City of Basketball Love

Marley Paul (@MarleyPaul22)
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To little surprise to anyone, defending national champion Villanova was the runaway choice by Big East coaches in the preseason poll, released Tuesday morning at the league's annual media day.

Jay Wright's Wildcats were unanimously voted as the No. 1 team in the Big East preseason poll, marking the third consecutive season as the early conference favorites. Fresh off a 2015-16 title, three key starters are back as Nova attempts to win the conference for the fourth straight year. 

As he returns for his senior season, Josh Hart was named preseason Player of the Year after anchoring Villanova's squad with 15.6 ppg and 6.8 rpg. Likewise, Kris Jenkins was a unanimous All-BIG EAST First Team selection, joined by Kelan Martin (Butler), Maurice Watson Jr. (Creighton), and Trevon Bluiett and Edmon Sumner (Xavier). Jenkins hit 100 3-pointers last season to lead the BIG EAST, none bigger than his final one, "The Shot" in the title game, and his 13.6 ppg provided a dangerous combo punch alongside Hart. 

St. John's freshman Shamorie Ponds was tapped as the Preseason Rookie of the Year. The former four-star recruit will be a vital piece in second-year coach Chris Mullins' rebuild project.

Big East Preseason Poll
1. Villanova (81 pts)
2. Xavier (69)
3. Creighton (64)
4. Georgetown (53)
4. Seton Hall (53)
6. Butler (44)
7. Marquette (35)
8. St. John's (21)
9. Providence (18)
10. DePaul (12)

Big East Preseason Player of the Year
Josh Hart (Sr./Villanova)

Big East Preseason Freshman of the Year
Shamorie Ponds (Fr./St. John's)

All-Big East Preseason First Team
Trevon Bluiett (Jr./Xavier)
Kris Jenkins (Sr./Villanova)
Kelan Martin (Jr./Butler)
Edmond Sumner (Soph./Xavier)
Maurice Watson, Jr. (Sr./Creighton)

All-Big East Preseason Second Team
Khadeen Carrington (Jr./Seton Hall)
Isaac Copeland (Jr./Georgetown)
Angel Delgado (Jr./Seton Hall)
Luke Fischer (Sr./Marquette)
Billy Garrett (Jr./DePaul)