3. St. John's Red Storm (8-2)
St. John’s has been in cruise control since returning from a disappointing trip to the Bahamas.
A big second half against Kansas State has been the biggest effort for the Johnnies amid a stretch of buy games. However, that’s over now and Rick Pitino will see how his team stacks up against others around the league in a really big week for St. John’s.
THIS WEEK: vs. DePaul (Tuesday) and at. Providence (Friday)
4. Creighton Bluejays (7-4)
Creighton was dealt a massive blow with the injury to Pop Isaacs that will sideline him for the season, but the Bluejays showed some serious fight this week on a road against an Alabama team that is one of the best in the country.
This team still has a lot of talent behind Steven Ashworth and Ryan Kalkbrenner but there will be a lot more pressure on the shoulders of role players like Jackson McAndrew and Jamiya Neal.
Greg McDermott is one of the best coaches in the Big East and has enough talent on this roster to earn an NCAA Tournament berth.
THIS WEEK: at. Georgetown (Wednesday) and vs. Villanova (Saturday)
5. Villanova Wildcats (7-4)
How about Kyle Neptune and Villanova? Just weeks ago they were at the bottom of the power rankings and now find themselves inside Top-5, which might say more about the rest of the conference instead of the Wildcats.
Still, Villanova has the leading scorer in the country with Eric Dixon at 25.8 points per contest and it’s time for the ‘Cats to strike quickly in league play with two of its first three games coming on the road.
This team has the talent to make a run but must prove that it can consistently play 40 minutes of quality basketball for multiple games.
THIS WEEK: vs. Seton Hall (Tuesday) and at. Creighton (Saturday)