ROSEMONT, Ill. — Maryland’s Melo Trimble is the Big Ten Preseason Player of the Year.
The guard was selected by a panel of conference media after a strong freshman season in which he averaged 16.2 points and helped the Terrapins win 28 games.
Trimble was also a unanimous preseason all-conference pick, along with Michigan State’s Denzel Valentine, Purdue’s A.J. Hammons and Wisconsin’s Nigel Hayes. Indiana’s James Blackmon Jr., and Yogi Ferrell, Iowa’s Jarrod Uthoff, Maryland’s Jake Layman, Michigan’s Caris LeVert and Wisconsin’s Bronson Koenig also earned preseason all-Big Ten honors.
Villanova again a unanimous pick to win Big East
NEW YORK — Villanova is the unanimous pick of the Big East coaches in their preseason poll for the second consecutive year.
The Wildcats lived up to the billing last season, winning their second consecutive regular-season title with a 16-2 record, and then won the Big East tournament. They finished 33-3 and were No. 2 in the final The Associated Press top 25.
Two starters — seniors Daniel Ochefu and Ryan Arcidiacono, last season’s conference co-player of the year — will return. They will be joined by a recruiting class that includes guard Jalen Brunson, the preseason rookie of the year.
Georgetown is second in the preseason poll, followed by Butler, Xavier, Providence, Marquette, Seton Hall, DePaul, Creighton and St. John’s.
Providence junior guard Kris Dunn is the preseason player of the year. He was the first guard in Big East history to earn player and defensive player of the year awards in the same season.
The preseason first team includes Arcidiacono, Georgetown’s D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera, Butler’s Kellen Dunham and Roosevelt Jones and Xavier’s Jalen Reynolds.
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Maryland picked to win Big Ten
ROSEMONT, Ill. — Ohio State’s Kelsey Mitchell was selected Big Ten Preseason Player of the Year, and Maryland was picked as the conference favorite by coaches and media.
Mitchell became the first freshman to lead the nation in scoring last season, averaging 24.9 points.
Maryland’s Brionna Jones and Shatori Walker-Kimbrough, Michigan State’s Aerial Powers, Minnesota’s Rachel Banham, Nebraska’s Rachel Theriot, Northwestern’s Nia Coffey, Ohio State’s Ameryst Alston and Mitchell, and Rutgers’ Kahleah Copper were preseason all-conference picks by the coaches and media. The coaches also picked Iowa’s Ally Disterhoft, while the media selected Michigan State’s Tori Jankoska.
Maryland went 34-3 and reached its second consecutive Final Four last season. Ohio State was picked to finish second by coaches and media. The coaches picked Michigan State to finish third, while the media chose Northwestern.
DePaul women picked as preseason favorite in Big East
NEW YORK — For the third consecutive season, DePaul has been picked by the Big East coaches as the preseason favorite.
DePaul received eight of the 10 votes from the league’s coaches Wednesday. St. John’s was picked second and Villanova third. Both received one first-place vote.
Creighton is fourth followed by Seton Hall, which was the conference’s regular-season champion last year.
Xavier, Georgetown, Butler, Marquette and Providence round out the preseason picks.
St. John’s senior guard Aliyyah Handford was chosen as the conference’s preseason player of the year. Butler’s Brittany Ward is the preseason freshman of the year.
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