2019-20 BIG WEST MEN'S BASKETBALL PRESEASON MEDIA POLL

By the slightest of margins, UC Irvine edged UC Santa Barbara as the media favorite in the quest for the 2019-20 Big West men's basketball regular season title.

The 31-member media panel split their first place votes among UCI and UCSB. UCI prevailed with 258 points and 15 first place votes. UCSB collected 256 points and 15 first place nods of its own.  CSUN was a popular third place pick and had 202 points. The middle of the pack included Hawai‘i in fourth place with 155 points, Cal State Fullerton in fifth with 152 and Long Beach State in sixth with 118. The remainder of the poll included UC Riverside (107), UC Davis (104) and Cal Poly (43). UC Davis grabbed the remaining first place vote.

Below are capsules of teams listed in the top half of the poll:

UC IRVINE (31-6, 15-1 IN 2018-19)

• It is the sixth time in the last seven years that UCI has been picked No. 1 in the media poll
• Return three starters and six players who competed on last year's school-record 31-win club
• UCI has posted seven consecutive winning seasons under Russell Turner, who is No. 9 in Big West history with 188 wins
• Three senior starters comprise the core – 6-1 guard EVAN LEONARD (11.3 ppg, 2.5 rpg), 6-8 forward TOMMY RUTHERFORD (6.7 ppg, 4.3 rpg) and 6-2 guard EYASSU WORKU (7.0 ppg, 2.6 apg)
• Sophomore 6-9 forward COLLIN WELP (8.6 ppg, 4.3 rpg) made the Big West All-Tournament Team and scored a career-high 23 points against Cal State Fullerton in the championship game to help punch UCI's ticket to the NCAA Tournament.

UC SANTA BARBARA (22-10, 10-6 IN 2018-19)

• Forty-five wins in Joe Pasternack's brief UCSB head coaching tenure is the most in back-to-back seasons in program history
• Return four starters and eight letterwinners from 22-win squad which won first nine games at home
• Senior 6-3 guard MAX HEIDEGGER (11.9 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 2.7 apg) is No. 2 on Big West active list with 1,059 career points
• Sophomore 6-9 forward AMADOU SOW (12.2 ppg, 6.6 rpg) led the Big West in field goal percentage (.564) as a freshman
• Junior D-I transfers JaQUORI McLAUGHLIN (Oregon State) and DEVEARL RAMSEY (Nevada) fortified UCSB's backcourt – both averaging 10.3 points per game
• Pasternack's first win this season will be career No. 100

CSUN (13-21, 7-9 IN 2018-19)

• Four starters and 10 letterwinners return in Mark Gottfried's second season as head coach
• Sophomore 6-7 forward LAMINE DIANE ranked No. 6 in the country in both scoring (24.8 ppg) and rebounding (11.2 rpg) last year
• Junior 5-8 guard TERRELL GOMEZ was No. 2 in Big West scoring (19.2 ppg) and hit the sixth-most threes (117) in league history
• Diane and Gomez scored a combined 1,470 points, comprising 56.5% of the team's total offense
• Matadors return 92 percent of their total offense from last season
• Sophomore 6-1 guard DARIUS BROWN II started 32 games as a frosh and led Big West with 176 assists

HAWAI‘I (18-13, 9-7 IN 2018-19)

• UH celebrates its 100th season in 2019-20
• Return three starters and eight letterwinners from last year's 18-win team which finished fourth (9-7) in the Big West
• Junior 6-3 guard DREW BUGGS (8.8 ppg, 5.4 apg) earned All-Big West Honorable Mention last year
• Buggs led the Big West in assists per game
• Seniors 6-9 forward ZIGMARS RAIMO (11.5 ppg, 6.1 rpg) and 6-3 guard EDDIE STANSBERRY (11.3 ppg, 77 threes) also return

CAL STATE FULLERTON (16-18, 10-6 IN 2018-19)

• Welcome back three starters that contributed to last year's 16-win club that competed in the CollegeInsider.com Postseason tourney
• Senior 6-7 forward JACKSON ROWE (11.3 ppg, 7.9 rpg) is Big West's active career leader in rebounds (664)
• Senior 6-3 guard AUSTEN AWOSIKA (7.6 ppg, 4.8 rpg) ranked No. 2 among Big West guards in rebounding last season

The media panel also voted for a six-player preseason all-conference team.

