BIG WEST MEDIA DAY PRESEASON POLL:
- UC Irvine
- UC Santa Barbara
- Hawaii
- UC San Diego
- Cal State Northridge
- UC Davis
- Cal Poly
- Long Beach State
- UC Riverside
- Cal State Bakersfield
- Cal State Fullerton
MEDIA DAY PRESEASON ALL-BIG WEST TEAM:
-Jurian Dixon – SO, G – UC Irvine
-Mahmoud Fofana – SR, F – Cal State Northridge
-Jason Fontenet II – JR, G – UC Santa Barbara
-Andre Henry – SR, G – UC Irvine
-Aidan Mahaney – SR, G – UC Santa Barbara
-Gytis Nemeiksa – SR, F – Hawaii
COMMENTS FROM DAVID:
-I am not supposed to play favorites, but this is probably my favorite conference out of all 31 of them. I love the rivalries, the quality of play is way better than what most people realize, and I think the committee should look a little closer at just how hard it is to win on the road in this league.
-UC Irvine did not make the NCAA Tournament last year, but I would argue they should have. They won 27 regular games, and an amazing 13 of those were true road wins with another five coming on a neutral floor. That is incredible. I guarantee you many of the teams from P4 leagues that snuck into the field would have not done as well against the schedule UC Irvine played. This year they are the preseason favorites despite having just one starter back, but Andre Henry and Langston Redfield both return after suffering injuries, so the cupboard is not bare. While a lot of the returners saw limited minutes, many should be able to step into bigger roles this year.
-UC Santa Barbara is also tasked with replacing most of their starters. They have several players who transferred in from P4 programs, presumably in search of more minutes. If they can step into bigger roles this year they should be able to finish near the top of the standings.
-Hawaii being picked 3rd is interesting. They finished 9th in the standings last year, but they have added some talent from the portal, including Dre Bullock (who averaged double-figures at South Dakota) and Tanner Cuff (who was a solid post player at Evansville). Jake Meyers also comes in from Norfolk State and they have some guys who were high-level contributors at the JUCO level. All these new pieces could add up to a lot more wins for the Rainbow Warriors this year.
-UC San Diego had an amazing season last year! They won 18 conference games! They won 30 games overall! They made the NCAA Tournament and nearly beat Michigan in the Round of 64!! And this year…well…virtually all of those players are gone and they are having to start over. They turned to the portal and grabbed Tyson Dunn (who put up solid numbers at Buffalo) and Alex Chaikin (who averaged just under 14ppg at Lafayette). Most returners saw limited minutes last year. UCSD will not be as good as they were a year ago, but they have enough pieces to at least be competitive in the conference.
-Andy Newman has done a great job in his two years at Cal State Northridge. They won 22 games a season ago and were a very respectable 14-6 in the conference, which earned then an NIT bid. They are in a bit of a reset mode with just one starter returning, and their roster seems to be lacking in players who have seen significant minutes at the D-1 level. Still, given how bad this team was the season before Newman arrived and how good they are now, I am not going to count out his ability to get production out of his roster.
-Jim Les has had a few good years at UC Davis, but not many recently. They did pick up a solid transfer in Connor Sevilla (who put up good numbers at Central Arkansas), but they do not have much in the way of proven D-1-level guys.
-Cal Poly is coming off their best season in quite some time. They were just 16-19, but the most games they had won in four years prior to that was eight, so it was a good first year for Mike DeGeorge as head coach. Just one starter returns in Peter Bandelj, who is a solid guard, but he is one of the few players on the team with substantial experience. Still, this is a program that appears to be going in the right direction.
-Long Beach had been one of the better programs in this conference, but they had a terrible season a year ago where they lost 25 games (after winning 21 the year before) and are still trying to rebuild from that. Just one starter is back, but they do have some guys transferring in with some solid D-1 experience, so the Beach may exhibit some improvement this year.
-UC Riverside’s program has been a great story in this conference, and has really turned itself around winning 20+ games in two of the last three seasons. The problem this year is that all their starters are gone and they have a new coach in Gus Argenal. Their roster does consist of some guys who were standout players at lower divisions, but stepping onto the D-1 level in a conference like the Big West, which is one of the top Under the Radar conferences, is not easily done. It could be a long year for the Highlanders, which is unfortunate because you kind of hate to see a legit up-and-coming program like this suddenly lose all its momentum and have to start over.
-It has been a while since Cal State Bakersfield had a winning season and the expectations are once again not very high. Dailin Smith was a solid player at Alabama A&M last year, but other than him they just do not have many guys with solid D-1 experience on the roster.
-Cal State Fullerton won just six total games a season ago, and the days of them being a solid conference contender now seems like it was a long time ago. They do have some guys who were standout players at lower divisions last year, so I do not expect them to finish dead last, but I do not expect them to be anywhere near contention either.
