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Three straight losses in their first three Big East conference games have caused St. John's to drop from the top 25 rankings, as expected, for the first time in five weeks. After sitting at 24th overall in both the AP and USA Today Coaches Polls, the Red Storm dropped their only game last week against Villanova, and are now unranked in each poll.
Despite this, the Johnnies still did rank 32nd in the AP Poll with 10 votes, and 29th in the Coaches Poll with 25 votes. They could have a chance to move up in the polls this week when they take on Providence on Wednesday and DePaul on Sunday.
AP Top 25
| Rank | Team | Record | Pts | Last |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kentucky Wildcats (63) | 15-0 | 1623 | 1 |
| 2 | Virginia Cavaliers (2) | 15-0 | 1561 | 2 |
| 3 | Gonzaga Bulldogs | 17-1 | 1446 | 3 |
| 4 | Duke Blue Devils | 14-1 | 1432 | 4 |
| 5 | Villanova Wildcats | 15-1 | 1358 | 5 |
| 6 | Louisville Cardinals | 14-2 | 1264 | 6 |
| 7 | Wisconsin Badgers | 15-2 | 1200 | 7 |
| 8 | Utah Utes | 13-2 | 1185 | 8 |
| 9 | Kansas Jayhawks | 13-2 | 1100 | 9 |
| 10 | Arizona Wildcats | 14-2 | 1037 | 10 |
| 11 | Iowa State Cyclones | 12-2 | 922 | 11 |
| 12 | Notre Dame Fighting Irish | 15-2 | 903 | 12 |
| 13 | Wichita State Shockers | 14-2 | 832 | 13 |
| 14 | Maryland Terrapins | 15-2 | 801 | 14 |
| 15 | North Carolina Tar Heels | 13-4 | 719 | 15 |
| 16 | West Virginia Mountaineers | 14-2 | 627 | 16 |
| 17 | Virginia Commonwealth Rams | 13-3 | 578 | 17 |
| 18 | Oklahoma Sooners | 11-4 | 485 | 18 |
| 19 | Arkansas Razorbacks | 13-2 | 431 | 19 |
| 20 | Texas Longhorns | 12-4 | 345 | 20 |
| 21 | Seton Hall Pirates | 13-3 | 298 | 21 |
| 22 | Baylor Bears | 12-3 | 278 | 22 |
| 23 | Northern Iowa Panthers | 14-2 | 212 | 23 |
| 24 | Oklahoma State Cowboys | 12-3 | 132 | 24 |
| 25 | Wyoming Cowboys | 15-2 | 71 | 25 |
| Others receiving votes: Ohio St. 70, Michigan St. 67, Dayton 55, Providence 17, Indiana 15, LSU 12, St. John’s 10, Alabama 7, Georgetown 7, NC State 6, Green Bay 3, Syracuse 3, Butler 2, Oregon 2, San Diego St. 2, TCU 2, Colorado St. 1, Davidson 1, Hofstra 1, Old Dominion 1, SMU 1. | ||||
USA Today Coaches Poll
| RANK | TEAM | RECORD | POINTS | PREV |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kentucky (31) | 15-0 | 799 | 1 |
| 2 | Virginia (1) | 15-0 | 768 | 3 |
| 3 | Gonzaga | 16-1 | 713 | 7 |
| 4 | Duke | 14-1 | 698 | 2 |
| 5 | Villanova | 15-1 | 659 | 8 |
| 6 | Wisconsin | 15-2 | 604 | 4 |
| 7 | Louisville | 14-2 | 587 | 5 |
| 8 | Utah | 13-2 | 556 | 11 |
| 9 | Arizona | 14-2 | 548 | 6 |
| 10 | Kansas | 13-2 | 521 | 13 |
| 11 | Maryland | 15-2 | 455 | 9 |
| 12 | Notre Dame | 15-2 | 439 | 12 |
| 13 | Iowa St. | 12-2 | 418 | 16 |
| 14 | Wichita State | 14-2 | 390 | 15 |
| 15 | West Virginia | 14-2 | 330 | 14 |
| 16 | North Carolina | 12-4 | 328 | 17 |
| 17 | Virginia Commonwealth | 13-3 | 244 | 21 |
| 18 | Oklahoma | 11-4 | 202 | 18 |
| 19 | Arkansas | 13-2 | 196 | 25 |
| 20 | Texas | 12-4 | 184 | 10 |
| 21 | Seton Hall | 13-3 | 170 | 19 |
| 22 | Northern Iowa | 14-2 | 135 | 23 |
| 23 | Baylor | 12-3 | 116 | 22 |
| 24 | Oklahoma State | 12-3 | 51 | 30 |
| 25 | Ohio State | 13-4 | 47 | 20 |
| Others receiving votes: Michigan State 35; Wyoming 28; Indiana 25; St. John?s 25; Dayton 22; Colorado State 20; Georgetown 19; Providence 16; Old Dominion 10; Stanford 10; Alabama 8; San Diego State 6; LSU 5; Southern Methodist 4; Syracuse 4; North Carolina State 2; Rhode Island 1; Saint Mary?s 1; Mississippi 1. | ||||
Poll Movements in the Big East
