The road back to respectability is neither paved nor straight, but the Big West Conference is on it.
The 2016-17 men’s basketball season represented a low point in the recent history of the Big West — at least since Hawaii joined in 2012. Its nine members, ravaged by prominent player departures and injuries, lost just about every meaningful measuring-stick game against their out-of-conference peers.
The California-centric league finished the year an unthinkable 29th of 32 NCAA Division I conferences in RPI, just a year after sniffing the low teens for the first time in its current makeup. One of its best teams, UC Davis, was designated a 16 seed for the NCAA Tournament play-in round after winning its first Big West tournament championship.
“I think last year what happened was — we were at the forefront of that — lack of continuity, losing so many guys,” third-year Hawaii coach Eran Ganot said. “It’s probably the first year in a while, as a league, we lost (so many) older players to graduation, to the pros. And now what you’re seeing this year are the guys who were thrown in the fire last year are a year older.
“I think the teams are a little older, a little healthier. It’s made for obviously a step in the right direction, overall as a conference as you’re looking at the nonconference results.”
It still lost just the majority of its “buy” games on the courts of power conference teams, but fared far better against the likes of the WCC, WAC and Mountain West.
The BWC is rated a respectable 15th as the league’s members prepare to turn on each other and battle through a 16-game round robin leading into the Big West tournament in Anaheim, Calif., on March 8-10.
A different team has emerged from the Honda Center in each of the seven years there. Hawaii had its turn in 2016.
UH, which opens up at Long Beach State on Thursday, was picked this preseason to finish fifth — its closing position last year at 8-8, plus a first-round tournament exit. UH has never finished lower than fifth in its five years.
“There are naturally going to be a lot of battles. It’s going to be very intense, very physical,” Ganot said. “A lot of teams are pretty close, and I think that makes for an exciting conference season.”
It’s still a one-bid league, even with an impressive, resurgent year for UC Santa Barbara (11-3) coming off one of the worst in Gauchos history. The 6-22 showing led to the departure of league mainstay Bob Williams.
UCSB has nearly doubled last season’s win total under Joe Pasternack, the former associate head coach at Arizona. The Gauchos, bolstered by graduate transfers Leland King II (Nevada) and Marcus Jackson (Rice), lead the conference in most offensive categories, including scoring, field-goal percentage and assists.
UC Irvine, the defending regular-season champ that has notched five straight 20-win seasons under Russell Turner, was tabbed the preseason favorite despite losing its scoring nucleus — player of the year Luke Nelson and his backcourt mate, Jaron Martin. The Anteaters have leaned on their defense and rebounding more than ever.
Davis is expected to vie for consecutive championships behind bouncy forward Chima Moneke, the only returning member of the 2016-17 BWC first team. Moneke is second in the league in scoring and rebounding, but leads it in swagger on social media.
LBSU took its lumps, as usual, in its typically brutal nonconference schedule and hopes that will allow it to peak in March. Dark horse Cal State Fullerton is talented and coming off its first winning season under Dedrique Taylor.
UC Riverside turned heads on New Year’s Day, when fifth-year coach Dennis Cutts was fired with his team at 5-9. In a release, UCR athletics director Tamica Smith Jones cited a need “to elevate our basketball program to a more consistent level, to more effectively compete with mid-major Division I programs.”
Cutts was replaced on an interim basis by assistant coach Justin Bell, a former Highlanders player.
CAL STATE FULLERTON TITANS (7-5)
Coach: Dedrique Taylor (fifth season)
RPI: 126
Big games: at No. 10 USC, 84-42 L; at No. 21 Saint Mary’s, 76-57 L; Georgia, 64-57 L
Top players: G Kyle Allman, 16.6 ppg, 2.5 apg; G Khalil Ahmad, 16.1 ppg, 88.0 FT%; F Jackson Rowe, 12.3 ppg, 6.1 rpg, 60.8 FG%, 63.6 3FG%
Notes: The Titans have trended upward the past couple of seasons and within this one, having won six of their last eight games after starting 1-3. Rowe, a versatile Canadian, has made the most of his opportunities as the third option behind Allman and Ahmad, shooting 14-for-22 on 3s for the best percentage in the BWC. Ahmad has been on a tear, averaging 24.4 points over the last five games.
CAL STATE NORTHRIDGE MATADORS (3-11)
Coach: Reggie Theus (fifth season)
RPI: 351
Big games: at Fresno State, 89-73 L; at California, 83-63 L; at Montana, 86-68 L
Top players: F Tavrion Dawson, 16.1 ppg, 5.9 rpg; G Micheal Warren, 13.2 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 43.1 3FG%; G Terrell Gomez, 10.7 ppg, 3.1 apg, 52.7 3FG%
Notes: CSUN endured an 11-game losing streak from Nov. 13 to Dec. 23, finally snapping it against non-D-I San Diego Christian. The Matadors followed with their first D-I win over Morgan State on Dec. 30. Dawson is the reigning Big West player of the week, an honor he’s received three times in his three active seasons. Kobe Paras, a popular guard from the Philippines, is sitting out as a transfer from Creighton.
CAL POLY MUSTANGS (5-9)
Coach: Joe Callero (ninth season)
RPI: 263
Big games: at Stanford, 78-62 L; Fresno State, 83-63 L; at SMU, 84-64 L
Top players: G Victor Joseph, 13.6 ppg, 87.2 FT%;
G Donovan Fields, 13.1 ppg, 4.5 apg, 93.8 FT%
Notes: Low turnover count remains the hallmark of Callero’s teams. This year the Mustangs cough it up 11.6 times per game, good for 41st nationally and percentage points behind UCSB. The top free-throw shooting BWC team (.727) also is king in 3-pointers made (121) and attempted (344), coming out to 8.6 makes per game at a 35.2 percent clip. Fields’ free-throw shooting (30-for-32) is seventh in NCAA.
