Big East Power Rankings: The bottom half is really bad

Yes, yes, I'm a day late on this. But I promise hilarity will ensure as always because the student writers let passion get in the way of reason, which wins every single time. A quick update on the current standings in our season-long pick'em is below.

Every person went 3-2 last week in their picks, and no tiebreak points were awarded. This is because Doug McDermott's points equaled the final margin of victory - a scenario I didn't consider which caused a minor uproar on Twitter. I think the storm has passed.

Contestant	Record	Tiebreak Points
rsaccoma2016	8-2	0
Brian Ewart	7-3	1
kevin.pulsifer	7-3	1
MikeReilly	7-3	1
novanation63	7-3	0
Ryan Irwin	6-4	1
Chris Lane	6-4	0
jeremy.menninger	3-7	0
MikeJ.	3-7	0

This week we will be selecting the following games, along with who will attempt more 3s (in last night's game) - Ethan Wragge or Kellen Dunham.

• Butler @ Creighton
• Georgetown @ Xavier
• Providence @ St. John's
• Marquette @ Butler
• Seton Hall @ Georgetown

Here are the picks:

Chris Lane: Creighton, Xavier, St. John's, Marquette, Georgetown - Dunham

MikeJ.: Creighton, Georgetown, Providence, Marquette, Georgetown - Wragge

jeremy.menninger: Butler, Xavier, St. John's, Butler, Georgetown - Wragge

Brian Ewart: Creighton, Xavier, Providence, Butler, Georgetown - Dunham

kevin.pulsifer: Creighton, Xavier, Providence, Butler, Georgetown - Dunham

MikeReilly: Creighton, Xavier, St. John's, Marquette, Georgetown - Wragge

rsaccoma2016: Creighton, Xavier, Providence, Butler, Seton Hall - Dunham

Ryan Irwin: Creighton, Xavier, St. John's, Butler, Georgetown - Dunham

novanation63: Creighton, Xavier, St. John's, Butler, Georgetown - Dunham

Ed Donohue: Creighton, Xavier, St. John's, Butler, Georgetown - Wragge

And now, here are your VUhoops Power Rankings:

1. Villanova (11) - 15-1

"Sorry for stealing all the conference wins folks." - jeremy.menninger

"Looking forward to the Creighton game on Monday. Is it a problem that I'm already skipping over DePaul? #ClassicTrapGame." - kevin.pulsifer

"I. AM PUMPED. FOR NEXT MONDAY. AGAINST CREIGHTON. It will determine if we swap numbers 1 and 2." - rsaccoma2016

"This #6 ranking is the highest that Villanova has been since I have been a student, lets see if we are able to crack the top 5 next week." - MikeReilly

2. Creighton - 15-2

"Solidified themselves at the number 2 in the conference with the win over Xavier. Fun fact: The Big East has more teams ranked in the top 20 than the ACC." - kevin.pulsifer

"Doug McDermott Doug McDermott'ed the Doug McDermott." - jeremy.menninger

"Too bad Villanova is here. You could've been number 1!" - rsaccoma2016

"These guys are actually scoring more points and allowing less per game than Villanova. Kenpom has them rated ninth overall. McDermott is making a serious push for Player of the Year. In other words, Monday is going to be a heck of a game." - novanation63

"This Creighton team is ranked way too high, there is no way there are 20 teams better than them." - MikeReilly

3. Xavier - 13-4

"Tough game for them last weekend, I'm not surprised they took their first loss since Thanksgiving weekend." - kevin.pulsifer

"Too bad Creighton and Villanova are here. You could've been number 1!" - rsaccoma2016

"Surprisingly good thus far. Well done." - jeremy.menninger

"While all of the talk is focused on star sophomore Semaj Christon, Xavier offers a plethora of weapons to attack opposing defenses. They could easily win their next four games to start the season 7-1 in their new conference." - novanation63

"It's a shame this team is getting no real attention nationally, no one expected them to play this well at all this season." - MikeReilly

4. Georgetown - 11-4

"I know we need them in the conference but I just don't like them as people." - jeremy.menninger

Still not sure what their best win is outside of an unranked VCU team. The Providence loss wasn't pretty either. But you can't argue with 3-1 in-conference." - kevin.pulsifer

"Enjoy it while it lasts. From what Casual Hoya is tweeting, you'll be sinking fast." - rsaccoma2016

"It pains me to rank these guys fourth, but there really aren't many viable options behind them. We'll see how the Hoyas and John Thompson III respond to Josh Smith's ineligibility and Jabril Trawick's broken jaw." - novanation63

