Here are Bill Koch’s weekly Big East men’s basketball rankings, with Providence on the rise

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Conference play, as always, proved to be the great equalizer leading into the Christmas holiday break.

Connecticut, Marquette and Creighton looked to be separating into their own private tier among Big East competition. The Huskies, Golden Eagles and Bluejays all recorded strong nonleague victories and were in early discussions for the top seeds in the NCAA Tournament.

All three of those teams dropped their respective league openers. Seton Hall, Providence and Villanova dished out a dose of reality, with the Wildcats doing the honors on the road. It was something of an annual reminder that the next few months will be anything but smooth sailing regardless of the quality within your chosen program.

How does that leave this latest edition of the power rankings? Prior performance still has to count for something. But we’re also about to enter a different chapter in terms of building a resumé, and a couple of more weeks like these will be enough to shift perception in certain cases.

Hope it was a nice holiday for all. An early Happy New Year wish for everyone — hope it’s a safe and enjoyable start to 2024.

1. Connecticut (11-2, 1-1)

Last week, 1: Beat Gonzaga (Seattle), lost at Seton Hall, beat St. John’s

This week: DePaul

What to know: Donovan Clingan (right foot) missing the majority of January will be a challenge for the Huskies. They hit the wall when the big man went to the locker room and ultimately fell in the league opener against the Pirates. UConn had just enough to outlast the Red Storm next time out and will face everyone’s best shot in the coming months.

Marquette guard Tyler Kolek (11) drives the ball against Providence guard Garwey Dual during the second half of their game on Dec. 19 at Amica Mutual Pavilion.

2. Marquette (10-3, 1-1)

Last week, 2: Lost at Providence, beat Georgetown

This week: Creighton

What to know: This wasn’t quite the start to their league title defense the Golden Eagles might have had in mind. The Friars thumped them on the…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/bill-kochs-weekly-big-east-102759381.html

Author : The Providence Journal

Publish date : 2023-12-27 10:27:59

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