NCAA Basketball top 25 rankings: Gonzaga, Providence rise, Alabama falls
By Joey Loose
24. Villanova (7-4)
Things aren’t looking good for Villanova, especially after what’s happened this past week. They’ve fared well against their Big 5 opponents, and are up to four wins away from home, including over Tennessee and Syracuse, but two losses by 20+ points in one week is never a good thing. On Sunday, they traveled to Baylor and fell 57-36 in a horrid offensive performance against the nation’s top team. Big East play began dreadfully on Friday, dropping a 79-59 game at Creighton.
Now saddled with four losses, Villanova can no longer claim that they’re inflated loss count is due to the level of opponent, as Creighton is certainly not a top 5 level team this year. Perhaps, the Big East, which looks great due to some hot starts by other teams, is going to be far more competitive than we thought. Villanova still has a shot to bounce back, but these recent performances cannot be repeated. This next week, their only task is a home date with Xavier on Tuesday, presenting them an opportunity at home to get back on track.
23. Connecticut (9-3)
When Dan Hurley took over this Huskies program a few seasons ago, there was optimism that he would take this program back to the national level, and their recent re-entry into the Big East has helped facilitate that. The Huskies have looked solid this season, but dropped their third game of the season this past week in a tough effort. Though R. J. Cole gave a 16-point, 8-assist effort, the Huskies fell at home to Providence in the opening act of conference play.
At this point, it’s fair to wonder about this program, which has a nice double overtime with over Auburn, but lacks any other big impact wins. None of the three losses have been disasters, but losing home games in Big East play is going to be a killer in the long run. The Huskies have played fantastic ball against some of the bad teams on their schedule, but will need to step it up for the weekly struggle of conference play. This upcoming week, that struggle will take them to Marquette on Tuesday, hoping for a bounce-back effort against another up and coming program.