NEW YORK -- West Virginia has enjoyed its share of NCAA tournament success over the years. There was the 1959 Final Four team starring Jerry West that came within a point of beating California for the national championship. And there was the overachieving 2005 squad led by Kevin Pittsnogle that reached the Elite Eight.

But West Virginia and Big East Conference power have never been uttered in the same sentence.

That could change this season. The Mountaineers, who never placed higher than third in the standings since joining the league in 1996 and are one of only five teams in the 16-team conference to never win a Big East regular-season or tournament title, were picked to finish second behind Villanova in a vote by the coaches yesterday at Big East media day.

The Mountaineers received 215 points in the poll, three points behind Villanova, which had 10 first-place votes to West Virginia's five.

Pitt was picked to finish ninth.

"We should handle it well," said West Virginia senior Da'Sean Butler, the Mountaineers' leading returning scorer. "The players haven't had the opportunity to be ranked high before, but Coach has. I think coach [Bob] Huggins will take care of us. He won't let our heads get any bigger than what they're supposed to be."

The preseason poll signaled what could be a changing of the guard in the conference. The perennial powers were hit hard by graduation and early defections to the NBA.

Pitt, which has placed fifth or better in the league standings in seven of the past eight seasons, is not expected to finish in the top half of the league. The Panthers return just one starter and have six freshmen on the roster.

Louisville, the regular-season and tournament champion last season, lost three starters and went through a controversial offseason that included a sex scandal involving coach Rick Pitino and player arrests.

Connecticut, which has placed first or second in the conference in six of the past eight seasons, must also replace three starters.

All of which opens the door for the Mountaineers. They return four starters, including Butler, a preseason first-team all-Big East selection by the coaches, and sophomore Devin Ebanks, who made the second-team.

"I think we're pretty good, but I don't know how good we are," West Virginia coach Bob Huggins said. "This is the most versatile group that we've had. We can do a lot of different things because of our versatility."

For Pitt, this is unfamiliar territory. The Panthers, who have qualified for a Big East-best eight consecutive NCAA tournaments, are usually among the preseason favorites. The No. 9 prediction is the lowest for the Panthers since they were picked to finish fifth in the Big East West Division in 2001. That team went on to finish in first place.

"It's lower than we've been picked, but we have a history of finishing higher than we've been picked," Pitt coach Jamie Dixon said. "We've never really based our performance on the way people see us in October. It's about where we are when January comes around when the conference starts. Is it a challenge? Yeah. But every year is a challenge. No matter where you're picked you have to do it on the floor. We have to prove ourselves."

While the conference was loaded with several elite teams that did well in the NCAA tournament last season, Dixon said the league might be more balanced 1-16 than any other year he can remember. Teams that finished near the bottom of the standings in years past have higher expectations than normal.

Seton Hall, for example, was picked to finish 10th, only a few points behind Pitt. St. John's, a perennial bottom-feeder, returns its entire roster and was picked 11th.

"The one thing that stands out is the teams at the bottom of the conference have their guys back or have added guys while a lot of the other teams are replacing guys," Dixon said.

Other coaches agree with Dixon's assessment of the league.

"This could be a changing of the guard type of season," Pitino said. "I wouldn't be surprised if Cincinnati was in the top five. I wouldn't be surprised if St. John's was in the mix, or if South Florida is in the mix because they have the bulk of their players back."

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