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Big East basketball Power Rankings: Champs reemerge as the team to beat

The champions have returned to the top of the Big East with league games approaching

ByKevin Connelly|
Dec 14, 2024; New York, New York, USA; Connecticut Huskies forward Liam McNeeley (30) gestures after scoring in the second half against the Gonzaga Bulldogs at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images
Dec 14, 2024; New York, New York, USA; Connecticut Huskies forward Liam McNeeley (30) gestures after scoring in the second half against the Gonzaga Bulldogs at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images | Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images
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6. Butler Bulldogs (7-4)

Has there been a more difficult team to figure out in the Big East this season than Butler?

Its wins are as good as some of the top teams in the league with victories over SMU, Northwestern, and Mississippi State but its losses are dumbfounding against Austin Peay and North Dakota State.

The Bulldogs have now lost three straight games with its defeats against Houston and Wisconsin in between its stunning loss to the Bison. It would have been conceivable for Butler to make up its loss to Austin Peay with some of its other non-league wins, but now two ‘buy game’ losses? It won’t be easy but the ‘Dawgs need a handful of quality Big East wins.

THIS WEEK: at. Marquette (Wednesday) and vs. UConn (Saturday)

7. Xavier Musketeers (8-3)

In a late edit to the weekly Big East basketball Power Rankings, Xavier took a tumble after the news dropped that star forward Zach Freemantle will be sidelined indefinitely with another injury.

The team released a statement saying that Freemantle suffered a lower body injury in its loss to Cincinnati and will be reevaluated at a later date. It’s a crushing blow to a team that needs his leadership, versatility, and scoring ability.

Freemantle had been averaging 16.9 points and 7.7 rebounds per game this season. He was limited to just 22 games two years ago after missing all of last season with a foot injury.

Xavier has not proven to be a good team in close games with losses to TCU and the Bearcats and now it enters conference play with two brutal games while being on the outside looking in of the NCAA Tournament and without its best player.

THIS WEEK: at. UConn (Wednesday) and vs. Marquette (Saturday)

8. Providence Friars (7-5, 1-0 Big East)

How does one judge the Providence Friars?

A team that won its only two games this season with Bryce Hopkins in the lineup – one of them being a road conference game against DePaul -- but he missed Saturday’s loss to St. Bonaventure and remains a question if he will play this week.

Without Hopkins, the Friars are 5-5 and have not looked good even in its ‘buy games’.

If Kim English wants his team to have success, he needs the All-Big East talent on the floor especially when Providence will play the best three teams in the conference in its next three league games.

THIS WEEK: vs. St. John’s (Friday)

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