2020-21 MEN'S BASKETBALL RELEASE NO. 10

BROADCAST GUIDE

TIPOFF TIME

Standings Update
UC Irvine remains in first place with an unblemished 4-0 Big West record. The Anteaters have started out 4-0 for the first time since the 2016-17 squad opened up 6-0.UCI has won six in a row, marking the seventh time in the last eight seasons Russell Turner’s group has had a win streak of that length.

CSU Bakersfield's six-game win streak ended at the hands of UC Riverside last week, although the ‘Runners managed a split at the SRC Arena in a battle of top 20 teams nationally in scoring defense. The ‘Runners are in second place with a 6-2 conference record.

Schedule Update
For the first time this season, all 10 games on the conference schedule were played last weekend without interruption due to COVID-related reasons or county-imposed restrictions.

UC Davis returned to action for the first time since Dec. 4 after a Yolo County mandate cancelled 11 consecutive games, playing a pair of games at UC San Diego. The Aggies compete at home this week against UC Santa Barbara.

UC San Diego Clarification
UC San Diego, which has begun a four-year reclassfication period to full Division I membership, is not eligible for Big West or NCAA postseason events, and therefore has not been included in the standings. Games against UC San Diego count as non-conference Division 1 games.

First ESPNU National Telecast On Top
CSU Bakersfield, tied for the conference lead for most overall wins (10), will host an ESPNU televised game for the first time in school history on Friday against Cal State Fullerton. The ‘Runners are 5-0 in the Icardo Center this week. CSU Bakersfield and CSF have both played eight conference games – most of any Big West teams.

Wild Card Game Selected For February 6
ESPNU has selected its next Big West Wild Card game for February 6 as UC Irvine hosts CSU Bakersfield in a battle of conference contenders. Tip time will be 7 pm PT. UCI is 7-0 at home this season. CSU Bakersfield has played more road games (10) than any league team.

A Glance At The NET Rankings
Through games of January 26, UC Santa Barbara is the Big West’s top team in the NCAA’s NET Rankings. The Gauchos check in at No. 61 on the list and rose 34 spots from last week. UCSB has defeated five of its last six opponents by double-digits. UC Riverside is No. 99.

Taylor Nears Career Milestone
Cal State Fullerton head coach Dedrique Taylor is coming up on a career milestone. He needs two wins to reach 100 for his career, and can accomplish that goal at CSU Bakersfield this weekend.

Scheduling Primer
On October 21, the Big West announced a 20-game conference schedule under a modified format designed to reduce travel and emphasize health and safety amidst the pandemic.

• Traditional home-and home round-robin schedule was altered to allow teams to play each other on consecutive days at one site
• Majority of games scheduled for Friday and Saturday.
• Teams to play out schedule over an 11-week period with one bye week built in.
• Games lost due to team quarantines would not be rescheduled. • No fans will be allowed to attend games to start the season with the spectator attendance issue to be revisited later.

More Notables
• Three former Big West players are listed on current NBA rosters – UC Santa Barbara’s Gabe Vincent (Miami Heat), Cal Poly’s David Nwaba (Houston Rockets) and Long Beach State’s James Ennis III (Orlando Magic).

• UC Davis sophomore guard Ezra Manjon and UC Santa Barbara junior forward Amadou Sow were selected to the Lou Henson Award Watch List. The award is presented annually to the top mid-major player in Division I.

• Silver Waves Media released a “Rising Head Coaches In 2020” list inclusive of 40 coaches who were selected based on the following criteria: must not have been a head coach at a Power 6 conference school before, completed at least two years at current school, and must be willing to rise as a coach. Three Big West head coaches were featured on this list – Hawaii’s Eran Ganot, UC Irvine’s Russell Turner and UC Santa Barbara’s Joe Pasternack. Silver Waves Media put together the list after consultation with AD’s, presidents, search firms and other influencers.

• CSUN guard TJ Starks is tied for the Big West lead with five 20-point games. He scored a season-high 29 points against UC Santa Barbara last Friday and followed that up with 24 on Saturday.

