Big East Basketball power rankings: Villanova drops lower, St. John’s rises

10. DePaul Blue Demons – 8-10 (2-5)

DePaul has already proven that it isn’t the worse team in the Big East, having a win over Georgetown already. But how many victories are they capable of getting against the rest of the conference? They were able to answer that last Tuesday, winning their first game against Villanova in over a decade.

The final score was 75-65, led by 24 points and eight rebounds from Da’Sean Nelson off the bench. Javan Johnson had 18 points and seven rebounds in all 40 minutes played, while both Umjoa Gibson and Eral Penn were also in double figures. The Wildcats aren’t very good this season but it’s still a signature victory for the Tony Stubblefield era with the Blue Demons.

DePaul nearly made it two in a row, playing close at home against Seton Hall. Unfortunately for them, they weren’t able to close it out in the final minutes, losing 71-67. Nelson once again led the team in scoring off the bench with 15 points, one of five in double figures for the team. Penn was the only one among the six main rotation players not to get to points, finishing two shy of a double-double on the night.

The Blue Demons have a tough week coming up, taking on both Xavier and Providence. As good as they’ve been playing lately, they’ll need to play even better to avoid going 0-2.