"Really disappointed in the Hoyas, I thought that they were going to be ranked with the veteran leadership of their two guards, Starks and Smith-Rivera. Still rooting for the Hoyas regardless." - MikeReilly

"Praying for the end of time." - Ed Donohue

5. Marquette - 10-7

"Even with Fuquan only scoring 7 points, you only won by 1. The other win is DePaul. Those are some sketchy conference wins." - rsaccoma2016

"Slap on the wrist for a 1 point win over the Pirates." - jeremy.menninger

"Almost blew a 9-point lead with under 3 to play against a depleted Seton Hall squad. At home. Somehow, there are five worse teams in the Big East at the moment." - kevin.pulsifer

"They've won the games they're supposed to start the conference season. Now, with a three game stretch of at Butler, at Georgetown, and home versus Villanova, we'll see if these Golden Eagles truly can compete to be the gold standard of the Big East." - novanation63

"How far this team has fallen, from being ranked 17th and now just being able to beat Seton Hall at home by 1 point." - MikeReilly

6. Providence- 11-5

"Don't be surprised if they turn it around, but they're not good for now." - jeremy.menninger

"Loss to Seton Hall? Ugh. 30-point loss to Nova? Ugh. Double-digit win against Georgetown? I'm done trying to figure out this team." - kevin.pulsifer

"I like how Kadeem Batts has stepped it up recently. What scares me is that they are in the bottom 50 in the country in FG%. Not even an 80% FT% can save that." - rsaccoma2016

"I'm still high on this team and like their chances moving forward. Despite a number of injuries and eligibility issues, they compete in every game. With not one bad loss on their resume. I could see them finishing as high as fourth by season's end." - novanation63

"I feel really bad for them, they had so much promise, but now their season is a disaster." - MikeReilly

7. Butler - 10-7

"Holy unfortunate losses Batman, Butler is 0-4 in conference play!" - jeremy.menninger

"0-4 looks pretty horrible at first glance, but three overtime games definitely means that they are ready to play in a death-match brawl conference where anyone can win. Anyone know the record for most overtimes played in a season? Butler is at 6 right now." -kevin.pulsifer

"They've stayed so close in each game, but haven't won. Great sign of things to come, but I have yet to buy on them." - rsaccoma2016

"I hate to drop them this far, especially considering three of their four conference losses have been in overtime, but at some point you have to start producing some W's. The Bulldogs tournament hopes are suddenly in danger." - novanation63

"How is this team 0-4?" - MikeReilly

8. St. John's - 9-7

"You don't rank in the top 100 in any stat. Not expecting much this year." - rsaccoma2016

"Didn't play a single true road game until Xavier and Georgetown, so I can understand their struggles. But a team with this much talent cannot be this bad. Somehow it happened." - kevin.pulsifer

"They can definitely play, they just don't finish games." - jeremy.menninger

"The Johnnies endured a brutal opening stretch of conference play. Now let's find out if their play on the court can be as entertaining as their names. I'm looking at you Sir'Dominic and God'sgift..." - novanation63

"All of these so called experts keep saying that St. Johns is the "most talented," but that team we played on Saturday has no chemistry at all and their talent is really not showing." - MikeReilly

9. DePaul - 10-8

"Will they be the first conference team to sink below .500? Tune in this week to find out!" - jeremy.menninger

"Remember when I called the Big East a "death-match brawl conference where anyone can win"? That goes for DePaul too." -kevin.pulsifer

"Congrats on the win! We're so proud of you!" - rsaccoma2016

"Don't sleep on these guys come Saturday. Billy Garrett Jr. is the type of guard we struggle against and Cleveland Melvin is an absolute animal." - novanation63

"Congrats on that crazy win at Butler, you have moved up out of the basement." - MikeReilly

10. Seton Hall - 10-7

"They're 81st in the nation in points per game. That doesn't change the fact that there are 7th row seats behind the hoop going for only $21 on StubHub." - kevin.pulsifer

"If they're healthy, they'll be really effective. I've said that for 5 weeks straight now." -rsaccoma2016

" CAPS LOCK CAN'T EXPRESS HOW BAD I THINK THEY ARE." - jeremy.menninger

"Ohhhhhh nooooooo.......is it too early to start looking forward to next year's recruiting class?" - novanation63

"Isaiah Whitehead can't come fast enough for the Pirates." - MikeReilly

Would you have ranked the teams differently? And who will win the pick'em contest?