Big East Basketball releases their preseason awards and rankings

On media day for Big East basketball, the conference has released their preseason awards and rankings for the 2017-18 season.

Since the inauguration of the “new” Big East, the conference has been very successful. In addition to housing a National Champion in the Villanova Wildcats, the conference has also received multiple NCAA Tournament bids over the years. Heading into this season, the expectation remains the same for the conference. Villanova is once again a national title contender and there are also several other teams that will be vying for berths in the Big Dance.

In fact, most people would agree that eight out of the 10 teams in the conference will be at least in the conversation of receiving an at-large bid this season. With that being said, let’s take a look at the conference’s preseason awards and rankings that were unveiled on Oct. 18’s Big East media day.

For more on media day, be sure to follow along on Twitter here: @BIGEASTMBB

Starting with the Preseason Big East Player of the Year, Villanova’s Jalen Brunson was named the expected winner. Although players like Seton Hall’s Angel Delgado and Xavier’s Trevon Bluiett could make cases for taking home this award, it is hard to argue with the selection of Brunson. As the point guard of the best team in the conference, Brunson was one of the most efficient players in the country last season.

Shooting over 60% from 2-point land is a remarkable season for any big man in the country, but the fact that Brunson was able to do this is flat-out incredible. Sure, he will be without a lot of the surrounding talent from last season, but if Brunson can even come close to matching that efficiency, he should easily be able to take home this award.

Joining him on the individual awards is Omari Spellman of Villanova, who was named the Preseason Freshman of the Year. Spellman had to sit out last season, but as the highest-rated recruit coming into his first season in the league, this selection is once again not a major surprise to anyone. Spellman was rated around No. 20 in the country in the class of 2016 by just about every major recruiting service.

In the class of 2017, the highest rated Big East recruits are Paul Scruggs (Xavier), Makai Ashton-Langford (Providence), and Jermaine Samuels (Villanova).

After Preseason Player of the Year Jalen Brunson, the remainder of the All-Big East First Team is made up of all seniors. Trevon Bluiett led the Xavier Musketeers to an Elite Eight appearance last season and he will be in the running to take the Player of the Year award in the conference at season’s end. For Creighton, Marcus Foster is an elite scorer who will have to take a step up for Coach Greg McDermott now that Maurice Watson Jr. and Justin Patton are off the roster.

For Butler, Kelan Martin earned Preseason First Team honors thanks to top-notch scoring and underrated defensive play. Seton Hall’s Angel Delgado and Khadeen Carrington round out the First Team thanks to Delgado’s status as a top rebounder in the country and Carrington’s all-around play.

On the Second Team, a trio of elite sophomores makes a jump. Marquette’s Markus Howard is joined by Saint John’s Shamorie Ponds and Marcus LoVett as sophomores to make this team. They were all members of the All-Freshman Team a year ago and will have to be leaders on their respective teams to make the Big Dance.

Mikal Bridges is the another Villanova player to be mentioned and he is coming off a season in which he missed a 50/40/90 season by just 0.7% on his 3-point percentage. In addition, Kyron Cartwright and Rodney Bullock both represent Providence on the team as one of the top teams in the conference.

Rounding things out, Creighton’s Khyri Thomas, Seton Hall’s Desi Rodriguez, and Xavier’s J.P. Macura were named Honorable Mention.

In what comes as no surprise, Villanova was voted the preseason frontrunner to win the Big East. They received just about every single possible vote and are expected to dominate as a top-10 team in the country once again. Following the Wildcats is Seton Hall, who returns a dynamite group of players, and Xavier, who reached the Elite Eight last season.

After the top three, Providence takes the No. 4 spot thanks to their incredible balance and coaching. Creighton, St. John’s, and Marquette take the next three spots. Although St. John’s did not make the NCAA Tournament last season, finishing sixth in the Big East would almost guarantee them a spot this year. Creighton and Marquette, on the other hand, did receive bids last season, but both fell in the first round.

In what is probably the biggest surprise of the rankings, Butler basketball was voted No. 8 in the preseason poll. Known as one of the most consistent programs in the country over the last several years, this is the second consecutive season that the Bulldogs have been picked to finish in the bottom half of the conference. Last season, the Bulldogs were selected to finish at No. 6, but ended up knocking off Villanova twice and finished in second place all alone. Will they prove people wrong again? With Kelan Martin and Kamar Baldwin (who was surprisingly not mentioned in any preseason awards) still in tow, this team has plenty of talent.

Georgetown and DePaul then complete the rankings as expected in the No. 9 and No. 10 spots, respectively.

Next: Busting Brackets' Big East preseason rankings

Overall, this is going to be a very interesting year for the Big East basketball conference. With so many teams hoping to compete for an at-large bid, there will rarely be an easy game on the schedule. Even though they are now a “Power-5” conference, the Big East is one of the top leagues in the country and they will look to prove that once again in the 2017-18 regular season and the NCAA Tournament.