Power ratings January 1

[notkirkcameron]

Villanova
Creighton
Xavier
Georgetown
Butler
Marquette
St. John's
Providence
Seton Hall
DePaul

I may have my blue-and-gold colored glasses on here but I have to believe Buzz turns this one around.
Yes, Marquette has A LOT of losses, and I'm mentally preparing myself for seeing MU possibly miss the tournament for the first time since I was a junior in downtown Milwaukee, but consider the following:

1.) Until New Mexico dropped out of the RPI Top 50 (to 56) this week, the only team who had played more Top 50 teams than Marquette was Kansas.
2.) Marquette is one of only two Big East teams with a win against a RPI Top 25 team (George Washington). Villanova is the other, with two.
3.) Creighton was the road venue I was least looking forward to, and it's already in the rear-view mirror with 17 conference games to play. Marquette's game with Villanova is at Wells Fargo, and not the house of horrors the Pavilion has become to Warriors fans the last few years. Buzz Williams has won on the road at least once in every other Catholic 7 gym, and has beaten Xavier and Butler in the tournament in recent years.

Make no mistake, the next four games (DePaul at home, at Xavier, Seton Hall at home, at Butler) are critical. If MU can go 3-1 or 4-0 in those games, it will set up a mettle-testing January 20th game at Georgetown.

[XUFan09]

1. Villanova
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2. Creighton
3. Xavier
4. Georgetown
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5. Butler
6. Marquette
7. St. John's
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8. Providence
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9. Seton Hall
10. DePaul

This is how I think the standings will finish, with the potential for ties between teams in the same tier.