Steve Hewitt’s college hoops Top 25: Providence finally gets its due with first ranking since 2016

Editor’s note: Herald sports reporter Steve Hewitt is a voter in the Associated Press college basketball Top 25 poll. Every week through the end of the season, he’ll write a column providing some analysis and thoughts from his poll.

It might have taken another week and another quality win, but Providence finally got what it deserved on Monday.

For the first time since February 2016, the Friars entered the Associated Press Top 25 with a shiny No. 22 next to their name. It was a bit overdue, in this voter’s eyes. It was last week when I was one of 14 AP voters to put Providence on a ballot. The Friars already had an impressive resume, with wins over Wisconsin and Texas Tech, and a lone loss to Virginia.

This week, though, there’s no defense to not ranking PC, even if seven voters somehow still aren’t quite convinced about the 11-1 Friars. Their heart-stopping victory over previously ranked UConn — in a tough road environment at Hartford’s XL Center — on Saturday cemented them as a slam dunk Top 25 team this week, and moved them up to No. 19 in my poll. PC now has four wins over Quad 1 teams this season, which is the most in the country.

A year after a disappointing 13-13 season, Ed Cooley’s group is legit this season. Led by Nate Watson, one of the best big men in the Big East, the experienced and balanced Friars won’t be going away anytime soon. A game against No. 15 Seton Hall next week is in jeopardy due to the Pirates’ COVID-19 pause, but they otherwise have a favorable stretch that includes games against Georgetown, DePaul and St. John’s in the next few weeks. Don’t keep sleeping on the Friars.

There wasn’t much other movement in this week’s Top 25, with multiple schools running into COVID issues. North Carolina was the only team to drop out of my poll after a 30-point loss to Kentucky, which re-entered my poll at No. 22. Villanova fell from No. 9 to No. 20 in my rankings after a convincing loss to unranked Creighton. Jay Wright’s Wildcats — with back-to-back 20-point losses — have a lot of work to do as the calendar turns to conference play.

Link to Associated Press Top 25 for Dec. 20, 2021

Steve Hewitt’s Top 25 ballot, Dec. 20, 2021

1. Baylor
2. Duke
3. UCLA
4. Gonzaga
5. Purdue
6. Arizona
7. Kansas
8. Ohio State
9. Iowa State
10. Alabama
11. Michigan State
12. Seton Hall
13. Southern Cal
14. Auburn
15. Houston
16. Texas
17. Tennessee
18. Xavier
19. Providence
20. Villanova
21. LSU
22. Kentucky
23. Wisconsin
24. Colorado State
25. UConn

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