Providence takes surprise beating, this week critical to stay ranked

Providence was going to lose again at some point, but maybe not like that.

After winning eight consecutive games — vaulting them to No. 14 in my Top 25 poll last week — the Friars — went to Wisconsin last Tuesday to face a hungry Marquette team and received a 32-point drubbing, the worst loss of the Ed Cooley era that began in 2011.

Starting guard A.J. Reeves was out — and will miss significant time with a finger injury — but that was no excuse for PC’s embarrassing performance. It was an inexcusable no-show, and somewhat of a red flag for a senior-laden squad that is much better than that display.

“I didn’t expect a veteran team, with the hostile environments we’ve played in, to perform that way,” Cooley said.

To their credit, the Friars responded Saturday with a victory over St. John’s, keeping them in the Top 25 this week — No. 22 in my poll, and No. 23 in the AP. As I wrote last week, I still think PC, with a 14-2 record, has a strong resume despite some questioning of a few of its wins. And I believe last week’s loss to Marquette is an anomaly.

But the Friars will have to earn it this week if they want to stay in the Top 25, with a road tilt at a tough Creighton team on Tuesday before returning home against UConn, who they beat in Storrs last month. One loss this week, and they’re likely out of the Top 25 come next Monday.

Baylor stayed at No. 1 for a fifth consecutive week, and the undefeated Bears seem to be in a class of their own right now. Twelve of last week’s Top 25 teams suffered a loss, including seven to unranked teams, causing plenty of movement. Auburn, which has won 11 in a row, was perhaps the biggest beneficiary, as the Tigers jumped to No. 4 this week.

Alabama dropped out of my poll but is confusingly still ranked at No. 24 in the AP poll despite an abysmal loss to Missouri, which entered with a 6-7 record. The Tide certainly have some good wins on their resume — including Gonzaga, Houston and Tennessee — but that’s balanced out by bad losses to Iona, Davidson and Missouri. They’re not a Top 25 team right now, in my opinion. Which means they’ll probably beat Auburn on Tuesday, obviously.

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.