HAWAII RAINBOW WARRIORS (9-4)
Coach: Eran Ganot (third season)
RPI: 206
Big games: Nevada, 67-54 L; at Utah, 80-60 L, No. 6 Miami, 75-57 L
Top players: F Mike Thomas, 11.5 ppg, 6.1 rpg; G Sheriff Drammeh, 11.8 ppg;
C Gibson Johnson, 10.8 ppg, 5.3 rpg;
G Brocke Stepteau, 9.5 ppg, 60.3 FG%, 48.4 3FG%
Notes: Thomas is eighth among active Big West players in career points at 682, fifth in rebounds at 409, and fifth in blocks at 52. Stepteau is the top returning assist man in the Big West after dishing 3.0 last season, but freshman Drew Buggs (3.2) leads the ’Bows in that stat now. UH is the league’s worst free-throw shooting squad at 65.2 percent. Drammeh is averaging 16.2 ppg over the past six games.
LONG BEACH STATE 49ERS (6-10)
Coach: Dan Monson (11th season)
RPI: 141
Big games: at No. 23 West Virginia, 91-62 L; at Arizona, 91-56 L; at No. 2 Michigan State, 102-60 L
Top players: F Gabe Levin, 15.0 ppg, 7.2 rpg;
G Bryan Alberts, 14.0 ppg, 41.4 3FG%; G Deishuan Booker, 8.7 ppg, 5.7 apg
Notes: Monson is now the dean of Big West coaches with the departure of UC Santa Barbara’s Bob Williams. His 105 conference victories are seventh in BWC history. Forward Temidayo Yussuf, a second-team BWC player last season, has come off the bench this season with Levin back healthy. Alberts’ 3.2 3s per game leads the conference, as does Booker’s assist count.
UC DAVIS AGGIES (9-5)
Coach: Jim Les (seventh season)
RPI: 51
Big games: at Washington, 77-70 L; at Washington State, 81-67 W; at Nevada, 88-73 L
Top players: F Chima Moneke, 19.0 ppg, 9.9 rpg; G Siler Schneider, 12.9 ppg, 40.4 3FG%; G TJ Shorts II, 12.3 ppg, 3.6 apg, 1.9 spg
Notes: Four of the Aggies’ five losses have come against RPI top-100 teams. Les just picked up his 250th career coaching win on Saturday (between his stints at Bradley and UCD) over Holy Names. Davis has a 15-game home winning streak, tied for seventh-longest nationally. UCD is tops in the Big West at swiping the ball, at 7.9 steals per game. The Aggies give up just 65.9 ppg, the stingiest mark in the BWC.
UC IRVINE ANTEATERS (5-11)
Coach: Russell Turner (eighth season)
RPI: 174
Big games: at Kansas State, 71-49 L; at Arizona State, 99-78 L; at No. 23 UCLA, 87-63 L
Top players: G Evan Leonard, 11.2 ppg;
G Eyassu Worku, 10.1 ppg, 3.6 apg;
F Tommy Rutherford, 9.4 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 62.5 FG%
Notes: Like LBSU, UCI tested itself with one of the toughest nonconference schedules in the NCAA. Specialist Jonathan Galloway, the returning Big West defensive player of the year, snares 7.3 rebounds and blocks 2.0 shots per game but scores just 3.5 points. Still, UCI is the top rebounding team in the league by a wide margin at plus-6.4 per game, ahead of UCSB (plus-3.6) and UH (plus-2.9), and also leads in blocked shots (5.1).
UC RIVERSIDE HIGHLANDERS (5-9)
Coach: Justin Bell (first season)
RPI: 271
Big games: at California, 74-66 W; at Michigan, 87-42 L; Valparaiso, 73-60 W
Top players: G Dikymbe Martin, 13.3 ppg, 50.0 3FG%; G Chance Murray, 11.9 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 3.2 apg; C Alex Larsson, 10.4 ppg, 5.8 rpg
Notes: Dennis Cutts was fired this week despite this season’s wins over prominent programs Cal and Valpo. He’d been with the program in some capacity since 2007 and coached UCR to wins at UH in each of the past two seasons. The Highlanders are actually best in the Big West in field-goal percentage defense at .395, but are worst in 3-point marksmanship at 29.3 percent.
UC SANTA BARBARA GAUCHOS (11-3)
Coach: Joe Pasternack (first season)
RPI: 44
Big games: at No. 16 Texas A&M, 84-65 L; San Diego, 67-57 W; at USC, 98-87 L
Top players: G Max Heidegger, 22.1 ppg, 44.0 3FG%; F Leland King II, 17.1 ppg, 9.9 rpg, 47.6 3FG%; F Jalen Canty, 11.6 ppg, 62.9 FG%; G Gabe Vincent, 10.4 ppg, 3.6 apg
Notes: Heidegger averaged 7.6 points as a freshman and is now 15th nationally in scoring, helping UCSB to a league-best 78.9 ppg. He has eight 20-point games this season. Vincent ranked fifth among BWC players in scoring last season but is now fourth on his own team. King has seven double-doubles in the past nine games. The Gauchos’ 11 nonconference wins were the program’s most since 2007-08.
