Surveying the Big West field in men's basketball
Dec. 16—Sitting at 4-5 entering Saturday's penultimate nonconference matchup with Abilene Christian, the Cal State Bakersfield men's basketball team begins its Big West slate in less than two weeks when it travels to UC Riverside on Dec. 29. Here's more on the entire Big West field, sorted by record as of Friday morning.
UC Santa Barbara (7-2, CSUB plays at home Jan. 11, away Jan. 21): The Gauchos haven't played the most rigorous preseason schedule so far, and their NCAA NET ranking indexes them below UC Irvine, UC Davis, Hawaii and UC Riverside. Still, UCSB's returning talent is undeniable, and Big West coaches picked the Gauchos to finish first. Key pieces like guards Ajay Mitchell and Josh Pierre-Louis and forward Miles Norris are back from last year's team. New this season is Andre Kelly, who was already a standout in the Pac-12 for Cal prior to a season-ending injury last season and figures to play a big role.
UC Davis (7-3, away Jan. 7, home Jan. 26): The top offense in the conference so far resides in Davis, where junior guard Elijah Pepper has steadily upped his scoring average each year and now leads the Big West with 19.6 points per game, highlighted by a 32-point outing in a road loss at Loyola Marymount. The Aggies have three other double-digit scorers in Ty Johnson, Christian Anigwe and Robby Beasley III, who have all contributed to a league-best rebounding effort — plus, Johnson leads the Big West in steals and Anigwe is the conference's top shotblocker. One early concern is turnovers, as the Aggies have committed at least 18 in five games already this year.
Hawaii (6-3, away Jan. 28, home Feb. 20): This year's Hawaii team looks very similar to last year's, led by the returning duo of Noel Coleman (whose strong 2021-22 campaign was derailed by injury) and Kamaka Hepa, but it's not clear yet whether it's taken a leap forward. In fact, the Rainbow Warriors suffered a 53-51 home loss on Nov. 30 to one of the newest Division I teams, Texas A&M-Commerce. They have, however, been one of the top defensive teams in the conference, particularly on the perimeter.
UC Irvine (7-4, home Dec. 31, away March 4): DJ Davis announced his presence to the Big West, and the nation, early this season by scoring 24 points, including six 3-pointers, as the Anteaters knocked off No. 21 Oregon back on Nov. 11. Davis has continued to dazzle as the Big West's premier outside shooter, and Dawson Baker has added 13.6 points per game to form a top scoring duo. The departure of Collin Welp means that the post looks a lot different, with 7-foot German center Bent Leuchten holding it down.
UC Riverside (6-4, away Dec. 29, home Feb. 2): Don't be fooled by its fifth-place positioning, as UCR's record includes losses to teams like Colorado, Creighton and Oregon. Senior guard Zyon Pullin will pose an immense challenge to any team he plays against, and currently averages 19.5 points per game on a conference-high 54.2 percent shooting, No. 13 among guards nationwide. Sixth-year senior Flynn Cameron is shooting 39 percent from beyond the arc and serves as a nice complementary piece for Pullin.
