BIG EAST Power Rankings: No respect for the winless

Miss us? We're back for the latest edition of the VU Hoops BIG EAST Power Rankings! Our first week of conference picks could not have gone any worse, with rsaccoma2016 going a perfect 5-0 with his picks, while I sit in last place. Although a slight consolation as he did not pick up the tiebreaker point.

Here are the current standings:

Contestant	Record	Tiebreak Points
rsaccoma2016	5-0	0
Brian Ewart	4-1	1
kevin.pulsifer	4-1	1
MikeReilly	4-1	1
novanation63	4-1	0
Ryan Irwin	3-2	1
Chris Lane	3-2	0

This week we will be selecting the following games, along with the higher point total - Doug McDermott vs. DePaul or Creighton's final margin of victory vs. DePaul.

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

Here are the picks:

Chris Lane: Georgetown, Xavier, Creighton, Butler, Villanova - MoV

MikeJ.: Georgetown, Xavier, Creighton, Butler, Villanova - McDermott

jeremy.menninger: Georgetown, Marquette, Creighton, Georgetown, Villanova - McDermott

Brian Ewart: Georgetown, Xavier, Creighton, Butler, Villanova - MoV

kevin.pulsifer: Georgetown, Xavier, Creighton, Butler, Villanova - McDermott

MikeReilly: Georgetown, Xavier, Creighton, Butler, Villanova - no pick

rsaccoma2016: Georgetown, Xavier, Creighton, Butler, Villanova - McDermott

Ryan Irwin: Georgetown, Xavier, Creighton, Butler, Villanova - MoV

novanation63: Georgetown, Xavier, Creighton, Butler, Villanova - McDermott

And now, here are your VUhoops Power Rankings:

1. Villanova (7) - 13-1

"Look at us go!" - jeremy.menninger

"The AP rankings are finally settling down. The top 9 are all undefeated or 1-loss teams. So with a slightly easier schedule than other power conferences, we should be able to keep climbing." - kevin.pulsifer

"I constantly point out their potential 3-point weakness, but against Providence they made sure I didn't bring it up again." - rsaccoma2016

2. Creighton - 12-2

"Finally! The Big East has two teams ranked at the same time this season! Albeit it's just in the Coaches poll. DePaul will provide little opposition, and the tilt with Xavier will carry lots of importance." - kevin.pulsifer

"We'll forget his name in a year but damn is Doug McDermott fun to watch for now." - jeremy.menninger

"I've noted some ways in order to stop McDermott, however no one seems to follow through with it." - rsaccoma2016

3. Xavier - 12-3

"Still undefeated on U.S. soil, with a few AP votes. If they can win both of their games this weekend, they'll jump to #2 for sure." - kevin.pulsifer

" I guess, the Musketeers decided that they were done losing on December 1st. They’re starting to pick up some good wins, and they don’t lose at home. I guess we can’t call them a "Classic Trap Game," unless they go do something silly, like lose at DePaul..." - Brian Ewart

"Stop Stainbrook, and you stop Xavier. He's like their McDermott. I'm sure he never thought he would be compared to McDermott in any way!" - rsaccoma2016

"Can't argue with 7 wins in a row, plus a win over a Butler team we struggled against." - jeremy.menninger

4. Georgetown - 10-3

"That DePaul game was awfully close..." - jeremy.menninger

"I think I've been a little tough on the Hoyas, but this next week they can prove it to me by winning at Hinkle." - kevin.pulsifer

"They played DePaul and St. John's. Calm down, Casual Hoya." - rsaccoma2016

5. Butler - 10-4

"Welcome to the Big East, where you can play two impressive games and lose." - jeremy.menninger

"Not ready to drop them too far just yet, as they nearly beat Villanova and were competitive with Xavier on the road. This conference is more Big East than the old Big East was. Just missing 1-2 quality wins." -kevin.pulsifer

"TTwice they had opportunities to win games after fighting back and they failed both times. That means more than staying close at all, in my book." - rsaccoma2016

"The Bulldogs took Villanova to overtime (and looked like they were going to claw back to win more than once), but then lost on the short road trip to Xavier. Come on, newbies, you’re supposed to make us all look good!" - Brian Ewart

6. Marquette - 9-6

"They're showing the talent we know they had now that the strength of schedule as decreased tremendously." - rsaccoma2016

"It took a 28 point effort by Garder for them to skate by DePaul. Embarrassing, but props to the big load." - jeremy.menninger

"Hard to keep them ranked so low with four teams winless in-conference, but they still have yet to show me anything." - kevin.pulsifer

7. St. John's - 9-5

"A lot of players taking the ball in their own hands, and having the talent but not winning games. You play in the Garden, but don't try to copy the Knicks!" - rsaccoma2016

"I'm rooting for them to turn it around. Just don't do it until after Saturday. I'm thirsty for another 30-point win." - kevin.pulsifer

"Barely beat Columbia then lost to X and Georgetown. I'm selling." - jeremy.menninger

8. Seton Hall - 10-5

"After this week's battle with the Wildcats, they go on the road against Marquette, Georgetown and St. John's. Their toughest stretch of the season could easily send them back to the depths of DePaul status." - kevin.pulsifer

"How are the Pirates creeping up on my ballot? I still don’t think they’ve been very good this year, but they are 1-1 in the conference, so who am I to judge really?" - Brian Ewart

"Without Fuquan Edwin, they lose to St. Peter's and Fairleigh Dickinson. With him, they defeat Providence in double OT on the road. He's the difference between -3,000,000 and +1,000,000." -rsaccoma2016

"Did I put them at 9 or 10? I don't know." - jeremy.menninger

9. Providence- 10-5

"This is what Providence does, they play horribly when you think they're a good team, and they beat you when they're supposed to be a bad team. I give up on figuring them out." - jeremy.menninger

" Injuries and suspensions are finally catching up to this team. Also, they were so close to giving me a perfect 5-0 pick'em with the tiebreaker last week (Bryce Cotton). Second-leading scorer Tyler Harris missed a dunk on Sunday, so there's that too." - kevin.pulsifer

"Basically the two Butler losses but on steroids." - rsaccoma2016

"Remember when I voted Providence in my top-3? For my ego’s sake, lets all try to forget that incident.." - Brian Ewart

10. DePaul - 8-7

"Why are we friends with them?" - jeremy.menninger

"Four straight road games can demoralize the team. Maybe they can right the ship at home against Creig-HAHAHAHAA i'm just kidding. Enjoy the cellar, Demons." -kevin.pulsifer

"How's the weather down there?" - rsaccoma2016

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