We're back again for another edition of the VU Hoops BIG EAST Power Rankings, and there were a few major movers this week. The Butler Bulldogs, courtesy of their strong start to the year have vaulted up the rankings, and the voters must have been impressed with the Johnnies' loss to Syracuse, as the Red Storm made a leap too. Seton Hall (though they got good news on the Sterling Gibbs injury front) has given the DePaul Blue Demons a lifeline by taking over the bottom spot.
The lack of daily basketball is making it difficult (for me anyways) to get a good sense of the improvement that any of these teams might be going through, so as usual the teams in the 5-8 spots feel like a tossup.
After last week's full participation, we've got one high-ranking member of the staff who went MIA. His full name starts and ends in the same letter.
Here are your VUhoops Power Rankings:
1. Villanova (9) - 10-0
"Five wins by 20+, and 3 by 30+. Only two other ranked teams can say that: Iowa and Louisville. We beat Iowa, and Louisville lost their only game against a ranked team." - kevin.pulsifer
2. Creighton - 7-2
"My bro Doug McDermott scored 33 in the impressive win over Nebraska. That team has such a flow at offense, with the Savior leading the scoring. But last week showed me nothing. - rsaccoma2016
3. Georgetown - 6-2
"I refer you to this Twitter exchange." - Chris Lane
@CasualHoya needs to take a step back and count the cash from Fox that Villanova is currently justifying. #TeamOnOurBackDoe @AugustinianArmy
— Count Villan V (@NovaCountVillan) December 17, 2013
4. Butler - 8-2
"Kellen Dunham is averaging 20 points and shooting 48% from distance. Let's hope some of those Midwest winter chills cool him off when he suits up against 'Nova." - novanation63
5. St. John's - 6-3
"Watching them get fired up against Syracuse in the second half was pretty fun. Their individual talents are finally coming together to make a team." - novanation63
6. Marquette - 6-4
"Silently waiting for the moment when Buzz Williams admits he's the national Jenny Craig spokesperson and not a pretend basketball coach this season." - Tyler Ricky Tynes
7. Providence- 8-2
"Who has two thumbs, eight wins, and a couple of rationalized losses?" - jeremy.menninger
8. Xavier - 8-3
"I want to see more Matt Stainbrook in the offense, because of his big stature and woodshop goggles. - rsaccoma2016
9. DePaul - 6-4
"They needed OT to defeat the illustrious Chicago St. Cougars to stay above .500. Yes!" - jeremy.menninger
10. Seton Hall - 7-4
"You know that moment during Christmas when you expect your aunt with the peg leg to bring you a really bad gift and you open it and it's like an Al Gore book on global warming? Yeah, that's Seton Hall's season in a graph. - Tyler Ricky Tynes
Now tell us how bad we are at Power Rankings.