24. Villanova (12-2)
Who is going to stand out this season in the Big East? First-year coach Kevin Willard is hoping that Villanova can answer that call this year. Aside from an opening night loss to BYU and a tough showing at Michigan, the Wildcats have been pretty solid this season, adding some nice wins before Christmas over Wisconsin and Seton Hall as they head squarely into league play.
The recent run of success continued on New Year’s Eve with a 71-66 win over DePaul. Despite trailing at the half, Villanova charged back, getting 19-point efforts from Bryce Lindsay and Tyler Perkins. The offense was much better on Saturday, as the Wildcats delivered an 85-67 road win at Butler. All five starters were in double figures, led by Lindsay’s 18 points against the Bulldogs.
While the Wildcats couldn’t hold their own against Michigan, a top-tier team, they’ve been more than solid throughout this season and now are off to a 3-0 start in conference play. From where things currently stand in this league, you could certainly argue that Villanova could be the #2 team in the Big East, but there’s a lot of basketball left to be played. Next week they’ll face two of the league’s more underwhelming teams, hosting Creighton before a trip to Marquette.