Big East Basketball: Xavier, Seton Hall rises, Villanova slides in latest power ranking
By John Makuch
7. Villanova Wildcats
The Villanova Wildcats have been one of the more confusing cases when it comes to the Big East Conference. One week they can look like real contenders, but the next they can find themselves looking like a mediocre squad. The lack of Justin Moore for some time due to injury hurt them, and they have battled injury all year, but they have been so close yet so far for quite some time now. They started off Big East play 3-0, but then a loss to St. John’s threw things off, and they only beat Xavier by one point the game before.
This team has given UConn a scare, but got blown out by Marquette as well, their season has just been topsy-turvy all year long, including nonconference play. They have wins over UNC, Memphis, and UCLA, but losses to Saint Josephs, Drexel, and UPenn. It is so difficult to get a read on how good this Wildcat team is under Kyle Neptune, but they have to figure things out quickly if they want the opportunity to prove themselves in March.
Given how the Big East can be, it would be no surprise if they end up as a low seed but win a couple of games in that tournament. But until they show any signs of consistency, they have to be ranked around the middle of the conference, but they can make a jump pretty quickly. They are one of the more well-rounded and complete teams in the entire nation, they just need to actually put it together and they can be true contenders in this conference.