Shortstop Kyle Marinconz leads Cal Poly with four home runs this season. By Owen Main

Big West baseball is one week in, and it’s still wide-open. After losing a road series in Northridge last weekend, Cal Poly can do a lot to improve their conference outlook with a conference win at Cal State Fullerton this weekend. It won’t be easy. 

The Titans are the highest profile team in the conference. Over the past 10 years, Rick Vanderhook’s team has six Big West titles, two second-place finishes, a third, and a fourth. In other words, despite a series loss for the Titans last week, the Big West baseball title goes through Fullerton. 

For Cal Poly, consistency will be key. Pitching has been OK at times — Cal Poly has given up the third most runs and earned runs in the Big West. Hitting has exploded in some games — the Mustangs are second in the Big West in runs. Defense has been a rough spot for Larry Lee’s team. Cal Poly has given up 29 unearned runs, second only in the conference to Long Beach State’s 30. Long Beach State has played 29 games while Cal Poly has played 27.

Fullerton has also given-up nearly one unearned run per game on average. It’s one of the reasons that those three perennial Big West contenders find themselves looking up in the standings to Hawai’i, UC Riverside, and CSUN early in the season. 

Only one week into the conference, Cal Poly has everything in front of them. The Big West has no clear frontrunner. A series win against the Titans would feel pretty good going into a stretch of the schedule where four of six conference series are at home. Make no mistake though, losing back-to-back series to CSUN and Fullerton to start the season would not bode well for whatever Big West or Postseason dreams Cal Poly has.  

The Big West is not top-heavy this year. Or maybe it’s all top-heavy. There is no one team that has clearly separated itself from the rest. UC Irvine has the pedigree. UC Davis has Chima. Cal State Fullerton has a big three. Long Beach State has history and the conference’s most experienced coach. Hawai’i has a steady hand and a bunch of steady dudes on a roster that makes sense. UCSB may have the best overall talent and a fresh new coach that is probably both an advantage and disadvantage early in the conference season. 

On a given night there are 2-3 AMAZING games in the conference. Basically, this race is shaping up to be a mid-major Royal Rumble cage match where only one team will be left standing. 

So let’s continue the metaphor (not a simile — I didn’t use like or as). Which team matches up with which WWF early-90’s wrestler?

Hawai’i (4-1)

Hawai’i is 3-1 in conference play. Eron Ganot’s program has transitioned into one with players who also know their roles and play mostly sound basketball. For me, they are Shawn Michaels. The Heartbreak Kid was a solid wrestling personality. Hawai’i is a solid basketball team. (I picked them 4th going into the season.) That said, they are also very confident. They like to jaw and trash talk. They maybe think they’re better than they are, though they might be just that good. 

While you could probably say it about any wrestler, the irrational confidence and all-around classic personality of this team reminded me of Michaels. 

Cal State Fullerton (4-2) 

The Titans are off to their best start in years. They have three very good players at their core with a supporting cast that understands their roles. Fullerton knows exactly who they are and aren’t. They do a few things really well and playing against them is like staring into the cold eyes of The Undertaker. The Undertaker is big and physical and knows exactly who he is. He joined WWF in 1990 — a sort of new kid on the block at our targeted time period. So, too, are Cal State Fullerton. 

Long Beach State (4-2)

I used to never pick Dan Monson’s team out of the top 4. They were always in the hunt for a conference title and a chance at the conference’s NCAA tournament bid. Some of the sheen is off Long Beach State. Recent years have brought transfers in and out, but they still play the toughest non-conference schedule and probably have the biggest overall revenue of any program in the conference. For that, this team is the Million Dollar Man, Ted DiBiase. DiBiase’s upfront capitalist attitude (“Everybody’s got a price!”) made so many people uncomfortable and made him a classic heel. 

DiBiase’s character didn’t just elicit emotional responses. He made you introspective about why you did or didn’t like him. He brought all your own moral defects to your conscious mind. In the end, you had to respect the character because he did what he did. At some point, as a fan, you knew what was coming.

