The Holy Land of Hoops

Big East

4. Villanova Wildcats
Jay Wright has very good guards (again), and a developing big man in Daniel Ochefu, one of the top ten offensive rebounders in the country.
8. Xavier Musketeers
The Bilastrator sees this Xavier team as the best under Chris Mack, and he has had some darn good teams. Jalen Reynolds is a load for any interior defender, Trevon Bluiett is the top scorer and Edmond Sumner is a special player.
26. Butler Bulldogs
The Bulldogs are solid on offense, with terrific shooting and offensive rebounding, but still trying to figure out the defensive end. Butler has always been a physical defensive team, and will have to defend a bit differently going forward. But, this is still an NCAA tournament team. Chris Holtmann does a great job.
29. Providence Friars
Kris Dunn is the best point guard in the country. He is long, athletic and impacts the game at both ends. Providence has more than just Dunn, but Dunn is spectacular. Rodney Bullock and Ben Bentil can both put up numbers and are a terrific supporting cast.
34. Georgetown Hoyas
The Hoyas are solid, and have played a great schedule early. Isaac Copeland is maturing into a star. The Hoyas have to rebound better to be among the top 25.
58. Creighton Bluejays
Solid on the offensive end, low turnovers and efficient getting good shots, the Bluejays can score. But defense is lacking. A 20-point loss to Indiana was the only game played against a top 100 team, let alone a Bilas Index team.

30. Dayton Flyers
Even without Dyshawn Pierre, Dayton has a good team. The Flyers are very solid defensively but need to be more sure-handed with the ball. Too many turnovers. Losing to Xavier is not a bad loss. Xavier is really, really good.
33. Davidson Wildcats
Dayton might be the best team in the Atlantic 10, but Davidson will have something to say on that topic. Jack Gibbs is an underrated star in college basketball, and one of the best guards in the country.
43. George Washington Colonials
The Colonials are solid in every department, and can hang with almost anyone. While this is not a great perimeter shooting team, Tyler Cavanaugh and Patricio Garino are upperclass studs, and GW executes really well on offense.
44. VCU Rams
The Rams can shoot it, and are very good defensively. VCU still gets steals and causes problems for opponents, and Melvin Johnson is one of the nation's best shooters. Losses to only Duke and Wisconsin.
54. Richmond Spiders
The Spiders have beaten Wake Forest and Cal, and have lost to West Virginia and James Madison. Terry Allen gets to the line and is very efficient inside the arc, and T.J. Cline does a great job of stretching the floor and drawing big guys out of the lane.
64. Rhode Island Rams
With E.C. Matthews healthy, the Rams would be higher in The Bilas Index and here to stay. But he's out for the season. While the defense is solid, Rhody does not score easily. This team fights you.

17. Cincinnati Bearcats
The Bearcats still defend and rebound, and the Fighting Mick Cronins have wins over Nebraska and George Washington. With games against Xavier, Iowa State and VCU before Christmas, Cincinnati can prove its worth in The Bilas Index.
22. Connecticut Huskies
The Huskies have excellent guards and shot-blocking in the paint. But ... offensive execution in half-court situations has to improve. The best teams will limit UConn in transition. Sterling Gibbs and Shonn Miller, two fifth-year transfers, have made a big difference.
22. SMU Mustangs
The Bilastrator could give in to the policies of the NCAA and treat SMU like its games didn't matter. But, the Mustangs do matter. SMU has older players and very good talent. This would be an NCAA Tournament team, absent the sanctions. SMU will be in The Bilas Index for the remainder of the season.
61. Tulsa Golden Hurricane
Tulsa is solid, puts pressure on defenses and gets to the foul line. An early win over Wichita State was impressive, but then suffered two losses to South Carolina and Arkansas-Little Rock.

marquette wrote:Butler being rated below the team they just beat, on their home court no less, is a little funny.

I would also tend to give us the nod over Creighton at this point based on our one common opponent, which we beat on a neutral court and they lost to at home. That said, both margins were razor thin so I don't know how reliable that is at the moment. Also, as a counter-argument to myself, Belmont beat us but lost to common opponent Arizona State by 9. Probably still too early to rank anybody with any amount of accuracy.

SMU should be automatically excluded from any rankings due to their post-season ban.

NJRedman wrote:

marquette wrote:Butler being rated below the team they just beat, on their home court no less, is a little funny.

I would also tend to give us the nod over Creighton at this point based on our one common opponent, which we beat on a neutral court and they lost to at home. That said, both margins were razor thin so I don't know how reliable that is at the moment. Also, as a counter-argument to myself, Belmont beat us but lost to common opponent Arizona State by 9. Probably still too early to rank anybody with any amount of accuracy.

SMU should be automatically excluded from any rankings due to their post-season ban.

I would assume this list was put together and written up before last nights game.

marquette wrote:

NJRedman wrote:

marquette wrote:Butler being rated below the team they just beat, on their home court no less, is a little funny.

I would also tend to give us the nod over Creighton at this point based on our one common opponent, which we beat on a neutral court and they lost to at home. That said, both margins were razor thin so I don't know how reliable that is at the moment. Also, as a counter-argument to myself, Belmont beat us but lost to common opponent Arizona State by 9. Probably still too early to rank anybody with any amount of accuracy.

SMU should be automatically excluded from any rankings due to their post-season ban.

I would assume this list was put together and written up before last nights game.

That would make sense, but in checking back it looks like it was posted 2 hours ago.