Big West Beat

 Big West Status Report: 12/8/25

    We are a week into Big West conference play and wrapping up the holiday non-con schedule and the Big West is taking shape. There are not any major surprises so far and there are three clear tiers emerging out west. The conference seemed to be pretty par for the course in the early season non-conference matchups and MTE's which will leave them with some work to do in conference to steal an extra bid. What is going for them right now is that the Big East is looking mighty thin and the middle of the SEC is not as solid as the last few seasons. However, there are a few other mid major conferences that have developed some strong resumes. The WCC seems poised to get a third team in the dance, the MAC is starting to separate from the middle of the pack, and the A10 seems to finally be coming back to life after some real down years. What is clear right now for the Big West however is its current power rankings of teams in terms of resume and play thus far. 

1. UCSD - KP 98

2. Hawaii - KP 102

3. UC Santa Barbara - KP 141

4. UC Irvine - KP 125

5. UC Riverside - KP 249

6. Cal Poly - KP 238

7. CSUN - KP 250

8. UC Davis - KP 163

9. Cal St. Fullerton - KP 279

10. Cal St. Bakersfield - KP 302

11. Long Beach State - KP 268

    The first group of teams have separated themselves from the pack with their play so far this season. They are all also doing it through different play styles which is setting up nicely for some great conference mid week matchups. I want to keep my focus on those three, but I will highlight that middle group and their potential to be thorns in the side of the Big Wests quest to secure a second bid.

Hawaii attacked the portal for experience and size, something they were lacking dearly last season and it has certainly paid off on the defensive end. The Bows' will go as far as Dre Bullock will take them, their do it all guard has been electric this season, and the added additions veteran center Isaac Johnson and sharp shooting forward Hunter Erickson have allowed for scoring at all levels. These three have also allowed for their returning leading scorer Gytis Nemeiksa to take on less of the scoring load and find easier shots on the court. With that all being said their defense has carried them to this point, currently ranked 27th in Ken Poms' defensive efficiency metric. They are struggling to find their 3 point shot as they're below the 30% mark so far this season, and Eran Ganot still hasn't gotten a solid rotation down yet. Their resume is not as strong as they would have hoped as they surrendered late game leads to Oregon and Arizona State, but certainly showed in these games that they can compete with power conference schools. I believe as it sits right now the Rainbow Warriors have the highest ceiling in this group, especially if the offense can come along. 

UC Santa Barbara similarly dove into the portal to secure some key pieces for the Gauchos, their biggest addition being former Uconn Husky and St. Mary's Gael, Aiden Mahaney. The Gauchos have exceled offensively this season and have been efficient from beyond the arc as a whole. Mahaney, forward Colin Smith, and guard Zion Sensley are all shooting above 45% which is allowing the Gauchos to spread teams out defensively. Their short comings are showing on the defensive end however, they have snuck out of a few games by just out running the opponent. Currently they have a bottom third defensive rating on Ken Pom, and their two losses came against their two highest rated opponents LMU (139) and Nevada (87). They are going to be a tough out this season and expect some high over/unders when they hit the court, but they are going to struggle with the top of the conference and if the shots ain't falling they can get got. 

UC San Diego is coming off of a historic season that left them losing their head coach to New Mexico and losing the majority of their production from the year prior. I figured with so much change and hangover they might struggle but they have answered the call so far. Starting off 7-0 with wins over solid Towson and Bradley teams before surrendering a 6 point loss at Nevada. They have balanced tempo that has allowed them to control games with their efficient offense led by forward Leo Beath. The Florida Atlantic transfer is shooting a balmy 48% from three and 57% from the field which at 6'8 is a matchup nightmare. He is surrounded by a cast of average but efficient scorers who know their identity on this team. Credit to Clint Allard for having this team of fresh and inexperienced faces playing cohesively from the jump. Even with the departure of Eric Olen, the Tritons have been able to maintain an identity of team basketball that has allowed them to be successful since their leap to DI basketball. I still think they will face a talent gap to UCSB and Hawaii but they have been able to play Triton basketball and continuing that will lead to another successful season. 

    The middle of the conference is solid this far with UC Irvine remaining the solid program it has been, but the rise of Cal Poly and Cal State Northridge are going to boost the Big Wests pedigree. Cal Poly under Mike DeGeorge have maintained a clear identity as the conferences tempo team (And number 2 nationally using Ken Pom). This year he might have the pieces to finally take a serious crack at a top 5 finish. Led by guards Hamad Mousa and Peter Bandelj who are shooting 45% and 50% from three respectively. Yes, 50% from three. While this may not be maintained through the season as a volume shooting team, Mustangs clearly have something on their hands that will end up catching someone off guard this season. CSUN flew under the radar last season as the Tritons and Anteaters duked it out for the conference title finishing tied for 3rd in conference for the regular season. Similar to Cal Poly, Andy Newman has the Matadors running on offense which has led to a real boom or bust result thus far. They have dropped games to Idaho & Idaho State as well as an ugly 29 point loss to Northern Iowa. They have also taken down a solid Troy team and put conference foe Cal State Bakersfield in their place this week with a big win. 

    The Big West looks to continue the success it built last season and push for a second bid (That they were robbed of a season before). There are several key out of conference matchups approaching for the Big West that are going to be needed for that multi bid push. Coming up are some measuring stick games as UCSD travels to LMU next Tuesday for an inter conference coastal clash and UC Irvine will host a roaring Belmont this week. UCSB will also meet a WCC opponent in Portland and Cal Poly has a date with UCLA at Pauley Pavilion where a strong showing could elevate the meat of the Big West.