Big East Conference

NEW YORK – For the second straight season, Providence guard Kris Dunn has been selected BIG EAST Player of the Year.  Marquette forward Henry Ellenson has been named BIG EAST Freshman of the Year.  Seton Hall coach Kevin Willard and Villanova coach Jay Wright will share BIG EAST Coach of the Year honors.  The winners were selected by a vote of the league’s head coaches, who were not permitted to vote for their own players.
 

 
Dunn, a 6-3 junior from New London, Conn., continued his reputation as a player who contributes in virtually every aspect of the game.  He ranks fourth in the BIG EAST scoring with a 16.3 average.  Dunn leads the league in steals with a 2.7 mark.  His steals average ranks third nationally.  He also pulls down 5.7 rebounds per game.  For the second straight season, he posted a triple-double, recording 16 points, 14 assists and 10 rebounds in a win over Hartford on Dec. 2.  Earlier this week, Dunn won his second straight BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year Award.  He is the only guard in the history of the league to win Defensive Player of the Year and Player of the Year in the same season and he’s done it twice.  Dunn is the sixth player in BIG EAST history to win Player of the Year honors more than once.  He also was the 2015-16 BIG EAST Preseason Player of the Year.
 
Ellenson was named BIG EAST Freshman of the Week eight times this season, the third highest total in BIG EAST history.  He finished the regular season ranked third in the BIG EAST in scoring with a 16.8 average and first in rebounding at 9.8.  He won the league rebounding crown with a 9.7 mark in conference games.  Ellenson, a native of Rice Lake, Wis., leads the BIG EAST with 17 double-doubles. Earlier this week, he earned All-BIG EAST First Team honors, becoming the first freshman to make the First Team since Syracuse’s Carmelo Anthony in 2002-03. 
 
Willard has led Seton Hall to a breakout season and the Pirates are likely headed toward the school’s first NCAA Tournament berth since 2006.  Picked seventh in the BIG EAST Preseason Coaches’ Poll, the Pirates have surged to a 22-8 overall record and a 12-6 BIG EAST mark.  They will be the No. 3 seed in this week’s BIG EAST Tournament Presented by the Jeep Brand.  The league win total is the highest for Seton Hall since 1992-93.  The Pirates finished the regular season by winning nine of their last 11 games.  Willard also has guided the Pirates to six road BIG EAST wins, the most in school history. 
 
Wright’s coaching honor is a record fifth overall and third straight.  He has led Villanova to three consecutive BIG EAST regular-season titles with a 16-2 record each year.  Under Wright’s tutelage, Villanova is the first team in BIG EAST history to win 16 conference games in three straight seasons.  This week, the Wildcats are 27-4 overall and ranked No. 3 in the Associated Press poll and No. 2 in the USA Today poll.  Wright’s fifth coaching honor passes Connecticut’s Jim Calhoun and Syracuse’s Jim Boeheim, who have four each.  Wright has won Coach of the Year honors in ‘14-15, ‘13-14, ‘08-09 and ‘05-06.  He is in his 15^th season at Villanova and owns a 468-241 (.660) career record.  His BIG EAST regular-season mark is 162-98 (.623).