lone loss to Iowa State is not looking nearly as bad as it could have been. Iowa State was picked to finish last in the Big 12, but somehow, they’re still undefeated.

Xavier has a balanced attack on offense and defense, ranking around the top 30 in both categories, but I think their best basketball still lies ahead.

The Xavier backcourt is led by seniors Nate Johnson (12.9 ppg, 46.3% from three) and Paul Scruggs (11.3 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 4.1 apg). Johnson was known as an excellent three-point shooter and he has been making a statement this year. Scruggs has been doing what he always does. He doesn’t force the issue but seems to be ready in late-game situations.

Colby Jones (12.5 ppg, 8.2 rpg) has made an impressive leap as a sophomore, but I don’t quite trust Adam Kunkel’s shot. He is shooting 37% from deep on the season, but if you take out his 8-10 outlier performance against Norfolk State, he is shooting just 27%. Perhaps he will find his shot or land somewhere in the middle.

Jerome Hunter, Zach Freemantle, and Jack Nunge give Travis Steele plenty to work with in the frontcourt. Nunge has been huge for the Musketeers, especially while Freemantle was recovering from injury and currently leads the team in scoring. The Iowa transfer has delivered for this team.

As for Freemantle, there were some questions about when he’d back and him finding his role/fitting in with the team once he got back. I think those questions have been answered. He is still playing his way into mid-season form, but you’re lying to yourself if you think Zach Freemantle isn’t going to get it done for Xavier.

The only problem I have with Xavier is that they have tended to fade down the stretch under Travis Steele. Is it fair to hold their past against them, you tell me? Last season they started 8-0 before finishing the regular season at 13-7. The year prior, they were 12-3 at one point before finishing 19-12 and lost to DePaul in the opening round of the Big East tournament. The goal is to get better as the season progresses.

Even if Xavier does fade down the stretch, going .500 in Big East play this season, combined with their non-conference performance should be enough to get into the NCAA tournament. However, you don’t want to be fading heading into March Madness, you want to be peaking. Is this the year for Travis Steele?