Big East Power Rankings (Week 1)

Stephen Buszka

Men’s Power Rankings1) No. 5 Pittsburgh: 1-0 (0-0)Five players scored double figures in their first win this season.  Their leader, Aaron Gray, had a double-double, with 13 rebounds and 10 points.  However, 10 is not enough.2) No. 8 Georgetown: 1-0 (0-0)Roy Hibbert and Jeff Green put up 16 and 17 points respectively, but a combined 12 rebounds is less impressive.  Hartford is no powerhouse; those rebounding numbers need to improve.3) No. 20 Syracuse: 3-0 (0-0)3-0 is a great way to start the year. Eric Devendorf is filling the void left by McNamara by posting 16 points a game.  Terrence Roberts is also only a few points shy of averaging a double-double.4) No. 17 Marquette: 2-0 (0-0)Stephen Colbert would have these guys on notice after being forced into overtime by Idaho State.  On the plus side, Dominic James does not appear to be having a sophomore slump.5) Villanova: 1-0 (0-0)A 37-point victory is a great way to start the season, especially when nearly every player on the roster scores.  However, you don’t move up in the rankings for picking on the new team on the block.Women’s Power Rankings1) No. 8 Connecticut: 1-0 (0-0)Mel Thomas and Charde Houston both dropped 20 points or more on Richmond, who was left in the dust by halftime.  The Huskies shot 50 percent for the evening and 54 percent from 3-point range.2) Louisville: 3-0 (0-0)The 3-0 Cardinals have been trouncing opponents thus far this season.  Their smallest margin of victory is 24 points.  Their average margin of victory is 29.7 points per game.  Nice.3) No. 14 Rutgers: 0-1 (0-0)With Cappie Pondexter gone, four players scored in double digits for the Knights, but that wasn’t good enough against No. 9 Georgia. The team is still good, but did I mention Pondexter is gone?4) No. 23 DePaul: 0-1 (0-0)    DePaul got trounced by No. 3 Oklahoma by a score of 105-71.  Ouch.  The Blue Demons shot only 29 percent from the field in a nationally televised game.  Double ouch.5) USF: 1-0 (0-0)With one game down, the team is still perfect.  Their 85-59 win over Wisconsin-Milwaukee is the first step to an undefeated season that probably won’t happen.