Seton Hall Selected the BIG EAST Men's Basketball Preseason Favorite

Exceeding Expectations The Pirates have traditionally been underrated by the BIG EAST coaches when it comes to the preseason poll. In the previous 40 polls, Seton Hall has finished higher than its predicted finish 20 times, which is 50 percent of all the polls. The Pirates have met the expectation 10 times (25.0%) and have underperformed the preseason prediction 10 times (25.0%).
Year	Preseason Rank	Actual Finish
2019-20	1st	???
2018-19	8th	T-3rd
2017-18	2nd	T-3rd
2016-17*	T-4th	T-3rd
2015-16*	7th	3rd**
2014-15	6th	T-7th
2013-14	8th	8th
2012-13	14th	T-13th
2011-12	13th	T-9th
2010-11	11th	12th
2009-10	10th	T-9th
2008-09	13th	T-11th
2007-08	13th	11th
2006-07	15th	13th
2005-06*	15th	7th
2004-05	8th	T-9th
2003-04*	6th	T-5th
2002-03	6th West Div.	T-3rd West Div.
2001-02	4th West Div.	6th West Div.
2000-01	1st West Div.	6th West Div.
1999-00*	7th	T-4th
1998-99	9th	T-8th
1997-98	7th BIG EAST 7	3rd BIG EAST 7
1996-97	6th BIG EAST 7	T-6th BIG EAST 7
1995-96	4th BIG EAST 7	5th BIG EAST 7
1994-95	10th	T-6th
1993-94*	7th	7th
1992-93*	1st	1st**
1991-92*	2nd	T-1st
1990-91*	7th	T-3rd**
1989-90	7th	T-7th
1988-89*	7th	2nd
1987-88*	5th	T-5th
1986-87	7th	7th
1985-86	7th	9th
1984-85	8th	9th
1983-84	9th	9th
1982-83	9th	9th
1981-82	7th	8th
1980-81	8th	7th
1979-80	6th	6th
* Earned NCAA Tournament bid ** Won BIG EAST Tournament

Tune in to BIG EAST Shootaround at BIG EAST Media Day Thursday at 9:15 a.m.

NEW YORK - With national buzz surrounding the program since the start of the summer, the Seton Hall men's basketball team is now the frontrunner in the BIG EAST Conference. The league's 10 head coaches have picked the Pirates the No. 1 team in the preseason poll, the BIG EAST announced Thursday at its annual media day inside Madison Square Garden. Seton Hall edged defending BIG EAST champion and perennial preseason favorite Villanova by one point in the voting. Head coaches were not allowed to vote for their own team.

This is only the third time Seton Hall has been picked a favorite and only the second time in a non-division format. In 1992-93, the Pirates were named the preseason favorite in the 10-team BIG EAST, and The Hall went on to win both the regular season and conference tournament championships. In 2000-01, Seton Hall was named the favorite in the BIG EAST's seven-team Western Division, but the Pirates ultimately finished sixth.

More often than not, Seton Hall either meets or exceeds the coaches' preseason predictions. In the previous seasons, Seton Hall has exceeded their preseason poll rank 20 times and has finished in the exact spot it was predicted to land 10 times. Only 10 other times out of the 40 has The Hall not met its preseason expectation. In head coach Kevin Willard's nine seasons, the Pirates have met or exceeded their preseason poll rank six times. This includes the 2018-19 season, when The Hall was picked eighth only to finish in a tie for third.

Expected to start the season nationally ranked, Seton Hall returns 88 percent of its scoring from last season, including senior All-America candidate and 2019-20 BIG EAST Preseason Player of the Year Myles Powell (Trenton, N.J.) as well as returning starters Myles Cale (Middletown, Del.), Sandro Mamukelashvili (Tbilisi, Georgia) and Quincy McKnight (Bridgeport, Conn.).

Loaded with a non-conference schedule geared with an eye towards March, the Pirates will face Michigan State, Oregon, Iowa State and Maryland among others. They will open the 2019-20 season with a home game against Wagner on Tuesday, Nov. 5 inside historic Walsh Gymnasium at 6:30 p.m. Tickets to all Seton Hall basketball games are available at SetonHallTix.com.

2019-20 BIG EAST Men's Basketball Preseason Poll

Team (1st Place Votes)	Points
1. Seton Hall (5)	77
2. Villanova (5)	76
3. Xavier	52
4. Marquette	50
Providence	50
6. Georgetown	49
7. Creighton	45
8. Butler	21
9. St. John's	19
10. DePaul	11