UCSB (3-2) 

In a week, UCSB could be right back on top of the conference. For me, they are still the team to beat, though currently they’re in SIXTH place. SIXTH. 

Because of their big start, UCSB is Hulk Hogan. Even into the early 90’s, Hogan was still dominant and still a good guy. Eventually he turned, but the bright yellow hulk tank from ’92 screams Isla Vista to me. 

Oh yeah, Brother!

Really though, Hulk Hogan was a centerpiece of WWF for most of two decades and UCSB has a rich history and is still the favorite in my mind. The Gauchos as Hulk just makes sense to me. 

UC Davis (3-2) 

UC Davis was my preseason #1 pick. Jim Les has an intense game demeanor that, under the surface, I know is basically Ric Flair. The Nature Boy was a top-3 dominant personality in the sport for years. Kids at my high school used to put up both hands and go WOOOOOOOOOO on a regular basis. One of our student body presidents used to read the announcements in homage to Flair just about every morning. 

A few years ago, I might have picked Long Beach State to be Flair. They were the team who was always there — year after year. Davis has become that team now. They have the marquee talent in the conference in Chima Monecke. They have worked hard to get relevant and they’ll do everything they can to stay there, even if it means turning heel sometimes. 

UC Irvine (3-3)

Russell Turner continues to amaze. He’s lost two seven-footers in recent years, but still boasts the biggest team in the conference in the paint. Between Jonathon Galloway, Tommy Rutherford, Elston Jones, and Brad Greene, UCI’s power forward nearly always has a post-up advantage against the opponent. Last night, the Anteaters outscored Cal Poly 44-16 in the paint. UCI has talented guards too, but for me they are Big Boss Man. 

Big Boss Man was, first and foremost, big. He didn’t let anybody get away with anything, and that’s the way UCI has played over the past 3-5 years. The Anteaters take advantage of opponents’ mistakes and don’t let them get away with anything either. To beat the Big Boss Man, you had to be on the top of your game. Same with UCI this season. 

CSUN (2-3)

I didn’t really know where to put the Matadors, so I enlisted some help. Ghizal Hasan, their radio voice, said Razor Ramon would be a good choice. So we’ll go with Ramon. 

Ramon was good times. CSUN can be good times too when things are going well. The hair is amazing. I had one other person vote for Hardy Boys for CSUN. 

Cal Poly (1-4)

The Mustangs won their first game in wild fashion, and thank goodness they did. Cal Poly has since lost three straight including last night in Irvine. They are at their best when their games are a little weird. They have some very specialized skills, and also some very specific weaknesses. 

I couldn’t find anywhere to put them, so maybe they’re Sgt. Slaughter. Maybe it works. Cal Poly is a pretty conservative campus overall. 

As a Cal Poly fan, I’ll say this — Sgt. Slaughter isn’t afraid of anybody. Neither is Cal Poly. Sgt. Slaughter is self-made. Lots of Cal Poly guys are too — many are JUCO transfers or transfers from other larger programs. Yeah, I think Sgt. Slaughter is a decent proxy for the Mustangs. 

UC Riverside (0-5)

I don’t want to pile-on. This group lost their head coach on New Year’s Day. They’ve been without their star point guard for all of conference play so far. What wrestler should UCR be?!

I thought about this one not very much, but the guy who I haven’t gotten on this list yet is Jake “The Snake” Roberts. Since it’s pretty unorthodox to fire a coach midseason, and having a huge python in the ring is also pretty uncommon, maybe this is a match made in heaven. Jake the Snake. 

Dude, how did they let Macho Man get bit by Jake’s snake? Holy crap. 

It was almost Mott Magic for the second time in three days. Almost.

After erasing a 10-point Cal State Fullerton lead with 2:39 to play in the game, Cal Poly looked like they had all the momentum they needed to get out of the weekend with a pair of improbable home victories. 

But the Titans’ Kyle Allman Jr. took control. The junior guard altered a shot late and finished the game with 30 points to lead Cal State Fullerton to a 101-97 win. Fullerton is now 2-0 in conference play while Cal Poly falls to 1-1. 

