Big East Media Day: Long Year Ahead for Georgetown?

Today is the annual Big East media day in New York City, and while rainy conditions in the Big Apple welcome the various coaches and Sports Information Directors who trail them into Madison Square Garden for a series of interviews, last night the members of the media covering the Conference released their preseason poll.

1. Syracuse 29 (6 1st-place votes)
2. Connecticut 30 (8)
3. Louisville 45 (2)
4. Pittsburgh 58
5. Marquette 90
6. Cincinnati 96
7. West Virginia 120
8. Villanova 124
9. Notre Dame 141
10. Georgetown 153
11. Rutgers 188
12. St. John's 191
13. Seton Hall 204
14. South Florida 230
15. DePaul 236
16. Providence 241

(Teams were given one point for a 1st-place vote, two points for a 2nd-place vote and so on through No. 16).

Boom. TENTH.

Preseason All-Big East team after The Jump:

All-Big East team:
Ashton Gibbs, Pittsburgh
Kris Joseph, Syracuse
Jeremy Lamb, Connecticut
Tim Abromaitis, Notre Dame
Darius Johnson-Odom, Marquette

Others receiving votes:
Yancy Gates, Cincinnati
Kevin Jones, West Virginia
Peyton Siva, Louisville
Scoop Jardine, Syracuse
Andre Drummond, Connecticut
Alex Oriakhi, Connecticut
Maalik Wayns, Villanova
Mouphtaou Yarou, Villanova

Player of the Year:
Ashton Gibbs, Pittsburgh (7 votes)
Jeremy Lamb, Connecticut (4)
Darius Johnson-Odom, Marquette (2)
Kris Joseph, Syracuse (1)
Tim Abromaitis, Notre Dame (1)
Peyton Siva, Louisville (1)

Rookie of the Year:
Andre Drummond, Connecticut (12 votes)
Wayne Blackshear, Louisville (1)
Chane Behanan, Louisville (1)
Ryan Boatright, Connecticut (1)
Khem Birch, Pittsburgh (1)

I reviewed that list a few times and though it's certainly odd not to see Georgetown mentioned even once on any of the above lists, it's not all that surprising. The good news I suppose is that there appears to be a sharp drop-off after the top 10 teams in the league, so hopefully Georgetown can pull a few surprises and climb into that top 8 range that will likely earn Tournament bids.

And yes smartasses, I am referring to the NCAA Tournament.