BB: Big East Power Rankings (Week 3)

Stephen Buszka

Men’s1. No. 2 Pittsburgh: 9-0 (0-0)Aaron Gray has been great thus far averaging 18.5 points and 13.5 rebounds over the last two games.  The Panthers have two potentially easy wins before they travel to No. 12 Wisconsin and No. 24 Oklahoma State.2. No. 17 Marquette: 9-1 (0-0)Their first loss of the year against North Dakota State was enough to drop the Golden Eagles to the 17th spot.  This young team is good now but may be even better next year.3. No. 19 Connecticut: 8-0 (0-0)Due to the fact that the Huskies are still undefeated, they get the nod over Syracuse.  However, UConn has yet to get a quality win.  Only one of its opponents has a winning record.4. No. 21 Syracuse: 7-2 (0-0)Syracuse dropped its first game of the year to the Shockers.  The Orange only lost by three and probably could have won had Eric Devendorf scored more than six points.    5. Villanova: 7-1 (0-0)Out of the pack of one-win Big East teams, Villanova stands out for picking up two strong wins on the road against two teams that don’t go down easy when it’s time to defended their home court.Women1. No. 7 Connecticut: 6-0 (0-0)Yawn, the Huskies are 4-0 and have a Top-10 ranking in the AP Polls.  What else is new?  They keep winning, and the closest they’ve come to a loss is an 11-point victory over No. 10 Purdue.2. No. 17 Louisville: 8-0 (0-0)Louisville has displayed great defense this year, holding their opponents to the second-lowest field goal percentage in the conference.  Teams have also struggled with the three-ball against them, shooting just 22 percent.3. No. 18 DePaul: 5-1 (0-0)Last time DePaul played a ranked team (Oklahoma) they lost by 34.  Up next for the Blue Demons is No. 19 Rutgers.  While the Knights are 2-3, they are still a solid team and can easily beat DePaul.4. USF: 7-1 (0-0)The hope here is that the USF women keep rolling, because the men’s team isn’t getting anywhere near the top five.  Sure, they’re 4-0, but even the Snuggle bear envies how soft the men’s schedule has been.5. Pittsburgh: 8-0 (0-0)Rutgers clearly isn’t the same team without Cappie Pondexter, so Pittsburgh, thanks to an undefeated start and an appearance in the Top 25 in the Coaches Poll, leaps onto the “Power Rankings.”