Big West
The conference’s .515 straight-up win percentage last season was its best since the 2006-07 season. Interestingly enough, the conference’s NCAA Tournament representative, Long Beach State, had a fired head coach lead a remarkable run to the Big West tournament title.
San Diego State assistant coach Chris Acker replaces Long Beach State’s Dan Monson and brings with him a former top-40 recruit in Devin Askew. Askew was limited to 19 games at California the past two seasons, but he should be the main cog for a team that figures to be rebuilding.
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The regular season champion in the conference last season was UC Irvine, which went 17-3 for an 11th straight season with five losses of fewer in Big West play. The Anteaters ranked sixth in the nation last season in points allowed on a per possession basis, and they return three of their top four scorers.
UC Davis had finished .500 or better in conference play in seven of the past eight seasons and was 20th in the country in turnovers forced per play on defense last season. But the Aggies were 340th in turnovers per possession on offense in home games last season, and they have to replace two of the three players that averaged more than 5.8 points per game last season.
Many thought UC Santa Barbara would finish first or second in the conference last season, but the team finished a disappointing 9-11 in Big West play. The group also finished with a losing record in conference play for just the third time in the past 18 seasons. The Gauchos were also 348th in turnovers per possession on offense in home games last season.
All teams except for Hawaii are based in California, allowing for teams’ production on the road to fall off less than in most conferences. Six teams from the Big West ranked in the top 92 in points allowed on a per possession basis. As a conference, teams were 89-73 against the spread in true road games last season.
While CS Northridge and Long Beach State both ranked in the top 24 in possessions per game, the Big West had a lot of slow tempo teams. Five different teams ranked 244th in possessions per game or worse. And with Long Beach State’s coaching change, the Beach figure to also play at a slower tempo.
