Big East Tier Rankings: Post Gavitt Games
Top Dog (Until They Get Knocked Off)
- Nova: 2-1 – OT Loss at #2 UCLA. This game was an 11:30 PM ET tip, so I won’t hold the loss against the Wildcats too much. They have proven to be the kings of the Big East until someone can knock them off.
Big East Contenders
- Seton Hall: 3-0 – Beat #3 Michigan on the road in Ann Arbor.
- Xavier: 3-0 – Beat Ohio State w/o Zach Freemantle (X’s best or 2nd best player) but had uninspiring home wins against Niagara and Kent State. When Freemantle is back I fully expect them to contend for the Big East.
Maybe Contenders (I Need to See More)
- UConn: 3-0 – Untested, have played only low-majors but the Huskies have an absurd ~50 ppg MOV. The advanced analytics love Dan Hurley’s squad so far.
- Marquette: 4-0 – Upset #5 Illinois in Milwaukee (without Illini probable All-American Kofi Cockburn) and beat Ole Miss soundly on a neutral court but didn’t look impressive against New Hampshire. The analytics hate the Golden Eagles but I can’t deny their resume.
Solid Big East Teams
- St John’s: 2-1 – 2 point loss at Indiana, a probable tournament team.
- Providence: 3-0 – Won at Wisconsin but the Badgers were missing their arguable best player, Johnny Davis. Ok win over New Hampshire. Maybe UNH is better than previously thought.
- Creighton: 3-0 – Middling home wins over Arkansas Pine-Bluff and Kennesaw State. Won at Nebraska.
- Butler: 3-1 – Lost to Michigan State, a probable top 25 team by the end of the season. Looked ok, not great, in their buy games.
Things Might be Looking Up
- DePaul: Won at home against Rutgers, looked ok in their buy games.
Not Off to a Good Start
- Georgetown: 1-1 – Lost at home to Dartmouth.
Analytic Breakdown
Team | Kenpom | Torvik | Sagarin | Average |
Nova | 9 | 13 | 9 | 10.3 |
Uconn | 21 | 12 | 16 | 16.3 |
Seton Hall | 29 | 18 | 24 | 23.7 |
Xavier | 33 | 30 | 38 | 33.7 |
St John’s | 45 | 56 | 33 | 44.7 |
Providence | 68 | 51 | 48 | 55.7 |
Creighton | 59 | 82 | 82 | 74.3 |
Marquette | 80 | 98 | 64 | 80.7 |
Butler | 72 | 95 | 95 | 87.3 |
DePaul | 119 | 99 | 92 | 103.3 |
Georgetown | 86 | 143 | 91 | 106.7 |