Victor Joseph’s hot shooting spurred the Mustangs on Saturday night. By Owen Main

Victor Joseph heats up

After a slow start to the season, senior Victor Joseph has warmed over the past month or so. As Cal Poly clawed back into Saturday night’s game, Joseph was the catalyst, scoring 25 of his 33 points in the second half and overtime. Joseph was 11-19 from the field on the night, including 7-12 from three-point range. In all, Cal Poly made 19 three-pointers (the program and Big West record is 21). but Cal Poly shot just 12/34 from two-point range (35 percent) and had no answer for Fullerton’s Big 3. 

Fullerton rising

Between Kyle Allman Jr., Jackson Rowe, and Khalil Ahmad, it’s hard to know who to focus on if you’re playing defense against the Titans. 

Allma (30 points, 9 rebounds), who was the week’s Big West Player of the Week, has a quickness usually only seen from guys as small as Donovan Fields and Victor Joseph, and his explosiveness around the rim allows him to draw contact and finish. 

Jackson Rowe (24 points, 12 rebounds), last year’s Freshman of the Year in the Big West, has developed enough of a three-pointer to keep teams honest and was as effective an offensive rebounder as I’ve seen against Cal Poly this season. 

As for Ahmad, he had an off night on Saturday, scoring “just” 13 points while fouling out. He is dangerous though. He’ll win at least a game or two for the Titans singlehandedly this season as teams focus on shutting down Allman and Rowe. 

Cal State Fullerton is for real. They have enough balance and are finally disciplined enough on defense across the roster to compete the way head coach Dedrique Taylor wants them to. 

Hank sets a record

Hank Hollingsworth set a Cal Poly program record with seven blocks on Saturday night. What’s more amazing is that he did so in just 14 minutes of action. With Cal State Fullerton going small late, Joe Callero chose to keep Hank out of the lineup late in the game and into overtime in order to match-up. 

Cal Poly hits the road to play Hawai’i on Wednesday night before visiting UC Irvine and CSUN for consecutive ESPN3 contests on January 18th and 20th. 

Photos by Owen Main. For more photos click here. If you just want to contribute to the cause, Venmo @Owen-Main or paypal owen@fansmanship.com. 

This week Owen and Nick relive probably the most exciting home weekend in over a decade for Cal Poly basketball. The Mustangs are 1-1 and headed to Hawai’i, so what better time to bring in Brian McInnis (around the 58 minute mark). McInnis is the beat reporter for the Honolulu Star Advertiser for Hawai’i. We talk some Hawai’i hoops and preview Wednesday night’s game in Hawai’i. 

Harrison Faigen is a senior writer for Lakers Nation and also a Cal State Fullerton student who has various roles at the Daily Titan. With Cal Poly facing the Titans at home on Saturday, I thought it would be a good time to give Harrison a call and talk a little about Dedrique Taylor’s upstart Fullerton team. 

I also asked him about David Nwaba, who he covered all season last year with the DFenders and then the Lakers. 

Big West season is upon us! Owen and Nick give their first-half All-Big West players and talk through the tiers of teams as it stands at the moment. Cal Poly plays UCSB and Cal State Fullerton in Mott Athletics Center this week. 

Cal Poly baseball came into last weekend’s series against eighth-ranked Cal State Fullerton needing a series win to stay in the conference race. After losing Friday night’s game, the Mustangs (8-4 in Big West play) battled back to win on Saturday and Sunday, moving into a virtual tie with Cal State Fullerton. After sweeping UC Irvine, Long Beach State remains in first place in the Big West, two games ahead of the Mustangs at 10-2. 

Alex McKenna is so hot right now. By Owen Main

Stay hot kids

Cal Poly has won each of its first four Big West series by a count of two games to one. A big reason for this weekend’s win was continued hot hitting throughout the Mustang lineup. 

After going 0-5 on Friday at the plate, center fielder Alex McKenna went a combined 7-11 on Saturday and Sunday. After three hits on Saturday including a triple and a pair of runs, McKenna led off Sunday’s game with a home run and added a double and a pair of singles en route to the Big West Field Player of the Week. With his big week, McKenna raised his slash line to .357/.438/.481 on the season.

