Villanova Tumbles Down Metrics After Creighton Loss

Villanova Men’s Basketball tumbled down the rankings after their 76-72 home loss to the Creighton Blue Jays on Wednesday, Jan. 7, falling 11 spots to No. 29 in the NET rankings and three spots to No. 25 in the KenPom ratings.

The NET places Creighton at No. 41, so this counts as a Quadrant 2 loss for the Wildcats (12-3, 3-1 Big East). Both of their previous losses fell in Quadrant 1. Villanova currently ranks as the No. 2 team in the Big East behind UConn (No. 8) and just ahead of preseason favorite St. John’s (No. 31).

As they have against their opponents all season, Creighton succeeded in taking the three-point line away for the Wildcats, holding Villanova to a 3-of-17 clip after a 3-of-7 start. The Blue Jays’ size also proved problematic, as they outrebounded the Wildcats 39-30.

Creighton got stronger as Villanova’s offense tapered off, and the Blue Jays made 18 of 27 shots in the second half, chipping away at the Wildcats’ lead before stamping out their hope of a comeback. Villanova landed as the first team out of the AP Poll published on Jan. 5: this gut-check loss, although a ‘quality’ one, could keep them out of the Top 25 for another week. The Wildcats will return to action at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 10 when they face hapless Marquette (6-10, 1-4 Big East).