Big East men’s basketball preseason poll: UConn picked to win conference in 2026-27

The ramp-up to the college basketball season is officially underway, with conferences across the country beginning to hold their annual media days. The latest is the Big East Conference, which gets “talking season” underway in New York City on Thursday.

With that came the release of the preseason coaches’ poll, which brought little to no surprise about who was predicted at the top: Connecticut, which is fresh off its third trip to the Final Four in the last four seasons and returns the conference’s preseason Player of the Year, Silas Demary Jr., and star guard Braylon Mullins.

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Back-to-back Big East champion St. John’s was tabbed to finish behind the Huskies and received two first-place votes. Rick Pitino’s Johnnies are looking to build off a Sweet 16 loss to Duke in the NCAA Tournament with their revamped transfer portal roster that features former Baylor guard Tounde Yessoufou.

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The top five is rounded out by Villanova, Marquette and Providence. The Golden Eagles, led by defending Big East Freshman of the Year Nigel James Jr., received the other first-place vote, while the Friars are ushering in a new era of basketball on Federal Hill with Bryan Hodgson.

Conference play begins on Saturday, Dec. 19 with a quadruple header of games: Seton Hall vs. Georgetown, DePaul vs. St. John’s, Xavier vs. Marquette and Villanova vs. Creighton.

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Here’s a full look at the 2026-27 Big East basketball preseason poll and preseason awards:

Big East men’s basketball preseason poll 2026-27

First place votes in parentheses

Big East men’s basketball preseason player awards

Preseason Player of the Year: Silas Demary Jr. (UConn)

Preseason Freshman of the Year: Colben Landrew (UConn)

UConn swept both preseason player-centric awards, with Demary Jr. named the conference’s preseason Player of the Year and Landrew the preseason Freshman of the Year. It’s the first time the Huskies have swept the…

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Publish date : 2026-10-01 13:21:00

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