Big East Basketball: Xavier, Seton Hall rises, Villanova slides in latest power ranking

1. UConn Huskies

When you are the number one team in the entire nation, you are most likely the best team in your conference, and that rings true for these UConn Huskies. They have only lost one game in Big East play, and that is their early loss to the Seton Hall Pirates, a game where star center Donovan Clingan suffered an injury that sidelined him for a bit. However, even without their star player, this Huskies team kept on winning without him, and now they hold the top ranking in the nation with their best player making his return.

Clingan returned against Creighton and it was clear the gap between him and Kalkbrenner, and now this Huskies team looks unstoppable. That was until the Villanova Wildcats gave them a close scare, but they found a way to come through with the win yet again. UConn is a team that looked so unbeatable yet so vulnerable at the same time, so we will see how long their winning streak keeps up.

But for this Huskies team to be so great despite all their injuries throughout the season, that is what reigning National Champions do, and you have to point to the job Dan Hurley has done here. UConn has a lot of easily winnable games for them coming up on their schedule, but they are also playing teams hungry for a top-ranked win as they fight so desperately for a tournament bid.

UConn is going to have to play their best basketball the rest of the way given the huge target on their back. But they have been up to that task, and show no signs of slowing down anytime soon. This team just has to stay healthy, and they remain the team to beat in the Big East.