With the end of the off-season and Big East Media Day comes the preseason Coaches' Poll, and Villanova has got to hope that the conference's coaches got it right again as they did last off-season.
The Wildcats were a unanimous pick to win the Big East regular season title, receiving all nine of the possible first-place votes for a total of 81 points. Coaches are not allowed to pick their own teams, and so Jay Wright of Nova had to give his vote to Georgetown.
Villanova's 33-3 mark last season -- 16-2 in the Big East -- made for one of their most successful seasons ever and aided them in winning the conference tournament.
Slots two-through-five also featured teams that made the NCAA tournament last season, with Georgetown coming in second followed by Butler, Xavier, and Providence. Marquette was a close sixth, right behind Providence with 44 points.
St. John's got the insult of the tenth and bottom ranking, but Creighton, the formerly-ranked team of Doug McDermott, was only ten points above them at number nine. Seton Hall and DePaul were ranked seventh and eighth respectively.
| # | Team (First-place votes) | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Villanova (9) | 81 |
| 2 | Georgetown (1) | 70 |
| 3 | Butler | 67 |
| 4 | Xavier | 55 |
| 5 | Providence | 45 |
| 6 | Marquette | 44 |
| 7 | Seton Hall | 27 |
| 8 | DePaul | 25 |
| 9 | Creighton | 23 |
| 10 | St. John's | 13 |
In addition to the Coaches' Poll, preseason awards were announced along with the All-Conference teams.
| Honor | Player | Class | School |
|---|---|---|---|
| Player of the Year | G Kris Dunn | Junior | Providence |
| Rookie of the Year | G Jalen Brunson | Freshman | Villanova |
| First Team | G Kellen Dunham | Senior | Butler |
| First Team | F Roosevelt Jones | Senior | Butler |
| First Team | G D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera | Senior | Georgetown |
| First Team | G Ryan Arcidiacono | Senior | Villanova |
| First Team | F Jalen Reynolds | Senior | Xavier |
| Second Team | F Henry Ellenson | Freshman | Marquette |
| Second Team | F Angel Delgado | Sophomore | Seton Hall |
| Second Team | F Daniel Ochefu | Senior | Villanova |
| Second Team | G Billy Garrett, Jr. | Junior | DePaul |
| Second Team | G Isaiah Whitehead | Sophomore | Seton Hall |
| Honorable Mention | F Isaac Copeland | Sophomore | Georgetown |
| Honorable Mention | C Luke Fischer | Junior | Marquette |
| Honorable Mention | G Jalen Brunson | Freshman | Villanova |
| Honorable Mention | G Trevon Bluiett | Sophomore | Xavier |