Connecticut gained the top spot in my rankings last week after Notre Dame’s loss to West Virginia, yet the Irish have regained it thanks to St. John’s shocking (to say the least) upset of UConn.
The Red Storm move up to third in the rankings with their monumental win, while Georgetown remained steady to retain the fourth spot. DePaul, West Virginia, and Louisville round out the elites in the league, although they will sit differently in my rankings then they currently sit in the Big East standings.
Rutgers finally broke their losing streak with a win against Villanova, but the fact that they still remain in the Top 25 is somewhat of a miracle. South Florida on the other hand has won three straight and moves further up this week’s rankings.
Syracuse, Cincinnati, and Villanova all sit pretty close together towards the bottom of the league, while Marquette has distanced itself from these three by dropping three straight. Oh, and the Pitt/Seton Hall search for a win is still fruitless.
1.) No. 3 Notre Dame (26-2, 13-1 Big East) – The Irish are back on track after beating a game Louisville team on the road. Grad student forward Devereaux Peters was named to the Big East Weekly Honor Roll after posting 19 points and 11 rebounds against Providence. Jan 10: Notre Dame 80, Georgetown 60.
2.) No. 4 Connecticut (24-3, 11-2) – Saturday’s loss to St. John’s was a record-ending day for the Huskies in several regards. It was their first home loss since 2007 and their first loss to an unranked opponent in almost 19 years. Feb 11: Connecticut 80, Georgetown 38.
3.) No. 20 St. John’s (18-8, 10-3) – Hard to think that an eight-loss team sits at third in such a deep conference, but the Red Storm have earned it. Junior guard Shenneika Smith’s three-pointer with eight seconds to go knocked off Uconn in dramatic fashion and gave St. John’s their second win in a row against a ranked opponent on the road. Feb 27: Georgetown vs. St. John’s.
4.) No. 15 Georgetown (21-6, 10,4) – Nothing spectacular for the Hoyas this week, but they took care of business. Georgetown knocked off Villanova and Providence in order to get back to winning ways after their shellacking at UConn last week.
5.) No. 21 DePaul (20-7, 8-5) – Junior guard Anna Martin continues to lead the Blue Demons to victories, as her 19 points helped them knock off a surging West Virginia team on Saturday. Guard Brittany Hrynko was named Big East Freshman of the Week. Jan 3: Georgetown 59, DePaul 50.
6.) West Virginia (19,7, 9-4) – The Mountaineers knocked off Rutgers but fell to DePaul at home after a weak second half performance. Redshirt sophomore guard Christal Caldwell has scored in double figures in 14 straight games. Jan 24: Georgetown 64, West Virginia 54.
7.) No. 16 Louisville (19-8, 8-6) – Not the greatest week for the Cardinals. It took overtime for them to defeat Pitt and then they lost at home to the Fighting Irish. Their upcoming matchup against DePaul is a pivotal late season game for both teams. Jan 22: Louisville 64, Georgetown 61.
8.) No. 24 Rutgers (18-8, 7-6) – The Scarlet Knights’ losing streak was finally snapped at five games after they beat Villanova on Saturday. And even better, Rutgers ends their schedule against league bottom-dwellers Seton Hall, Providence, and Marquette. Jan 29: Georgetown 54, Rutgers 36.
9.) South Florida (15-13, 7-7) – The Bulls earned two wins against Marquette and Pitt to bring their league record up to .500. Things will get much tougher when they hit the road to take on Notre Dame on Saturday. Jan 7: Georgetown 66, South Florida 56.
10.) Cincinnati (14-12, 5-8) – The Bearcats have won three straight after not earning their first league win until late January. Impressively, four of their five league wins have come on the road. Feb 4: Georgetown 65, Cincinnati 54.
11.) Syracuse (16-11, 5-8) – The Orange were able to knock off a struggling Marquette team in their only contest this week. Junior center Kayla Alexander earned a spot on the Big East Honor Roll after putting up 20 points along with five blocks in the contest. Jan 15: Georgetown 69, Syracuse 42. Feb 25: Georgetown at Syracuse.
12.) Villanova (15-12, 5-9) – Although they have dropped four straight, the Wildcats played tough basketball this week and gave both Georgetown and Rutgers a run for their money. They will look to knock off St. John’s this coming Saturday. Feb 14: Georgetown 60, Villanova 54.
13.) Providence (13-14, 5-9) – The Friars were not only beaten by Georgetown and Notre Dame this past week, they were beaten badly. They will hope to get back on track against Rutgers. Feb 18: Georgetown 66, Providence 39.
14.) Marquette (13-13, 4-9) – To say the Golden Eagles are struggling is an understatement. They lost in double-digits to both South Florida and Syracuse and have lost seven of their last eight games. Jan 17: Georgetown 67, Marquette 39.
15.) Pittsburgh (8-18, 0-13) / Seton Hall (7-20, 0-13) – Both teams played relatively well this week, but still couldn’t close the deal. The Pirates lost by six to Cincinnati and the Panthers dropped an overtime contest to Louisville. Georgetown 82, Pitt 54. Feb 8: Georgetown 56, Seton Hall 51.