Complete BIG EAST preseason poll
NEW YORK -- Villanova is a narrow choice over Connecticut to win the 2005-06 BIG EAST regular season crown in a poll of the league's head coaches. The Wildcats earned nine first-place votes while UConn picked up seven. The Wildcats accumulated 215 total points while the Huskies had 213.
DePaul was picked to finish 11th in its first season as a member of the league.
Last season, Villanova finished with a 24-8 record and advanced to the Sweet 16 round of the NCAA Championship. The Wildcats, who return all five starters for coach Jay Wright, were 11-5 in BIG EAST play. It is only the second time in league history that Villanova has been picked for first place in the preseason. The coaches made the Wildcats the preseason favorites in 1982-83.
Connecticut tied for the 2004-05 BIG EAST regular season title with a 13-3 mark and finished the year with a 23-8 record. The Huskies, under coach Jim Calhoun, lost only one starter from last year's squad. UConn captured the NCAA title two seasons ago.
Louisville, a new member of the BIG EAST, was picked third. The Cardinals tied a school record for victories last year when they finished 33-5 and advanced to their eighth Final Four.
The league coaches tabbed Syracuse for fourth place. The Orange finished with a 27-7 overall record last season and won The BIG EAST Championship Presented by Aeropostale at Madison Square Garden. In BIG EAST regular season play, the Orange posted an 11-5 mark.
West Virginia, which advanced to the Elite Eight of the 2005 NCAA Championship, was placed fifth. After finishing the conference regular season with an 8-8 record last season, the Mountaineers' magic month of March began with reaching the finals of The BIG EAST Championship Presented by Aeropostale. WVU missed making a trip to the Final Four when they lost to Louisville, 93-85, in overtime.
The voting for seventh, eighth and ninth was very close with Pittsburgh taking seventh with 130 points. Notre Dame was eighth with 128 points. New member Cincinnati collected 127 points for ninth place. Last season, Pittsburgh and Cincinnati went to the NCAA Tournament and Notre Dame was invited to the NIT.
