Big East basketball power rankings after uneasy first week for many teams

5. Xavier Musketeers (2-0)

Xavier was the darling of Big East Media Day and for good reason because they are healthy and loaded with talent.

However, it's going to take time for this team to gel after players like Zach Freemantle and Jerome Hunter have not played a basketball game in nearly a year and it's showed during its first two games.

The Musketeers won on its talent against Texas Southern and IU Indy but you could already see small steps of progression. Assuming good health, Sean Miller could have a team that is an offensive juggernaut and one of the most difficult squads to plan against.

4. St. John's Red Storm (2-0)

Outside of UConn, you could argue that St. John's had the best opening week in the conference.

The Red Storm landed blowout victories over Fordham and Quinnipiac but things are going to get very real very quickly for the Johnnies.

After Wednesday's game against Wagner, they will play New Mexico, Baylor, Tennessee or Virginia, and Georgia consecutively. We will learn a lot about Rick Pitino's squad in the next two weeks but the early returns on players like Simeon Wilcher, RJ Luis, and Brady Dunlap have been positive.