To go with McKenna’s hot bat, three other Mustangs are hitting over .300. Michael Sanderson leads the team’s regulars with a .358 average and Bradlee Beasley, who leads the team with 11 doubles, raised his average to .333. Colby Barrick, who has made the most of his starts in right field, is swinging a hot bat, hitting .397 in more limited at-bats (17 games started).

Freshman Bradlee Beesley has swung a hot bat and seems to have found a home at third base for now. By Owen Main

Field the ball

After making three errors in Friday night’s loss leading to three unearned runs in a 7-4 game, Cal Poly didn’t make an error Saturday or Sunday. It was just the third time this season the Mustangs have gone two straight games without an error. They haven’t had three straight errorless games eyt this season. 

To have a chance to overtake Long Beach State and Cal State Fullerton in this conference, defense will have to continue to improve. For what it’s worth, Bradlee Beasley at third base and Scott Ogrin at second look pretty comfortable. Michael Sanderson also make a few athletic plays at first base in the final two games. 

Brooms could be needed

Cal Poly has been consistent in conference play, but they aren’t going to make a regional unless they win the conference title. Two games behind Long Beach State, the Mustangs may have to sweep one or two of their four remaining series to overtake the Dirtbags. The Mustangs have yet to play at Long Beach State, CSUN, at UCSB, and a final home series against UC Riverside. The path is probably there for Cal Poly if they keep playing like they did on Saturday and Sunday. Opportunities continue to abound. 

Can they stay hot?

Cal Poly starts a stretch of five non-conference games tomorrow night at home against Fresno State (6pm). After visiting UCLA this weekend, the Mustangs come home to play Pepperdine before resuming Big West play at Blair Field in Long Beach a week from Friday. 

For standings, none of these games really matter, but Cal Poly will try to find a way to stay hot and gain confidence going into the Long Beach State series.

Friday Photos

Saturday Photos

Sunday Photos

After a rough start to the season, Cal Poly baseball has played their most consistent ball as Big West play has started. Over the past three weeks, the Mustangs have started 6-3 in conference play, placing them squarely in third place in the conference, two games back of first-place Cal State Fullerton and a game back of Long Beach State. 

Alex McKenna has been swinging a hot bat lately. By Owen Main

Two big reasons have been the hitting of third baseman Michael Sanderson and center fielder Alex McKenna. They have raised their averages to .361 and .360, respectively, and McKenna’s team-leading two home runs have both come recently. 

Erich Uelmen and Spencer Howard continue to pitch well at the top of Cal Poly’s rotation, despite their combined 4-6 record. The Mustangs have given up a combined 13 unearned runs with their two best pitchers on the hill. Michael Clark has shined out of the bullpen, posting a 4-0 record, five saves, and a team-leading ERA of 1.53. Cal Poly has won 15 games and Clark has won or saved nine of them. 

Big West or Bust

Unfortunately for Cal Poly, third place in the Big West won’t get them a regional bid. The Mustangs still have both the Titans and Dirtbags ahead on their schedule. 

Spencer Howard is drawing lots of attention with his 1.79 ERA. He’ll face a stiff test this weekend.

It starts this weekend at Baggett against Cal State Fullerton. 

So far, Cal Poly has gone 2-1 on every conference weekend. That will remain a good recipe when they host the Titans Friday through Sunday. 

Clean it up

Cal Poly is still making errors. If they keep it up, it will cost them a series at some point. They’ve made eight errors in their past six Big West games including at least one in each game. 

Michael Clark has been really good for Cal Poly out of the bullpen this season. By Owen Main

Teeth of the schedule upcoming

Cal Poly hosts Cal State Fullerton this weekend, visits UCLA the following weekend for a non-conference series, and then goes to Long Beach State and Blair Field in three weeks. The series against the Titans and Dirtbags are the two toughest they’ll face in the Big West and UCLA is a perennial College World Series contender. If the Mustangs get hot for three weeks, they could legitimately put themselves in contention for a Big West title and an automatic playoff bid. If the next three weeks go poorly, they could find themselves without postseason aspirations as the season winds down. 

