DeJuan Blair of Pittsburgh and Hasheem Thabeet of Connecticut have been selected co-players of the year in the Big East.
The centers were chosen in a vote of the conference's coaches and Monday's tie was the fifth in the 30-year history of the league, the last in 2002 between players from the same schools, Caron Butler of Connecticut and Brandin Knight of Pittsburgh.
The 6-foot-7 Blair averaged 15.6 points and a league-leading 12.4 rebounds while shooting 59.6 percent from the field.
The 7-3 Thabeet, the Big East's defensive player of the year the past two seasons, averaged 13.6 points, 10.8 rebounds and 4.5 blocks.
Jay Wright, who led Villanova to a school-record 25 wins, was selected coach of the year for the second time.
Georgetown's Greg Monroe was chosen Big East rookie of the year and West Virginia's Alex Ruoff was selected the league's scholar-athlete.
