Tuesday was Big East media day and with it came the Big East coaches poll. For the first time in a very long time, Villanova wasn't picked to finish among the top two teams in the league.

Creighton was the runaway pick to top the conference, garnering eight first-place votes and 98 points overall. That's not a huge surprise, as the Bluejays enter the season with an extremely talented roster and a ton of preseason hype.

The big surprise was at the No. 2 spot, where it was Xavier, not Villanova, picked to be the runner-up. Xavier earned two first-place votes and 86 points, edging out 'Nova, who had one first-place vote and 85 points.

The retirement of Jay Wright and the uncertainty of how Villanova will look without the Hall of Famer patrolling the sidelines is certainly a factor here, but injuries are likely playing a role as well. If Justin Moore was healthy and if star freshman Cam Whitmore was ready to start the season, you'd have to think the 'Cats would have landed at No. 2 and possibly would have closed the gap between No. 1 and No. 2 a bit.

Instead, Villanova will enter the 2022-23 season with a bit of bulletin board material as it looks to prove that the Big East still goes through the Main Line.