Men's Basketball Picked Second in Preseason BIG EAST Poll; Trio Earn Preseason Honors

NEW YORK, N.Y. – The Creighton men's basketball team has been picked to finish second in the BIG EAST Conference in the annual survey of league coaches, which was unveiled as part of BIG EAST Media Day on Tuesday morning at Madison Square Garden.

It's the second time in Creighton's 11 years in the BIG EAST Conference that the Bluejays have been picked second, as the 2020-21 squad was also picked second (and eventually finished second). The Bluejays also had three players receive recognition on one of the Preseason All-BIG EAST teams, tied with preseason favorite Marquette for the most in the league.

The Bluejays collected four first-place votes and earned 92 points in the poll, trailing only Marquette's seven first-place votes and 96 overall points. Defending national champion Connecticut was tabbed third with 79 points, just ahead of Villanova's 76 for fourth place. Hall of Fame coach Rick Pitino's first St. John's team garnered 59 points to be chosen fifth, just ahead of Xavier (57) and Providence (51). The bottom four teams in the poll are Georgetown (34), Seton Hall (30), Butler (16) and DePaul (15).

Creighton finished 24-13 overall and 14-6 in BIG EAST play last season and are the only league team to return three of its scorers that averaged at least a dozen points per game. The Bluejays won three NCAA Tournament games to advance to its first Elite Eight since 1941.

In 2023-24, Creighton will be led by senior center Ryan Kalkbrenner, who is a Preseason First Team All-BIG EAST selection. Kalkbrenner becomes the first player in program history to earn Preseason First Team All-BIG EAST honors multiple times, and along with Preseason Player of the Year Tyler Kolek from Marquette was one of two men to be named on every ballot.

Joining Kalkbrenner with the Preseason First Team All-BIG EAST acclaim was junior guard Trey Alexander. Alexander was an Honorable Mention All-BIG EAST choice at the end of last season, as was teammate Baylor Scheierman. A senior guard from Aurora, Neb., Scheierman earned Preseason Second Team All-BIG EAST plaudits in 2023-24.

This year marks the second time that Creighton has had more than two players land on the Preseason All-BIG EAST Team, and comes 12 months after Creighton had four men listed prior to the 2022-23 campaign. Creighton last had multiple Preseason First Team All-Conference selections in 2006-07 (Nate Funk, Anthony Tolliver).

Kolek was named 2023-24 BIG EAST Preseason Player of the Year by a vote of the league's head coaches, which comes as little surprise after the point guard was named 2023 BIG EAST Player of the Year and BIG EAST Tournament MVP after leading the Golden Eagles to both the regular-season and tournament titles. Connecticut guard Stephon Castle was chosen BIG EAST Preseason Freshman of the Year. The coaches, who were not permitted to select their own players, also chose an All-BIG EAST First Team, All-BIG EAST Second Team and All-BIG EAST Honorable Mention.

Creighton has matched or exceeded its preseason projection in all but one season since joining the BIG EAST in 2013-14, the best showing in the league in that time. The Bluejays are seeking an eighth straight finish in the top four of the league standings. CU's team two years ago was predicted to finish eighth in the BIG EAST, then ended up in fourth. Four years ago, a team picked seventh in the BIG EAST's preseason poll went 13-5 in league play to share its first league title with Villanova and Seton Hall. That Bluejay team ended the year ranked seventh in the entire nation.

Creighton opens the season with a Nov. 3 exhibition vs. Wayne State before opening the regular-season on Nov. 7 against Florida A&M. Single-game tickets are now available at http://GoCreighton.com/buy.

BIG EAST Preseason Player of the Year
Tyler Kolek, Marquette, G, Sr., 6-3, 190, Cumberland, R.I.

BIG EAST Preseason Freshman of the Year
Stephon Castle, Connecticut, G, Fr., 6-6, 215, Covington, Ga.

Preseason All-BIG EAST First Team
Trey Alexander, Creighton, G, Jr., 6-4, 190, Oklahoma City, Okla.
*Ryan Kalkbrenner, Creighton, C, Sr., 7-1, 270, St. Louis, Mo.
Bryce Hopkins, Providence, F-G, Jr., 6-7, 220, Oak Park, Ill.
Joel Soriano, St. John's, C, Sr., 6-11, 255, Yonkers, N.Y.
Justin Moore, Villanova, G, Gr., 6-4, 210, Fort Washington, Md.

Preseason All-BIG EAST Second Team
Donovan Clingan, Connecticut, C, So., 7-2, 265, Bristol, Conn.
Baylor Scheierman, Creighton, G, Sr., 6-7, 205, Aurora, Neb.
Oso Ighodaro, Marquette, F, Sr., 6-11, 225, Chandler, Ariz.
Kam Jones, Marquette, G, Jr., 6-5, 200, Memphis, Tenn.
Eric Dixon, Villanova, F, R-Sr., 6-8, 255, Willow Grove, Pa.

Preseason All-BIG EAST Honorable Mention
Alex Karaban, Connecticut, F, R-So., 6-8, 220, Southborough, Mass.
Devin Carter, Providence, G, Jr., 6-3, 195, Miami, Fla.
Zach Freemantle, Xavier, F, Gr., 6-9, 227, Teaneck, N.J.
*unanimous selection

2023-24 Preseason BIG EAST Coaches Poll First-place votes in parentheses
Rank	Team	Points
1.	Marquette (7)	96
2.	Creighton (4)	92
3.	Connecticut	79
4.	Villanova	76
5.	St. John's	59
6.	Xavier	57
7.	Providence	51
8.	Georgetown	34
9.	Seton Hall	30
10.	Butler	16
11.	DePaul	15

Creighton's BIG EAST Preseason Poll History
Year	Preseason Pick	Actual Finish	Preseason All-BIG EAST Picks
2013-14	3^rd	2^nd	Doug McDermott (POY; 1^st)
2014-15	9^th	T-9^th	None
2015-16	9^th	6^th	None
2016-17	3^rd	T-3^rd	Maurice Watson Jr. (1^st); Marcus Foster (HM)
2017-18	5^th	T-3^rd	Marcus Foster (1^st); Khyri Thomas (HM)
2018-19	9^th	T-3^rd	Martin Krampelj ((HM)
2019-20	7^th	T-1^st	Ty-Shon Alexander (1^st)
2020-21	2^nd	2^nd	Marcus Zegarowski (POY, 1^st); Mitch Ballock (2^nd)
2021-22	8^th	4th	None
2022-23	1st	3^rd	Ryan Kalkbrenner (1st), Arthur Kaluma (2nd), Ryan Nembhard (2nd), Baylor Scheierman (HM)
2023-24	2nd	TBD	Ryan Kalkbrenner (1st), Trey Alexander (1st), Baylor Scheierman (2nd)

Men's Basketball Picked Second in Preseason BIG EAST Poll; Trio Earn Preseason Honors

Players Mentioned

Trey Alexander

Ryan Kalkbrenner

Arthur Kaluma

Ryan Nembhard

Baylor Scheierman

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