This week’s Schedule

Cal Poly hits the road to Bakersfield for a 6pm mid-week game against CSU Bakersfield Tuesday night, before coming home to face conference power Cal State Fullerton. The games against the Titans at Baggett start at 6pm on Friday, 6pm on Saturday, and 1pm on Sunday. 

Harrison Faigen is a young writer who is getting his reps in. Along with writing about the Lakers and DFenders for Silver Screen and Roll, Faigen is a student at Cal State Fullerton and an editor at the Daily Titan on-campus in Orange County. 

Faigen talked about the DFenders, Cal Poly alum David Nwaba, the Lakers’ situation as it stood a few weeks ago, and Big West basketball.

All the pre-conference games have been played. Rust has been knocked-off. New players have been integrated into teams. Big West schools have played a huge range of opponents from BCS conferences, NAIA, Division II, and others.

On Wednesday night, six of the nine conference schools will tip-off their 16-game Big West season, hoping to earn a top seed in the Big West Tournament, which takes place March 9-11 at the Honda Center in Anaheim.

Here are a few pages I’ll be using consistently. I recommend you get a subscription to KenPom.com if you haven’t already.

CBS Sports strength of schedule

KenPom.com

Big West Men’s Basketball page

Let’s take a look at each team’s preseason, how they’ve done, and what it means for the next 10 weeks.

UC Davis Link to Team’s Site

Record: 8-7

Strength of Schedule – 301/351

KenPom Ranking – 229/351 (3rd in the Big West)

Preseason Media Poll: 5th

UC Davis has the best record this year in the Big West’s non-conference. While several other Big West teams have a top-100 non-conference schedule this season, the Aggies have gotten used to winning against teams who largely play at the level of many Big West Schools.

6’6″ Junior forward Chima Moneke — a JUCO transfer who is originally from Australia — has been a revelation for head coach Jim Les. Moneke leads the team in both scoring (14.9 ppg) and rebounding (8.3 rpg) and is one frontrunner for the Big West’s newcomer of the year award. Brynton Lemar, Seiler Schneider, and Darius Graham all shoot 39 percent or better from three point range, giving  Moneke and super senior JT Adenrele room to operate down low. Adenrele is second on the team in rebounding, with five per game.

Cal State Fullerton Link to Team’s Website

Record: 6-7

Strength of Schedule: 325/351

KenPom Ranking: 291/351 (8th in the Big West)

Preseason Media Poll: 6th

Dedrique Taylor’s squad this year has been generally competitive, if a little inconsistent this year. They have four Division I wins, including against a few average Division I teams — but they’ve also lost against Alabama State – ranked 335/351 on KenPom.com. Senior Tre Coggins is averaging over 20 points per game and could be a sleeper Big West Player of the Year candidate. Sophomore Khalil Ahmad has played in just two games (16.5 ppg), but figures to pair with Coggins to make Fullerton’s back court one of the best in the conference offensively.

Jackson Rowe, a 6′ 7″ freshman from Toronto, leads the team in rebounding and he and Lionheart Leslie both average in double digits in scoring. A combination of conference parody, great guards, and some program consistency means this year’s Fullerton team may finally be ready to start to fulfill Taylor’s vision for the program and compete for a spot in the top half of the conference.

Hawai’i Link to Team’s Website

Record: 6-7

Strength of Schedule: 286/351

KenPom Ranking: 261/351 (5th in the Big West)

Preseason Media Poll: 8th

With a year to plan for the Rainbow Warriors’ postseason ban in 2017, head coach Eron Ganot and co. saw some familiar faces leave this past offseason, including center Stefan Jovanovic (Loyola Marymount).

In this, a rebuilding year, Hawai’i has beaten a number of the bottom 20-50 Division I teams in the country. A number of new faces lead Hawai’i this year, including Australian Jack Purchase — an Auburn transfer — JUCO transfer F Gibson Johnson, and senior UCLA transfer Noah Allen, who leads the team in scoring and rebounding.

