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MEDIA DAY PRESEASON POLL

1. Seton Hall
2. Villanova
3. Xavier
4. Marquette (tied 4th)
5. Providence (tied 4th)
6. Georgetown
7. Creighton
8. Butler
9. St. John’s
10. DePaul

BIG EAST PRESEASON PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Myles Powell – Seton Hall, SR G

BIG EAST PRESEASON FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR: Jeremiah Robinson-Earl – Villanova, FR G

MEDIA DAY PRESEASON ALL-BIG EAST 1ST TEAM

Kamar Baldwin – Butler, SR G
Ty-Shon Alexander – Creighton, JR G
Markus Howard – Marquette, SR G
Alpha Diallo – Providence, SR G
Naji Marshall – Xavier, JR F

MEDIA DAY PRESEASON ALL-BIG EAST 2ND TEAM

Paul Reed – DePaul, JR F
James Akinjo – Georgetown, SO G
L.J. Figueroa – St. John’s, JR G/F
Collin Gillespie – Villanova, JR G
Jermaine Samuels – Villanova, JR F

MEDIA DAY HONORABLE MENTIONS

Omer Yurtseven – Georgetown, JR C
Paul Scruggs – Xavier, JR G

NOTES FROM DAVID.  The Big East had a bit of a down year last year.  They only sent four teams to the NCAA Tournament instead of sending half of the league or more like they normally do.  Villanova also had a bit of a down year.  They only won 26 games.  While it’s underwhelming that the Big East only got one team past the Round of 64, it’s a good-kind-of-down-year when you still get 40 percent of your league into the NCAAs.  It should be back to its normal strength this year.

Villanova did lose a big player in Phil Booth, but three other starters are back along with a strong recruiting class.  If I had to guess, I’d say Nova is back in the top-10 like we are used to seeing by the end of the year.  This is a team with a recent history of starting off with everyone expecting them to be good, and then ending up even better.

A lot of people love this Seton Hall team this year, and they are actually the preseason pick to win the league.  Most of the time I’m the one saying that Seton Hall isn’t getting enough love.  Four starters are back from a 20-win team a year ago that made the NCAA Tournament, but it’s how they played down the stretch that probably has people excited.  The Pirates won five straight before losing in the Big East Championship game by just 2 against Villanova, and then fell to Wofford in the NCAA Tournament in the Round of 64.  I don’t think I like them to win the league, but I definitely think they are a top-25 caliber team.  We will learn about them pretty quick as they have early season games against Michigan State, and a strong field in the Battle 4 Atlantis.

Xavier had a sluggish start to the season last year, but by the end of the year they were playing like an NCAA Tournament-caliber team.  The problem was that they hadn’t done enough before the end of the year for them to make it into the field, but with four starters returning I expect them to be very strong this year, and maybe even contend for a protected seed.

Marquette was interesting last year.  They finished in second place and were a #5 seed in the NCAA Tournament, but they kind of backed into it by losing six of their last seven to end the season last year.  Still, they have three starters back, and should once again get solid play out of their guards.  Don’t be surprised if we see them in the top-25 for most of the year, and they should safely make the NCAA Tournament.

I like this Georgetown team a little more than most people.  They managed a 9-9 record in conference last year, and had some pretty shining moments, most notably a big win at Marquette late in the year.  With four starters back and a really strong backcourt, the Hoyas could finally be dancing again this year.

Creighton is another team with four starters coming back, including Ty-Shon Alexander who is one of the better players in the conference, and seeing as how they won 20 games a year ago they have the pieces in place to have another big year this year.  They won six of their last eight games, so they finished the season with quite a bit of momentum built up.

Providence has all five starters back from a year ago, and while I think they’ll be improved this year, I’m not quite as sold on them as the teams that have already been mentioned.  Still, they should be good enough to make a run at the NCAA Tournament.

Butler is rebuilding from a rather unspectacular year.  Just one starter returns from a team that won just 16 games, which is the first time Butler had failed to win 20 or more in a while.

St. John’s had a rather tumultuous coaching search after Chris Mullin left, or was forced to leave, or whatever happened, despite the fact that the Johnnies actually did make the NCAA Tournament.  After being told no by several candidates, they ended up with Mike Anderson, who is an exceptionally good hire.  The guy has won everywhere he’s been, and he could get the Johnnies back on track.  Probably not this year, though.

DePaul won 7 conference games last year, which is more than what they typically win.  They have a mixture of solid returning players and some new additions, and while I don’t see them making the NCAA Tournament, they may be improving at least to the point of not being the doormat year after year after year.

COMMENTS FROM JOHN: In some respects, one reason that Villanova wasn’t picked to finish first this year is that this might be their least experienced team since the Big East 2.0 launched in 2013-14. The Puppet mentions the loss of Phil Booth, but I think they’ll miss Eric Paschall more – he was a stretch-5 who caused tons of match-up problems during his career at Villanova. While Javhon Quinerly didn’t live up to the hype as a 5-star freshman last season, Saddiq Bey and Cole Swider are just a couple of star sophs returning. Add that to a core of Jermaine Samuels, Dhamir Cosby-Roundtree and others and Nova should be just fine.

Seton Hall has a very experienced core of Powell, Quincy McKnight, Sandro Mamukelashvili and Myles Cale returning, and they now have Ike Obiagu eligible at center after transferring in from Florida State. The X-Men also have their own “core four” of Marshall, Scruggs, Quentin Goodin and Tyrique Jones to watch. Add in a national top-20 recruiting class along with graduate transfers Jason Carter (Ohio) and Bryce Moore (Western Michigan) and we should see the Musketeers return to the NCAAs after a brief 1-year absence.

Not only does Providence return all their starters, they also added Luwane Pipkins from UMass as a grad transfer as well. He won’t have to carry the team on his back like he did in the A-10, but suffice it to say that if he were to average 18 points a game with the Friars this year, the sky could be the limit for the Friars. Marquette and Creighton should also be in the mix for potential NCAA Tournament bids, but watch out for Georgetown if Patrick Ewing is able to get a quantum leap from sophomores Mac McClung, James Akinjo and Josh LeBlanc. They also have Omar Yurtseven eligible at center after transferring in from NC State – he will replace Jessie Govan after he graduated last season.

DePaul might actually finish above Butler and St. John’s this year – even after losing Max Strus and Femi Olujobi to graduation. They have a talented core of juniors in Paul Reed, Jaylen Butz and Devin Gage, senior Jalen Coleman-Lands and one of the highest incoming recruiting classes in the Big East that includes Romeo Weems and Carte’Are Gordon (Saint Louis transfer).