NCAA Basketball top 25 power rankings: Tennessee and Villanova rise, Alabama falls

17. Villanova (8-4)

As has already been mentioned in this article, the 2013 creation of the new Big East led to many changes in the conference, as well as the rise of several of those programs that had struggled years prior. Even with the success of these other teams, Villanova was always the unparalleled top team in the conference, winning a pair of national championships and regularly taking home the Big East title. Could this year be different?

Villanova already has four losses, but they’ve come to some pretty great teams. They lost at UCLA in overtime, dropping a tough game to Purdue, and fell in recent weeks to Baylor and Creighton, albeit in two much larger margins of defeat. The Wildcats beat Tennessee by 18 back in November, but have mostly struggled against these top teams. The record doesn’t look great, but they’ve played a much tougher schedule than their Big East counterparts and did score a nice home win against Xavier this past week.

Villanova will look to shake off those rocky performances of recent weeks as they dive into Big East play, with a New Year’s date at Seton Hall an immediate challenge. The Wildcats still have a talented roster and should be expected to finish near or at the top of the conference rankings by season’s end. Not many teams this season are going to limit Baylor to 57 points or take UCLA to overtime on their home court. The Wildcats, led by Collin Gillespie, have work to do in the coming months, but are absolutely a favorite to take home another Big East title.