Look for Hawai’i to be in games throughout the conference season. They’re not as talented as last year, but a record at or above .500 for conference would not be a surprise given Ganot’s pedigree. Even though they are ineligible for postseason play, Ganot’s team should keep up in a down year in the Big West.

If you want to read more about Hawai’i, Brian McInnis is a great read in the Holonolu Star Advertiser.

UC Irvine Link to Team’s Website

Record: 7-9

Strength of Schedule: 81/351

KenPom Ranking: 181/351 (First in the Big West)

Preseason Media Poll: 2nd 

Russell Turner’s team has become a perennial Big West contender. Sure, the departed Mamadou Ndiaye had something to do with that, but senior Luke Nelson was this author’s preseason pick for Big West Player of the Year. Nelson, out with injury for much of the preseason, would have made a difference in Irvine’s pre-conference record. Irvine’s top-100 strength of schedule makes their 7-9 record without Nelson actually really good.

In Nelson’s absence, Jaron Martin has shown marked improvement from last year as the team’s leading scorer at 14.3 points per game over the first 16. Martin is a notorious clutch shooter, making UC Irvine’s backcourt tandem really, really good.

Without Ndiaye, look for Ioannis Dimakopoulos to go to work inside. A 7′ 2″ senior, Dimakopoulos averages 10 points and four rebounds in just over 20 minutes per game. Jonathan Galloway, listed at 6′ 10″ (did he grow?!), plays good defense and is a role player that great teams need to have.

There is a next generation of UCI players that fans will see this season too. Max Hazzard and Eyassu Worku — freshman guards also recruited by other Big West schools, along with 6′ 8″ freshman forward Tommy Rutherford will see lots of minutes for the Anteaters.

Add up the star power, depth, discipline, leadership and athleticism, and the Anteaters are one of the top two teams going into conference play — if not the best.

Cal Poly Link to Team’s Website

Record: 5-9

Strength of Schedule: 236/351

KenPom Ranking: 270/351 (7th in the Big West)

Preseason Big West Media Poll: 9th

It’s weird that Cal Poly has played at three Pac 12 schools and still has a SOS as low as they do, but here they are.

Joe Callero’s team was already thin enough for the Mustangs to be picked 9th in the preseason media poll, but they’ve also lost probably their two best players in the preseason. Josh Martin only played in five games before a season-ending foot injury. Guard Jaylen Shead — the team leader in assists — left the program as soon as finals were done.

What Callero is left with is a weird situation. The Mustangs basically start three point guards (some combination of Kyle Toth, Ridge Shipley, Victor Joseph, and Donovan Fields), a stretch-four (Luke Meikle), and a defense/rebounding specializing center (Zach Gordon, Aleks Abrams, or Hank Hollingsworth).

Joseph, Fields, Toth, and Hollingsworth have never played in a Big West Conference game before and only Shipley, Meikle, and Gordon have seen consistent minutes.

Things might pivot on Meikle’s ability to carry the load both in rebounding and scoring in the half-court against athletic defenders in the Big West.

Cal Poly’s roster is weird and they haven’t won a game in the four since Shead left, but Callero and his staff often do their best work when things get weird. With as small as this team is, a lot will ride on their ability to defend the paint, rebound, and make three pointers. Look for the 40 percent mark from downtown and free throw differential to be good barometers of how the Mustangs are playing on a given night.

Long Beach State Link to Team’s Website

Record: 5-11

Strength of Schedule: 32/351

KenPom Ranking: 188/351 (2nd in the Big West)

Preseason Big West Media Poll: 1st

Dan Monson’s team always plays one of the toughest pre-conference schedules in the country, and this season was no different. After losing to a number of great teams early in the season, the 49ers rattled off back-to-back wins at Oregon State and at home against Colorado State.

Long Beach brings back firepower in Evan Payne and Gabe Levin — former Loyola Marymount players who transferred to Long Beach. Payne is a pure scorer (14.5 ppg) and Levin does a lot of dirty work, averaging 12.2 points and 6.2 rebounds per contest.

