By ADAM ZAGORIA
Villanova’s Jay Wright was named the Big East Coach of the Year on Wednesday, while Marquette’s Markus Howard was named Player of the Year.
Georgetown’s James Akinjo took home Rookie of the Year honors, while Seton Hall’s Mike Nzei was Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
Despite losing four players to the NBA from last year’s NCAA championship team, Wright led Villanova to a 22-9 record, 13-5 in the Big East. The Wildcats are the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament for the fifth time in six years. This is the sixth time Wright has won Big East Coach of the Year honors.
Marquette’s Howard averaged 25.0 points, 4.0 assists and 3.9 rebounds for the Golden Eagles (23-8, 12-6). The 5-foot-11 guard scored a Big East-record 53 points against Creighton on Jan. 9.
The 6-foot Akinjo averaged 13.3 points, 5.4 assists and 2.9 rebounds for the Hoyas (19-12, 9-9).
#BIGEASThoops Coach Of The Year – @VUCoachJWright
A sixth ?????? honor for the @NovaMBB Head Coach pic.twitter.com/c3gzqMG2p7 — #BIGEASThoops (@BIGEASTMBB) March 13, 2019
#BIGEASThoops Player of the Year – @markushoward11
First @MarquetteMBB winner since Jae Crowder (@CJC9BOSS) pic.twitter.com/WipHqT4VY5 — #BIGEASThoops (@BIGEASTMBB) March 13, 2019
