Syracuse received two first-place votes and was picked to finish second in the conference in the Big East Preseason Coaches’ Poll. The Orange was one of just two teams to receive first-place votes, the other, Notre Dame, received five and was picked first in the conference.

SU was followed by St. John’s, Villanova, Georgetown, Rutgers and Providence, respectively.

The pick also marks the first time in the four-year history of the Big East that Syracuse was not named the preseason favorite. The Orange struggled during the regular season last year, finishing 9-8 and barely sneaking into the Big East tournament as the No. 3 seed by virtue of a tiebreaker, but rallied to back-to-back wins for its third consecutive Big East title — and first in a tournament format.

Like the preseason No. 14 ranking, SU is using this slight as an extra incentive heading into the season.

“We definitely use it as motivation,” Syracuse head coach John Desko said. “The Big East has been together as a conference for the last three years. And we’ve come out on top of the conference for the last three years so we’ve gotten to figure out what it is to be in a conference.”

The Orange also placed two players on the All-Big East Preseason Team, including co-Defensive Player of the Year Brian Megill. The defender was a second team All-American last season and set an SU single-season record with 37 forced turnovers. Midfielder JoJo Marasco, one of Syracuse’s most reliable scoring options, was also named All-Big East after tallying at least one point in 16 of the Orange’s 17 games last season.

 

2013 BIG EAST Preseason Coaches’ Poll

Notre Dame (5) – 35 points

Syracuse (2) – 32 points

St. John’s – 23 points

Villanova – 21 points

Georgetown – 19 points

Rutgers – 9 points

Providence – 8 points

 

(-) First-place votes

 

BIG EAST Preseason Offensive Player of the Year

Kieran McArdle, St. John’s, A

 

BIG EAST Preseason Defensive Players of the Year

Brian Megill, Syracuse, D

John Kemp, Notre Dame, GK

 

All-BIG EAST Preseason Team

Brian Casey, Georgetown, A

Dan McKinney, Georgetown, M

Chris Nourse, Georgetown, D

Westy Hopkins, Notre Dame, A

* John Kemp, Notre Dame, GK

* Jim Marlatt, Notre Dame, M

* Matt Miller, Notre Dame, D

Sean Rogers, Notre Dame, A

* Dillon Ayers, St. John’s, LSM

* Kieran McArdle, St. John’s, A

* JoJo Marasco, Syracuse, M

* Brian Megill, Syracuse, D

* Thomas Croonquist, Villanova, SP

John LoCascio, Villanova, LSM

Jack Rice, Villanova, A

 

*Unanimous selection

Published on January 22, 2013 at 7:05 pm

Contact David: [email protected] | @DBWilson2