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Villanova's Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges make all-Big East team

Wildcats center Omari Spellman also was picked to the all-Big East freshman team. He and Brunson were unanimous selections in the vote of league coaches.

Jalen Brunson, center, of Villanova leads his team in their pre-game ritual before their game against Marquette at the Wells Fargo Center on Jan 6, 2018.
Jalen Brunson, center, of Villanova leads his team in their pre-game ritual before their game against Marquette at the Wells Fargo Center on Jan 6, 2018.Read moreCHARLES FOX / Staff Photographer

Junior guard Jalen Brunson, a unanimous selection, and redshirt junior forward Mikal Bridges represented Villanova on the all-Big East first team announced Sunday.

Wildcats center Omari Spellman received unanimous support on the all-Big East freshman team.

The teams were voted on by the league's coaches, who were not permitted to vote for their own players.

The 6-foot-2 Brunson helped lead the Cats to a 27-4 record and 14-4 conference mark, averaging 19.0 points and 4.8 assists.  He led the league in assist/turnover ratio at 2.9 and was fifth in field-goal percentage at 52.8.

The 6-7 Bridges averaged 17.6 points and 5.5 rebounds. He was third in the league in steals (1.6 per game), seventh in three-point percentage (42.0) and ninth in free-throw percentage (84.5). He shot 51.1 percent from the field overall.

The rest of the six-man all-Big East first team consisted of guard Trevon Bluiett of Xavier, forward Kelen Martin of Butler,  guard Marcus Foster of Creighton and guard Shamorie Ponds of St. John's. Bluiett and Martin were unanimous selections.

The Big East player of the year will be announced Wednesday.

The 6-9 ½ Spellman led all Big East freshmen in scoring (10.9 points per game) and rebounding (7.8). He ranks second in the Big East among all players in blocked shots (1.5), third in three-point percentage (43.6) and fourth in rebounding.

Naji Marshall of Xavier and Jamorko Pickett of Georgetown also were unanimous all-freshman picks. Mitch Ballock of Creighton and Jahvon Blair of Georgetown rounded out the team.