Tasser: Pitt, Notre Dame top Big East power rankings

The Big East has an astounding seven top-15-ranked men’s basketball teams right now. Seven. No… The Big East has an astounding seven top-15-ranked men’s basketball teams right now. Seven. No other conference has even close to that many in the Top 25. Having that many highly ranked teams makes for some intriguing conference games — and there are some especially interesting matchups this week. On Saturday, Pitt travels across Pennsylvania to take on Villanova, and Syracuse visits Louisville. Georgetown is at Connecticut on Wednesday.

The Panthers will be without leading scorer Ashton Gibbs, but after watching them tear up West Virginia in the paint and witnessing ’Nova blow a second-half lead to Rutgers, I’m thinking Pitt will pick up a nice road victory.

Both Syracuse and Louisville are coming off losses to very good teams (Georgetown and Notre Dame, respectively). Syracuse didn’t play particularly well defensively against the Hoyas, but when Notre Dame switched to a 2-3 zone — which the Orange usually run very well — late in the game, Louisville got pounded in overtime. That spells trouble for the Cards against Syracuse’s zone. I’m calling the Orange in another road victory.

Georgetown has won seven straight, and UConn is still looking to really get back on track. The Hoyas have been playing spectacularly, and I do not see that changing. The Huskies’ one-man team won’t be able to keep up.

Other games this week include Notre Dame at South Florida on Friday, Marquette at Georgetown on Sunday, West Virginia at Syracuse on Monday and South Florida at Pitt and Louisville at Cincinnati on Wednesday.

Power Rankings

1. Pittsburgh – The Panthers were able to win the Backyard Brawl in Morgantown without Gibbs. In the contest, Pitt only attempted seven threes — making one — but out-rebounded the Mountaineers 40-28. Gibbs will be out for two weeks with his knee injury, but the Panthers have more than enough players who can step up offensively and make up for his absence.

2. Notre Dame – The Irish are the most experienced team in the league, and it shows. They scored the first 14 points in their entertaining overtime victory over Louisville and have won six in a row since losing to St. John’s last month. Their remaining schedule is relatively easy for a Big East team, with their next four games against unranked teams. They then close out the regular season against Villanova and UConn.

3. Georgetown – Like the Irish, Georgetown is on fire as of late. The Hoyas have won seven straight conference games since beginning conference play 1-4, knocking off Villanova, Louisville and Syracuse in that span. In their eight-point victory over the Orange on Wednesday, the Hoyas went on an 11-2 run starting with three minutes left to play to break a 55-55 tie.

4. Louisville – The loss to Notre Dame couldn’t have been closer. The Cards-Irish game saw eight lead changes and almost identical field-goal, 3-point and free throw percentages. The Cardinals just ran out of gas in OT, and the Fighting Irish didn’t let up. The Cards are currently tied for fourth in the conference with games against Syracuse, Connecticut and Pitt remaining.

5. Connecticut – The Huskies barely squeaked by Seton Hall after close losses to Syracuse and Louisville, and they play St. John’s tonight. This team has shown a lot of promise after starting the season outside the  Top 25, but the Huskies have yet to prove they can consistently back up Kemba Walker, which could hurt them come tournament time.

6. Villanova – Oh how the mighty have fallen. Just several weeks ago I was touting the Big East’s “Big Four,” of Pitt, ’Nova, UConn and ’Cuse, and now only Pitt remains at the top of my Power Rankings. The other three inhabit the bottom half. Since opening conference play 4-0, the Wildcats are 3-4 with bad losses to Providence and Rutgers.

7. Syracuse – The Orange seemed to have turned things around following their ugly four-game losing skid with victories over UConn and USF, but then they fell to Georgetown during the Hoyas’ winning streak. . This shouldn’t be held against them too much, but with their next two games against Louisville and WVU, another slide is not out of the question.

8. West Virginia – WVU remains at the top of the middle-of-the-pack Big East teams (including Cincinnati, Marquette and St. John’s) who are capable of beating very good teams but remain around .500 in conference play. The Mountaineers played tough against rival Pitt and, like the rest of their group, could pull some upsets at the end of the year.