Seton Hall picked to win Big East for first time since 1992-93, Powell voted Preseason Player of the Year

Myles Powell's senior season begins with Big East Preseason Player of the Year honors as his Seton Hall team was voted consensus choice to win conference for first time in nearly three decades. (Photo by Bob Dea/Daly Dose Of Hoops)

NEW YORK -- Before it even began, the 2019-20 season was already one in which the proverbial bar for Seton Hall would be raised to a level rivaling the Prudential Center rafters.

The Pirates got a preliminary firsthand look at the sky-high expectations Thursday morning.

For just the third time in program history and first since the 2000-01 season, Seton Hall was selected as the consensus No. 1 team in the Big East Conference preseason coaches' poll, receiving 77 points to pace the field, one clear of perennial league powerhouse Villanova, which enters a retooling phase on the heels of two national championships in four years and the graduations of Phil Booth and Eric Paschall. The return of senior guard Myles Powell after a dominant junior campaign, coupled with the emergence of fellow senior Quincy McKnight; as well as juniors Sandro Mamukelashvili and Myles Cale, has Seton Hall primed for what could very well be a banner season in a year where the NCAA Tournament's East Regional -- a definite goal for this iteration of the Pirates -- returns to Madison Square Garden, a second home of sorts for the program in the latter of half of this decade.

In addition to being revealed as the pick to win the Big East, the Pirates also garnered further recognition in the form of Powell being named the conference's Preseason Player of the Year as he embarks upon his coda to a career that has taken root as one of the greatest tenures in and around South Orange through just three seasons. Powell was the driving force behind Seton Hall going from an eighth-place prognostication at this time last year to its fourth straight NCAA Tournament appearance, galvanizing the Pirates down the stretch on the way to averaging 23.1 points per game and ultimately earning the Haggerty Award, bestowed annually upon the best player in the New York area, as voted by the Metropolitan Basketball Writers Association. The Trenton native now seeks to become just the third Seton Hall player to be named Big East Player of the Year at season's end, where he -- should he capture the honor -- would join program greats Dan Callandrillo (1981-82) and Terry Dehere (1992-93) as recipients of this illustrious accolade.

Certain to be ranked among the Top 25 teams in the nation when the preseason polls are officially released later this month, Seton Hall will face a gauntlet of a non-conference schedule as Kevin Willard enters his tenth season at the helm, a frequent occurrence in recent years. The Pirates' latest non-league slate, though, headlined by a November 14 showdown with potential No. 1 Michigan State in the Gavitt Tipoff Games, may be the most daunting in program history, let alone in Willard's tenure. Marquee matchups against Maryland and Iowa State are also on tap, as well as a trip to the Bahamas to compete in the Battle 4 Atlantis, where Seton Hall could face off against the likes of Gonzaga and North Carolina depending on how the Pirates fare in the tournament bracket.