2015 College Lacrosse Preview: Denver Picked as Big East Preseason Favorite

Do you anticipate the Big East taking the form of Denver smashing skulls and everyone else receiving blood transfusions from each other in order to survive? If so, you're not alone -- the Big East's six coaches have cemented the Pioneers as the league's favorite, leading a pack of similarly situated victims. From the press release:

For the second year in a row, Denver was voted the preseason favorite among BIG EAST men's lacrosse coaches, announced by the conference on Thursday. Two Pioneers also earned both major preseason awards as senior Wesley Berg was voted Offensive Player of the Year and sophomore Christian Burgdorf as Defensive Player of the Year. Both players were unanimous selections.

Here's how the voting shook out:

A few realities are clear based on the point tabulations: (1) As coaches couldn't vote for their own teams, Bill Tierney voted Marquette as the top team on his ballot; (2) Denver is the clear favorite and St. John's and Providence have work to do; (3) There is a mess of sameness in the middle of the league between Georgetown, Villanova, and Marquette. For comparison purposes, here's how College Crosse projected the Big East going into the season.

As for preseason all-league honors, here's the full Denver roster preseason All-Big East team: