Just a month ago, the sky was falling on Villanova as the Wildcats dropped their third straight game and fell to 6-4 with an overtime loss at Kansas State. On the heels of a disastrous 0-3 showing against fellow Philadelphia schools Penn, Saint Joseph’s and Drexel in the Big 5 Classic, ‘Nova looked destined for disappointment.
All the Wildcats have done since then is win four straight games and emerge as the last unbeaten team in Big East play. Villanova’s 66-65 win over Xavier on Wednesday night required a last-second defensive stand after a couple of rare missed free throws, but it carried it to 3-0 in league play.
After starting 2-5 in the Big East last season during coach Kyle Neptune’s debut campaign, Villanova should be 5-0 when it heads to Marquette on Jan. 15. This team’s résumé is pure chaos, but its potential is clear. With wins over the likes of North Carolina, Memphis and Creighton — all away from home — the Wildcats have a Final Four-type of ceiling.
Their struggles within Philly also suggest a floor is somewhere outside the NCAA Tournament field. But with a young coach in Neptune finding his footing and a rotation using four transfers, this club was never going to be a finished product in the season’s first month. Now two months into the season, the Wildcats are rounding into form and learning how to win close games. As a result, college basketball’s ultimate chaos team deserves some recognition.
With that, here are the latest CBS Sports power rankings.
College basketball power rankings
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