Big East Power Rankings: Our ugly midriff

I came to a realization last night (yes, while drinking a beer), that the Big East is like that slightly out of shape guy with the beer belly. Handsome face and well toned upper body (Creighton, Villanova) and a decent pair of legs that you can rely on (Butler, DePaul). But that midriff? Holy crap. What the hell is going on in there?

That's our conference this year. A whole bunch of teams that felt pretty good going down when we started but have morphed into this indiscernible hot mess that nobody can get a good read on. Sort of like the beer belly. Some women like it on a guy, but then they catch a glimpse of him with his buddies ripping off his shirt and chugging a beer in the parking lot before a Villanova game.

Like I said, a hot mess.

Meanwhile, the evil empire that is Ryan Saccoman extended his lead last week...via a Seton Hall pick. For real, is there no justice in this world? This is a call to arms to step your game up, fellow VU Hoops writers!

Here are the pick'em standings:

This week, we're picking...

• Xavier @ St. John's
• Seton Hall @ DePaul
• Georgetown @ Marquette
• Creighton @ Xavier
• Marquette @ Villanova
• Other than Fuquan Edwin & Brandon Young - who will be the highest scorer in the DePaul-Seton Hall heavyweight clash?

Staff Picks

And now, on to the rankings (records through 2/25)...

1. Creighton Bluejays (23-4, 13-2), 7 First-Place Votes

• Head to head, Creighton is better. Against other teams and in the tournament, Villanova is better. - jeremy.menninger
• Almost lost the top spot FOREVER by missing 4 straight clutch free throws and barely beating Seton Hall. - kevin.pulsifer
• Very eager to take them down in MSG. - Chris Lane
• We may have lost to you twice, but at least we comfortably put away Seton Hall at home. - rsaccoma2016

2. Villanova Wildcats (24-3, 12-2)

• If we win the Big East we're a 2 seed. Creighton would get bumped to a 3 barring any bizarre losses. - jeremy.menninger
• Pleased with the overall resiliency of this team. That being said, Saturday was really sloppy. - kevin.pulsifer
• Tough end to the schedule here, in which we're playing for a Big East title (need help) and seeding. Interested to see how this squad holds up. - Chris Lane
• We should move to the Missouri Valley Conference to restore order to the universe. - rsaccoma2016

3. St. John's Red Storm (18-10, 8-7)

• Soo close to win 7 they could taste it. - jeremy.menninger
• Their only losses in the last ten games are on the road to top 10 teams by 3 points each. 98% of teams would likely lose both. - kevin.pulsifer
• Jon Rothstein may have been on to something. They're scary-good when firing all on cylinders. - Chris Lane
• So proud of you acting on your full potential! - rsaccoma2016

4. Xavier Musketeers (18-9, 8-6)

• Are they ever on Fox Sports 1? I've seen them play maybe once. - jeremy.menninger
• One year too early. Hopefully nobody bolts early because they've got a lot of talent coming in. - Chris Lane
• Final four games are against Nova, Creighton, St. John's, and Seton Hall. 2 of 4 is the minimum for survival on the bubble. Win either of the Nova or Creighton games and they should be a lock. - kevin.pulsifer
• Remember when we were so high on this team because their only losses were in the Bahamas? They have more losses in February than the first 2 months of the season. Talk about a collapse. - rsaccoma2016

4. Georgetown Hoyas (16-11, 7-8)

• Has anyone else noticed how much Markel Starks and Tiger Woods look alike? - jeremy.menninger
• How you get 4th after losing to Seton Hall, I have no idea. But the win over the Musketeers kept them in the hunt. Kinda. - kevin.pulsifer
• Could they get into the NCAA Tournament with the losing record in the Big East? - Chris Lane
• You may have beaten Michigan State, but that's MORE than cancelled out by that loss to Northeastern (yeah I didn't forget that) and to Seton Hall TWICE. - rsaccoma2016

6. Providence Friars (18-10, 8-7)

• I love Dunkin Donuts? - jeremy.menninger
• Took Nova to double OT, gotta earn some respect for that. But they're running out of time as well. Only permissible loss at this point the rest of the way is Creighton. - kevin.pulsifer
• Not going to miss Bryce Cotton one bit. - Chris Lane
• In their first game of the season, they needed OT to overtake Boston College. We should've known from then that BC was a force to be reckoned with. - rsaccoma2016

7. Marquette Golden Eagles (16-11, 8-6)

• Even Buzz Lightyear couldn't get this team into the tournament. - jeremy.menninger
• You took DePaul to overtime. You took DePAUL to overtime. You took DEPAUL to overtime. They had a chance to WIN in overtime. GO HOME. - kevin.pulsifer
• As John Calipari knows, sometimes a ton of freshmen talent doesn't work out. - Chris Lane
• If you add Creighton's ranking and Villanova's ranking, you get your preseason ranking. Now, look at you. - rsaccoma2016

8. Seton Hall Pirates (14-13, 5-9)

• Might go .500 on the season! Woo! - jeremy.menninger
• Imagine the parity this league would have displayed if Seton Hall, St. John's, and Providence had all knocked off the top team. With DePaul and Butler on the horizon, they're priming themselves for a solid NIT run. - kevin.pulsifer
• WHO ARE YOU GUYS?! - Chris Lane
• Almost had that Creighton victory. That would be the BC-Syracuse of the Big East. Except probably more of an upset. - rsaccoma2016

9. Butler Bulldogs (12-15, 2-13)

• I put them at 10 so that they could hit rock bottom and start rebuilding. - jeremy.menninger
• Lost twice, looked pathetic. Really don't want them to spoil anyone else's chances. - kevin.pulsifer
• Unfortunately that recruiting class doesn't look like it is going to bring many (immediate) reinforcements. - Chris Lane
• Has anyone tried those new Oreos flavors? - rsaccoma2016

10. DePaul Blue Demons (10-18, 2-13)