BIG WEST MEDIA DAY PRESEASON POLL:
- UC Irvine
- UC San Diego
- UC Santa Barbara
- Utah Valley
- Cal State Northridge
- California Baptist
- Cal State Fullerton
- Cal Poly
- Sacramento State
- Long Beach State
- UC Riverside
- Cal State Bakersfield
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COMMENTS FROM DAVID:
-The Big West is perhaps the top Under the Radar conference and is often undervalued by…well…everyone. Including the selection committee.
-UC Irvine is one of the flagship programs in the conference and the preseason favorite to win it this year. They won 23 games a year ago and finished in 1st place, but lost to Hawaii in the championship game. Tama Isaac had a solid freshman season last year running the point and should be even better this year now that he has a year of experience under his belt. Nils Cooper was a double-digit scorer at UC Davis last year who transfers in and they have a solid-looking group of freshmen and transfers. There are quite a few question marks with this year’s team, but Russell Turner has a history of meeting (and exceeding) expectations.
-I am a big believer in this UC San Diego team, and they are my pick to win the league. With four starters back from a team that was really playing well down the stretch (despite an early loss in the Big West Tournament) I think they can not only win the Big West, but perhaps position themselves to get beyond the Round of 64. In addition to the four starters, Rahmir Barno comes in at PG, who was a good player for FGCU a year ago, and Kayde Dotson was another strong guard from Loyola Chicago. They have got depth, talent, guys who can hit from the outside, and are going to be a very tough team to beat.
-UC Santa Barbara really fell apart in the second half of conference play last year, winning just one of their final seven games. Still, the expectations are high again this year with Miro Little returning. He averaged 12ppg a season ago despite batting injuries. CJ Shaw is also back, who averaged 12ppg last year and was a fantastic outside shooter. They add some key transfers as well in Viljami Vartiainen from Weber State and RJ Smith from DePaul, so the Gauchos definitely have some pieces to work with.
-Utah Valley joins the league after being one of the better programs in the WAC. They have won 25 games in each of the last two seasons, which is remarkable, but they came up short in the conference tournament both years, including in a classic championship game last year. They will have a much harder path to it now that they are in the Big West. Still, as a program they should be able to hold their own over time, but they may be in for a tough ride this year. Isaac Davis gives them a presence inside, but they will need some of the returners and newcomers to step up if they want to finish near the top of the standings this year.
-Cal State Northridge has won 20+ games each of the last two years, which is a huge accomplishment for a program that was very recently seemingly always at or near the bottom. Just one starter is back so Coach Andy Newman is in a bit of a reset mode, but Brooklyn Hicks and Caleb Smith are both key transfers who were solid D-1 players, so the cupboad is not completely empty. They also have some guys who can hit from the outside, so the Matadors will once again be fun to watch.
-California Baptist is another Big West newcomer. They won 25 games last year as member of the WAC and won the conference tournament after going 13-5 in league play. The bad news is that all five starters are gone and they are having to start completely over in a league that is much stronger than last year’s WAC. Ethan Duncan was a solid player for Lipscomb, but other than him they just do not have much in the way of players who are proven at the D-1 level, so there are probably more questions than answers when it comes to this team.
-Cal State Fullerton saw a huge improvement last year, winning 18 total games after winning just 6 the year before. Only two starters are back this year, one of whom is Christian Williams who was a really solid player a year ago. Malcolm Bell comes over from Cal Poly after averaging just under 15ppg, so he is a huge get for the Titans. They also add some talented freshmen and lower division transfers, and should be a fairly decent 3-PT shooting team.
-Cal Poly may be a bit of a dark horse this year. I do not think they will contend to finish at the top of the standings, but I could see them doing better than 8th. Four starters are back, and I am always a fan of experience, but it is also a team that won five of their last seven regular season games: one of those wins was at Hawaii who won the Big West Tournament last year. Cayden Ward is a solid frontcourt player who can score and rebound, Guzman Vasilic is a solid outside shooter, and they have some talented players. I think they will finish higher than where they are being picked.
-Sacramento State is the third newcomer to the Big West. They struggled in the Big Sky last year, winning just 10 total games and finishing 8th in the league, and with just one starter back they will likely struggle again this year. Mikey Williams is a phenomenal player who averaged over 17ppg a year ago, but he will need some help if they are going to finish higher than 9th.
-Long Beach State had a tough year last year, finishing 9th in the conference and is starting completely over this year with no returning starters. They have a couple of guys who were very strong JUCO players, but they do not appear to have much in the way of proven and experienced D-1-caliber players.
-UC Riverside was last year’s 10th-place team and with just one starter back it is looking like another long year for the Highlanders. Coach Gus Argenal has his work cut out for him and will be relying on guys who were standout players in lower divisions and others who played limited roles at other D-1 programs and transferred in looking for the chance to play a bigger role this year.
-Cal State Bakersfield was just 2-18 in Big West play a year ago and are starting completely over. Todd Lee takes over as coach and is tasked with replacing all five starters. Kjay Bradley Jr. was a solid player for San Diego a season ago and he is a solid pick up for the Roadrunners. Bryce Cofield was a double digit scorer for Cal State Fullerton and is another good get. They do have some proven D-1 talent, but are a JUCO-transfer-heavy team outside of that.