MEET THE 2019-20 BIG WEST MEN'S BASKETBALL PRESEASON ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM

LAMINE DIANE, CSUN
Sophomore • Forward • 6-7 • 205 • Dakar, Senegal

2018-19 ACCOMPLISHMENTS
• First in Big West's 50-year history to be selected Player of the Year, Newcomer of the Year and Freshman of the Year
• Second player in history to lead Big West in scoring (24.8 ppg), rebounding (11.2 rpg) and blocked shots (2.2 bpg)
• Scored 818 points to rank No. 3 all-time on Big West single-season list
• Tallied a single-season school record 20 double-doubles
• Was one of just two freshmen in the country to average a double-double (Efe Odigie, UTEP)
• Named to the United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) All-District IX team


TERRELL GOMEZ, CSUN
Junior • Guard • 5-8 • 160 • Los Angeles, Calif.

2018-19 ACCOMPLISHMENTS
• Garnered All-Big West First Team recognition
• Shattered CSUN's single-season school record with 117 made three-pointers
• Ranked No. 6 in Big West single-season annals with the 117 three-point makes
• Scored 20 or more points 19 times
• Shot 41.9% (117-of-279) from three-point range, No. 4 in the Big West
• Became third-fastest Matador and 20th overall to reach 1,000 career points (1,003)


MAX HEIDEGGER, UC SANTA BARBARA
Senior • Guard • 6-3 • 180 • Malibu, Calif.

2018-19 ACCOMPLISHMENTS
• Averaged 11.9 points, 3.0 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game
• Became 29th player in UCSB history to eclipse 1,000 points in a career (1,059)
• Finished No. 4 in free throw percentage (.855) during conference play
• Scored in double figures in 10 of last 14 games after missing season's first seven games recovering from concussion
• Averaged 15.3 points over the season's final 12 games


EVAN LEONARD, UC IRVINE
Senior • Guard • 6-1 • 185 • Cerritos, Calif.

2018-19 ACCOMPLISHMENTS
• Named All-Big West Honorable Mention
• Earned spot on Big West All-Tournament team after helping Anteaters to second tournament title
• Broke the school record for consecutive free throws made (44)
• Ranked No. 4 in the Big West in free throw percentage (.854) and No. 5 in three-point field goal percentage (.414)
• Posted 19 points, six rebounds, four assists and four assists in program's first NCAA Tournament win versus Kansas State


DIKYMBE MARTIN, UC RIVERSIDE
Senior • Guard • 6-1 • 170 • Riverside, Calif.

2018-19 ACCOMPLISHMENTS
• Selected All-Big West Honorable Mention
• Became fifth Highlander in program's Division I history to surpass 1,000 career points
• Big West's active career leader with 1,087 points
• Ranked No. 8 in Big West in scoring at 14.8 points per game and No. 2 in three-point field goal percentage (.442)
• Scored in double figures in 28 of 33 games


AMADOU SOW, UC SANTA BARBARA
Sophomore • Forward • 6-9 • 235 • Bamako, Mali

2018-19 ACCOMPLISHMENTS
• Named All-Big West Second Team
• Set UCSB freshman records for points (391), field goals (150), field goal percentage (.564) and free throw attempts (127)
• Was team's second-leading scorer (12.2 ppg) and topped the squad at 6.6 rebounds per game
• Ranked No. 11 in the Big West in scoring and No. 5 in rebounding
• Led the league in field goal percentage
• Grabbed 10 or more rebounds in a game five times and finished with four double-doubles