Not too many surprises at Big East media day as UConn was the unanimous pick to win the regular season title and Maya Moore was once again selected as the preseason player of the year

First, some housecleaning. I picked the top seven teams in the preseason (I will take credit for having DePaul ahead of Louisville even though they tied). I also got Providence correct at No. 15. But that was it. I picked Cincinnati 14th and Seton Hall 16th while the coaches flipped that selections. I was also only one place off on Marquette and South Florida. I wasn't close on Georgetown, West Virginia, St. John's or Villanova.

As for the individual awards, Maya Moore and Skylar Diggins winning the player and freshman of the year honors wasn't exactly a stunning revelation. Because of a tie, there were 12 players named to the first time rather than 11. Nine of the 11 picks I made were so honored. I had Rutgers' Brittany Ray and Erica Morrow of Syracuse on my preseason All-Big East squad while the coaches had Notre Dame's Lindsay Schrader, DePaul's Keisha Hampton and Nicole Michael of Syracuse on the first team.

DePaul coach Doug Bruno and Rutgers coach C. Vivian Stringer were unable to attend because of deaths in their family.

UConn coach Geno Auriemma, as always, put on a show for the media. Perhaps his best quotes came when he was asked about how he looks at the annual trek to New York to be selected as the preseason favorite to win the conference.

"We are in a tough situation in some ways," Auriemma said. "How am I supposed to win a lot of these questions? Well, we’ll see, we don’t have this, we don’t have that. Then everybody goes you are a (jerk), you have two of the best players in the country, two of the top five players in the country. Then you say ‘I think we have a chance to win the whole thing.’ Then they say you are an arrogant (jerk), what are you supposed to say?"

I spoke to Villanova coach Harry Perretta who told me former Mercy High star Rachel Roberts approached him requesting to redshirt because of the return of three senior guards and it looks as if Perretta will go that route.

Former UConn player and assistant coach Jamelle Elliott, the first-year coach at Cincinnati, was not pleased to be picked last and hopes to use it as a motivational tool for her squad.

Couple of bits of info from Notre Dame coach Muffet McGraw. First, forward Devereaux Peters probably won't be back in the lineup from a knee injury until January and more than 1,500 seats are gone from the Joyce Center as part of a recently-completed renovation.

There will be much more from the day in the coming days.