Preseason Picks For Villanova and Temple Basketball

Villanova Men Tabbed As Big East Favorite in Preseason Coaches Poll

October 29, 2020 –

In keeping with the spirit of the upcoming elections the preseason selections are in for the Big East and the American Athletic Conference basketball season.

The Villanova Wildcats men’s team was named the favorite for the Big East. The Wildcats had two players named to the conference preseason first team and one to the second team. Collin Gillespie and Jeremiah Robinson-Earl, last year’s Big East Freshman of the Year, were the first team players while Justin Moore was on the second team.

Temple Owls forward Mia Davis was selected as The American Preseason Co-Player of the Year in women’s basketball while Villanova sophomore Maddy Siegrist was a unanimous first team Big East member.

Big East Men’s Basketball

Villanova got the preseason favorite nod with 99 total points and garnered 9 first place votes. Creighton placed second ling 90 points and had one first place vote.

They were followed by Providence, Connecticut, Seton Hall, Marquette, Xavier, Butler, St. John’s, DePaul, and Georgetown.

Also returning to the Main Line is Jermaine Samuels

American Men’ Basketball

Temple was selected as the 10th place team., and will be led by J.P. Moorman II, De’Vondre Perry, and Jake Forrester. Houston got the preseason favorite post.

Big East Women’s Basketball

Returning to the conference is the Connecticut Huskies who topped the Preseason Coaches Poll. UConn got 100 points and 10 of the 11 first place votes. DePaul was second with a total of 90 points and one first place selection. Villanova was picked for 7th place with 44 total points.

Siegrist was the conference Rookie of the Year who averaged 19.1 points per game which was second nationally for a freshmen. Also returning are Raven James and Brianna Herlihy. The Wildcats also added Sarah Mortensen, a transfer from Miami.

Athletic Conference Women’s Basketball

In the first year minus Connecticut it was the USF Bulls who got the nod as the preseason favorite. The Bulls got 8 first place votes and totaled 98 points. UCF was second at 79 points and one top-team selection. They nosed out Tulane with 78 points. Cincinnati was fourth with a total of 73 points, and the Bearcats got 2 first place votes.

Temple followed in fifth place getting 57 points. The Owls were followed by Wichita State, Houston, Memphis, East Carolina, SMU, and Tulsa.

Davis returns to North Broad Street for her senior season. She was the team and conference leading scorer and rebounder with 18.8 points and 10.1 rebounds per game in 30 games. She will be joined by Emani Mayo, Asonah Alexander, and Alexa Williamson.

Written By: Glenn Papazian

Contact: Glenn@PhillyCollegeSports.com