Will this year’s Big West Tournament be as wild as last year? By Owen Main

For giggles, Matt SantaMaria and I pulled off a fantasy draft of sorts yesterday afternoon as a fun way to think about which teams we think are going to be successful in this year’s conference tournament.

In case you missed it, here’s my complete tournament preview.

Format:

It’s a two person “snake” draft. That means that whoever gets the first pick, also chooses 4th, 5th, and 8th. The other person chooses 2nd, 3rd, 6th, and 7th. Whoever’s “team” has the most wins at the

Matt let me choose what draft position I wanted. I took the latter.

The Picks:

1) UC Irvine (MSM)

2) UC Davis (OM)

3) UCSB (OM)

4) Long Beach State (MSM)

5) Hawai’i (MSM)

6) Cal Poly (OM)

7) CSUN (OM)

8) UCR (MSM)

So, a very small number of out of order picks. Instead of picking top-seeded UC Davis or second-seeded UCSB, Matt SantaMaria picked the Anteaters in the top spot. I kind of tend to agree, but I was left with the other two best teams, Davis and UCSB. After Matt went chalk on the 4 and 5 picks, I skipped UCR and went Cal Poly and CSUN.

Team SantaMaria:

UC Irvine

Long Beach State

Hawai’i

UC Riverside

Team Main

UC Davis

UCSB

Cal Poly

CSUN

While the odds don’t favor an upset from either the Mustangs or Matadors, these are last year’s conference finalists, and I really hate the first-round matchup for UCR against UC Irvine.

This is, of course, all for fun. Because we did it and because we’re paying so much attention this year, perhaps the “wild West” will be somewhat tame this year and chalk will rule. Or not. I guess that’s what today’s for.

What do you think? Who would you have chosen and why? Give us your prediction.

Matt SantaMaria even told the story of why his last name doesn’t have a space in it like it should. By Owen Main

Did you know Matt SantaMaria was living and working for a station in Joplin, Missouri when the tornado hit there in 2011? On this podcast, the KSBY Sports Director shared his thoughts are on the triple option (he grew up in Nebraska, for goodness sakes) and he shared the story of how he ended up on the Central Coast.

In the second segment, Andy and Owen discussed the Lakers’ demise. The team is 14-25 and there aren’t many signs of improvement. Could losing actually be the best move the Lakers can make to get better for the future?