Villanova remains the highest ranked team in the Big East this week, jumping up three spots in each poll to 8th overall after dominating wins over St. John's and DePaul over the past week. The Wildcats have entered the top five in the AP Poll for the first time this season after an impressive 15-1 start, and they exerted their will on a DePaul team on Saturday that had been previously unbeaten in the conference. This week sees Villanova face Xavier on Wednesday before taking on a fellow Philly Big 5 member in Penn on Saturday.
The only other Big East team to earn a top 25 ranking this week were the Seton Hall Pirates, who dropped two spots in each of the polls to fall to 21st overall today.
The Hall faced two tough road challenges this week, and after a road upset at the hands of Xavier on Wednesday, they rebounded nicely against Creighton on Saturday, where a late 3-pointer by possible Big East Player of the Year candidate Sterling Gibbs propelled them to a 68-67 victory. The schedule will not get any easier for the 13-3 Pirates this week when they face Butler on Tuesday night before eight days off.
Three Big East teams join St. John's in the "others receiving votes" category for this week, as Providence, Georgetown, and Butler all received some recognition in either one or both of the polls.
The Friars garnered 17 votes in the AP Poll and 16 in the Coaches after an undefeated week in which they scored impressive wins on the road at Butler and at home in overtime over Georgetown. Their 13-4 overall record and 3-1 start to Big East play has them looking like a possible threat in the conference again as they face St. John's at home and Creighton on the road this week.
Georgetown received 19 votes in the Coaches Poll but only seven in the AP after they split their games this week against Marquette and Providence. The Hoyas are now 10-5 overall and are off to a 2-2 start in the conference as they prepare for games against DePaul and Butler this week.
Speaking of Butler, the 12-5 Bulldogs split their pair of home games this week, first suffering a tough loss to Providence on Tuesday before rebounding with a nice win over Xavier on Saturday. This could be a very telling week for the Bulldogs when they'll travel on the road against Seton Hall and Georgetown.
Four Big East teams, Xavier, Marquette, Creighton, and DePaul, were not included in the polls this week. The only surprise from that may be the absence of Xavier, who defeated 19th-ranked Seton Hall on Wednesday. They've opened up 2-2 in the conference with a pair of wins and home and two losses on the road.
Creighton continued their struggles this season with two more losses this week, and they have now dropped five straight (four in the Big East) in what is looking like it could be a very long season for the Blue Jays.
And while Creighton has struggled to a 9-8 record this season, DePaul had been surging at 3-0 in the Big East before they got a major wake up call at the hands of Villanova in the form of an 81-64 loss on Saturday.
Weekly Awards Recap
Kris Dunn of Providence took home his first Big East Player of the Week award this season after averaging 20.5 points and 7.5 rebounds per game for the Friars this week. The sophomore guard led his team in scoring in their road upset of Butler on Tuesday, with a career-high 25 points, 20 of them coming in the second half.
Seton Hall's impressive big man Angel Delgado was named Big East Rookie of the Week for the second time this season. Delgado became the third straight Pirate to be given this honor in a category that they have predictably dominated so far this season.
D`Angelo Harrison was the lone St. John's representative in the awards this week, as he was named to the Big East Honor Roll along with Butler's Alex Barlow, Georgetown's Joshua Smith, Seton Hall's Sterling Gibbs, and Villanova's Darrun Hilliard.