Villanova Knocking On Door of AP Poll?

While five Big East teams received at least one vote in the latest Associated Press Top 25 Poll, released on Monday, Jan. 6, the Villanova Wildcats were not among them. Marquette and UConn both made the final cut, ranked No. 7 and No. 9, respectively, while votes for St. John’s accumulated a total of 27 points, the sixth team out of the top 25. Georgetown and Xavier bring up the rear with one point apiece.

Villanova (10-5, 3-1 Big East) currently holds the No. 50 spot in the NET Rankings, while the KenPom Ratings favor the Wildcats more, slotting them in at No. 37. As such, it’s not particularly surprising that they didn’t garner any votes in this week’s poll, even with their 8-2 record in the past 10 games in mind.

Odd Man In?

What is surprising, however, is the inclusion of Xavier, whose 9-6 record (1-3 Big East) ranks worse than the Wildcats, as do their NET (No. 62) and KenPom (No. 55) rankings. Arguing in favor of the Musketeers, each of their six losses came in a Quad 1 matchup… but always winding up a bridesmaid in the big games typically doesn’t do much to cement an NCAA Tournament bid, much less a spot in the vaunted AP Poll.

Georgetown, meanwhile, sits at 12-2, but skeptics might say they haven’t played anyone yet, with just one Quad 1 matchup (a loss to West Virginia) and eight of their wins coming against Quad 4 teams. Despite a much better record and a head-to-head win, the Hoyas’ NET (No. 73) and KenPom (No. 64) rankings actually occupy worse spots than Xavier’s.

All this is to say that if the teams immediately around Villanova in the Big East standings — Georgetown and St. John’s hold third and fourth places, respectively, the Wildcats take the No. 5 spot, and Xavier slots in just behind them at No. 7 — continued success will see them start to creep into the minds of voters… even if they’re a good deal away from a Top 25 ranking at the moment.