Myles Powell and the Seton Hall basketball team returned to the AP Top 25 poll on Monday ahead of a massive Big East showdown on Wednesday with No. 5 Butler at Hinkle Fieldhouse.

Winners of six straight, the Pirates (12-4, 4-0 Big East) are now ranked No. 18 in the poll, their first appearance since dropping out in mid-December following a 20-point beatdown by Rutgers at the RAC.

Seton Hall began the season at No. 12 in the poll after being selected as the favorite to win the Big East regular-season title.

Seton Hall and Butler (15-1, 3-0) are the only unbeaten teams in Big East play and after Wednesday only one of them will remain so.

“Yeah, it’s big,” Powell said after scoring 23 points Saturday in his team’s win over Marquette at Prudential Center. “This is what you come to this conference for. This is what you want to play high-level basketball for. They’ll probably be top-5 once we go there and we get another chance at beating a top-5 team.”

Riding a 6-game winning streak, @SetonHallMBB

is back into the poll at No. 18 and visits No. 5 @ButlerMBB

Wednesday at Hinkle. https://t.co/3rlj3arrSl https://t.co/0AZM3uFLaH — Adam Zagoria (@AdamZagoria) January 13, 2020

Seton Hall lost to then-No. 3 Michigan State on Nov. 14, 76-73, despite Powell scoring 37 points on a gimpy ankle.

The Pirates then blew a 19-point lead to then-No. 11 Oregon on Nov. 28 in the Bahamas.

Their matchup with Butler marks an opportunity for Seton Hall’s second win over a Top-10 opponent after they beat then-No. 7 Maryland on Dec. 19 while both Powell (concussion) and Sandro Mamukelashvili (fractured wrist) were out.

“We slipped up with Oregon and Michigan State, but I feel like my team learned a lot from that,” Powell said. “We’re battle-tested so we have a lot of confidence in going on the road with this team and playing against a very good and [well-]coached Butler team.”

In Joe Lunardi’s latest bracketology on ESPN.com, Butler is a No. 1 seed along with Gonzaga, Duke and Kansas.

Seton Hall is currently a 5-seed and would open in Albany in the West Region. (Rutgers is a 9 seed in the West.)

Butler is also ranked No. 2 in the latest NET rankings behind Baylor with Seton Hall at No. 19.

“This is a big one just because...now you’re going to have Kamar Baldwin and Myles Powell go at it in one of the best places in college basketball,” Pirates coach Kevin Willard said. “They’re really good.

“[Coach] LaVall Jordan has done as good a job as anyone in all of college basketball. I mean, he’s got his kids playing great.”

POWELL NAMED BIG EAST PLAYER OF THE WEEK AGAIN

Powell has been named Big East Player of the Week for the second week in a row after he helped power Seton Hall to a 2-0 week by averaging 23.5 points, 8.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 2.0 steals. He started the week with a game-high 24 points, nine rebounds and four assists in an 83-71 win at Xavier. In a 69-55 victory against Marquette, Powell recorded a team-high 23 points, seven rebounds and three steals. Powell, who ranks second in the Big East in scoring with a 21.5 average, takes Player of the Week honors for the third time this season.

This a TEAM AWARD!!!!! Only reason I won player of the week is because we are winning 💙🙏🏾 Every game we had someone different step up that wasn’t me lol Team Of The WEEK @SetonHallMBB 💫💫💫 https://t.co/582Jr5ef8U — Myles Powell (@Myles_MBP_23) January 13, 2020

MAMU ON TRACK TO RETURN IN COMING WEEKS

After NJ Advance Media reported last week that Mamukelashvili had the cast and pins removed from his fractured right (non-shooting) wrist, Willard provided an additional update on his junior forward.

“He’s out for at least another couple weeks, until at least February,” Willard said, adding Mamukelashvili was due for a bone scan Sunday and an MRI read on Tuesday.

“I’ll know more by Wednesday. We’ll have a definitive timeline on Wednesday. I will not say ‘doubtful’ and I will make sure you have a definitive timeline on when Sandro is coming back.”

Willard previously called Powell “doubtful” for the DePaul game after his concussion and the senior then started and scored 27 points in a win. The coach also said Powell faced a “prolonged absence” with an ankle injury in November, and Powell started the next game against Michigan State and scored 37 points.

Adam Zagoria is a freelance reporter who covers Seton Hall and NJ college basketball for NJ Advance Media.