Big East coaches decided their preseason top 15 yesterday and the University of Louisville Cardinals came out number one getting 14 of the 15 first place votes going into the 2012-13 season. Not only that, point guard Peyton Siva was chosen as the conference's preseason Player of the Year, to go along with his preseason All-America nod from earlier this year.
This marks the first time the Louisville has been chosen as the preseason favorite to win it all as well as the first time a Cardinal player has been given Player of the Year credentials. Siva's fearless play in the Big East and NCAA tournaments seem to have turned the corner on perceptions of his high level of play. He led his team to the Final Four during the 2011-12 campaign with is 9.1 points, 5.6 assists and 1.7 steals per game. Put a 3.41 GPA on top of that and you've got the makings of a winner.
Along with honors for Siva, center Gorgui Dieng was voted to the all Big East first team with forward Chane Behanan getting an honorable mention.
Louisville might have been the unanimous favorite if coaches were allowed to vote for their own teams. That's against Big East rules, however, so UofL coach Rick Pitino's first place vote went to Notre Dame, the team that came in third in the poll.
Big East Preseason Coaches Poll
- Louisville (14)
- Syracuse
- Notre Dame (1)
- Cincinnati
- Georgetown
- Pittsburgh
- Marquette
- South Florida
- Connecticut
- St. John's
- Rutgers
- Villanova
- DePaul
- Seton Hall
- Providence
Photo: Louisville.com/Tim Girton
