The Big East, which had settled into a recognizable hierarchy through the first two weeks of these power rankings, has been thrown into (some) disarray by the season-ending injury to Mo Watson Jr. While it seemed there was some hope for ligament stability in the wake of the initial injury, he was eventually diagnosed with a torn ACL. Creighton’s hopes of a deep postseason run likely went with the guard’s knee — and their solid spot among the Big East’s Big 4 definitely went with it. While there’s not a ton of movement this week — there weren’t a ton of games played — there’s shakeup at the top. And, Marquette takes the torch from Creighton as the ‘we might not need defense’ Big East team with tournament dreams.
It’s Week 12 of the college basketball season — on to the third iteration of the rankings.
The Hoyas only played one game in the week since the last edition, losing to Xavier in the Cintas Center 86-75. After keeping it close for the first 34 minutes of the game, they fell apart in the last six minutes under a hail of turnovers and fouls, eventually losing by double-digits. They’ll get a chance at their second Big East win with a home game against a Creighton team still trying to sort out the pieces after Watson’s injury, but it’s tough to be optimistic about their chances.
Rodney Pryor is, at least, having an individual senior (redshirt junior) season to remember. The Robert Morris transfer has been Georgetown’s best offensive player this season, hitting 42.6 percent of his 3-pointers and nearly 60 percent of his 2-point shots. He’s ranked near the top of the country in most offensive efficiency, and has been a bright spot in an otherwise moribund season for the Hoyas.
DePaul at least scored a sort-of moral victory this week, taking a Butler team down to the wire in overtime before losing 70-69 at home. Any real residual positives were likely wiped away by the fact DePaul lost the game at the line — they went 14-for-24, missing 10 of their freebies. Butler ‘only’ missed 8. Sophomore Eli Cain played an excellent game, with 33 points on 21 shooting possessions — though his 57.1 percent mark at the free throw line was nearly outdone by his 54.5 percent on 3-pointers.
DePaul also gets a shot at depleted Creighton this week, though it’s on the road, before meeting up with Georgetown next Tuesday to decide who gets the 10th spot in next week’s power rankings.
There’s a lot on the line.