Big East Basketball: Reaction to 2024-25 AP Top 25 preseason rankings

St. John's and Xavier: Snubbed

St. John's and Xavier were the second and third-highest vote-getters outside the Top 25 with 91 and 73, respectively. These are two teams that very much deserved to be in these rankings, given all the talent they brought in, but the voters do deserve some slack here.

Neither team really showed much last year in terms of deserving these spots, and transfers can only bring so much to these teams. But once they put it all together, we will most likely see these two in the Top 25 sooner rather than later. Being outside the rankings but still getting those votes feels like a prove-it scenario for these teams, some voters may have been hesitant to put these Big East teams over some bigger names in college basketball.

But in terms of roster talent, coaching, and how good one should expect them to be, the Red Storm and Musketeers are two of the 25 best teams in college basketball; they just do not have the number next to their names just yet.

Providence gets votes, the rest of the Big East has a lot to prove

Providence was able to snag nine votes in the initial poll, and while many Big East faithful feel that the Friars may be a top team in this conference under Kim English, they still need to prove it to the voters. They did a great job in the portal, and English has shown he can get the best out of everybody on his roster, but there is still a period early in the season where they need to show it.

English will have no problem using this potential snub as motivation, so for Friar fans, they can be upset at the lack of votes, but their team will do just fine in earning more. There is a real path to six Big East teams in the rankings by the time conference play comes around, and for the rest of the Big East, this gives them plenty of opportunities to earn a bid in March. Teams like Butler, Seton Hall, and Villanova may not be ranking material just yet, but when some conference upsets happen, they could take advantage and potentially get votes down the line.

However, there are way too many question marks surrounding those three teams to argue for some votes in this poll, that is for another time. But when it comes to the season's first poll, the Big East does not have much to complain about. These preseason rankings always change drastically by the end of the season anyway, so the message for all of these teams has to be to go out and earn the votes if you feel you deserve them.