Noah Blackwell, Roschon Prince, and Temidayo Yussuf are all solid rotation players who do a lot of work on both ends of the floor.

The heartbeat of Long Beach State, though, is 5’8″ Justin Bibbins. A junior this year, Bibbins was a vocal leader on the court as an underclassman last season. Bibbins was injured at the end of the Colorado State win on December 22nd and didn’t play at Eastern Michigan. His ability to be full-speed will mean A LOT for a Long Beach State team that is battle-tested and ready to compete for a Big West title once again.

They’ll get a test right out of the gate, facing UC Irvine on Thursday night in Irvine. The game will be an ESPN3 production.

CSUN Link to Team’s Website

Record: 4-9

Strength of Schedule: 139/351

KenPom Ranking: 239/351 (4th in Big West)

Preseason Media Poll: 3rd

Reggie Theus‘ team has been one of the hardest to figure out thus far. With a bevy of transfers from schools in power conferences, CSUN was poised to make a big improvement this year. Maybe they still are.

They still have those talented players. Rakim Lubin (UCONN), Darin Johnson (Washington) Kendall Smith (UNLV), Reggie Theus Jr. (South Carolina) and Dylan Johns (Texas A&M) are all contributing this year. Tavrion Dawson is a talented wing player too.

But inconsistent pre-conference play has given reason for pause. Losses to teams like UCLA and Texas A&M don’t look bad, but the loss to Bethesda at home is a real head-scratcher. Maybe senior Aaron Parks (11.9 points, 4.1 rebounds, 2.6 assists per game), who didn’t play in the Bethesda game, really means that much to the Matadors.

This team will go as far as it is willing to stay disciplined on defense. The Matadors will get their 75 or so points (they average almost 80 per game so far), but their ability to limit turnovers and get defensive stops will be the difference between a winning or losing conference record.

UC Riverside Link to Team’s Website

Record: 2-9

Strength of Schedule: 131/351

KenPom Ranking: 301/351 (9th in the Big West)

Preseason Media Poll: 7th

There’s no doubt about it, UC Riverside has struggled this preseason. Before December 31st, they hadn’t beaten a Division I team this year. But on New Years Eve, they hosted Grand Canyon, a top-200 team, and came away with a victory at the SRC.

The win may be a building block for a team looking for positives.

Secean Johnson is the team’s scoring and rebounding leader at 11.4 points and 5 rebounds per game. Gentry Thomas and Chance Murray are the other Highlanders averaging double-figure points. Dikymbe Martin, a freshman guard from local high school JW North, might be the most interesting player on the team. Martin leads the team in assists and steals and averages 8.5 points per game.

With their overall performance this year, it’s hard to see UC Riverside finishing near the top half of the conference, but the league is so weird this year that anybody could convince themselves they belong in the top four.

UC Santa Barbara Link to Team’s Website

Record: 2-10 

Strength of Schedule: 34/351

KenPom Ranking: 269/351 (6th in the Big West)

Preseason Media Poll: 4th

It’s unusual to see Bob Williams teams struggle, but struggle this year’s squad has. Their only Division I win was against Cal State Bakersfield and losses to San Diego and Seattle weren’t particularly good. In the Seattle game over winter break, the Gauchos gave up a 20-point lead with 9:09 left in the game to lose at the Thunderdome.

Things aren’t all doom and gloom in Goleta, though. UCSB has played the 34th toughest schedule this season and it would be easy to see Williams’ players improving and adjusting as they got into conference. This year’s team is led by junior Gabe Vincent — a sharp shooter deluxe who averages 16.2 points and 4.1 rebounds per game. Junior Jalen Canty is a big 6’8″ JUCO transfer from San Francisco who was the California JUCO Player of the Year last season. He averages 10 points and seven rebounds for the Gauchos while sharpshooting freshman Max Heidegger (Oaks Christian High School) is averaging nine points. Senior Eric Childress leads the team with 3.8 assists per game.

It’s always hard to imagine UCSB near or at the bottom of the Big West when the dust settles, so don’t be surprised if you see them seeded in the 4-6 range in the conference tournament, despite their slow start.