College basketball week 6: 5 biggest takeaways

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Dec 17, 2016; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Butler Bulldogs forward Kelan Martin (30) celebrates the win over Indiana Hoosiers at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Butler beat Indiana 83-78. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports /

3. Debating who’s the second best team in the Big East

Big East basketball is back! Or so it would seem. After several years of seemingly lagging behind the ACC and the Big 12, the new Big East appears ready to compete on a national stage. That, of course, is a bit of an exaggeration given that the league’s best team, the Villanova Wildcats, won the NCAA Tournament last season, but the conference appears to be much deeper in 2016-17.

The biggest question that remains is which team is the league’s second best behind Villanova? Three schools — all ranked in KenPom’s Top 25 — have an argument.

Entering the season, the mostly likely answer was the Xavier Musketeers. After struggling to start the year, though, it’s not clear just how good the Musketeers are. Sure, Xavier’s two losses — on the road at Baylor and at Colorado — are excusable, but its performances on neutral courts against Missouri and Clemson and at home against Wake Forest are more concerning. Sophomore point guard Edmond Sumner will need to take a leap in conference play for the Musketeers to compete for a Big East title.

The team with the best resume to date is the Butler Bulldogs. After picking up wins over Arizona and Cincinnati earlier in the season, Butler knocked off Indiana at a neutral site on Saturday. Kelan Martin has led the way for the team, averaging 18.6 points and 4.3 rebounds per contest, as the Bulldogs have succeeded by playing with a methodical but efficient offense that doesn’t turn the ball over. That may be enough to do battle against the league’s best.

The most untested, but perhaps most intriguing option is the Creighton Bluejays. Although the team has a home win over Wisconsin, the Bluejays have played against the 218th best non-conference schedule in the country, according to KenPom.

Creighton has one of the nation’s most dynamic backcourts now that junior Marcus Foster appears to have found his form after transferring from Kansas State. If Foster and teammate Mo Watson can continue to operate at a high level, they’re my pick to finish second in the league.