• CSU Bakersfield has 11 players averaging at least 11.0 minutes per game which has enabled the ‘Runners to come in waves at opponents. The ‘Runners are ranked No. 2 in the Big West in scoring defense (60.9) and rebounding margin (+9.9), No. 3 in field goal percentage defense (.397), and No. 4 in blocked shots (2.8 bpg).

Championships Move To Vegas
The 2021 Big West Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships, presented by Hawaii Tourism Authority, has been moved from the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.,  to the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas. All 10 men’s teams and nine women’s teams will compete at the five-day event, March 9-13. The bubble-like setting will utilize daily screenings and rapid PCR and antigen testing to safeguard the health and safety of all parties. The men’s first round and quarterfinal games will be carried on ESPN3, while the semifinals and championship game will be aired on ESPN linear networks.

When the Big West plays the 2021 basketball championships in Las Vegas, that will mark the first time in 21 years that the event will have been contested outside the state of California. The Big West held its postseason event in Reno, Nevada, at the Lawlor Events Center from 1996-2000. The conference has some familiarity with Las Vegas, having played the championship at UNLV’s Thomas and Mack Center in 1994 and 1995. From 2001-19, the championship was held in Anaheim at either the Anaheim Convention Center or Honda Center. The 2020 championship, scheduled to be played at Honda Center, was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

BIG WEST BY THE NUMBERS

4  – The Big West has four guards ranked in the nation’s top 15 for assist-to-turnover ratio, including CSUN junior guard Darius Brown II at No. 1 (7.62). UC Santa Barbara senior Devearl Ramsey ranks No. 3 (5.00), UC Riverside senior Dominick Pickett (3.80) No. 11 and UCSB senior JaQuori McLaughlin (3.76) No. 12.

6 – CSU Bakersfield, UC Irvine and UC Santa Barbara own the longest win streaks in the Big West this season at six. The Anteaters and Gauchos have current streaks going.

11 – UC Riverside is the only Big West squad to utilize the same starting lineup in every game. The Highlanders have started Flynn Cameron, Arinze Chidom, Jock Perry, Dominick Pickett and Zyon Pullin in all 11 games.

29 – UC San Diego senior guard Gabe Hadley tied Big West single-game season highs for points (29) and 3-pointers made (7) in a win over UC Davis.

35 – UC Santa Barbara junior forward Amadou Sow has scored 965 career points and needs just 35 to become the 30th player in school history to surpass the 1,000-point mark.

98 – Victory total for Cal State Fullerton head coach Dedrique Taylor. He needs two wins to become the 21st coach in league history to accumulate at least 100 at a conference school.

PRIOR TO TIPOFF – JANUARY 29-30, 2021

CSUN AT CAL POLY (BIGWEST.TV)
• Cal Poly defeated CSUN at Mott Athletics Center last season by a score of 74-56.
• CSUN junior TJ Starks leads the Big West in scoring at 20.0 points per game. He has scored in double figures in all nine games played,.
• CSUN junior Darius Brown II has committed just eight turnovers in 371 minutes played.

UC SAN DIEGO AT LONG BEACH STATE (ESPN3) | PXP: Rahshaun Haylock (Fri.) | Jill Painter Lopez (Sat.) | COLOR: Dave Miller
• UC San Diego shot 58.1% (61-of-105) from the floor in last weekend’s series versus UC Davis.
• Long Beach State leads the Big West and ranks No. 14 nationally in three-point field goal percentage (.396)
• LBSU guards Isaiah Washington (16.8 ppg) and Michael Carter III (15.2) rank No. 4 and No. 5 in Big West scoring, respectively.

UC SANTA BARBARA AT UC DAVIS (BIGWEST.TV)
• UC Davis hit a season-high nine threes in its win over UC San Diego on Saturday.
• UC Santa Barbara is shooting 56.8% (100-of-176) from the field over its last three games.
• UCSB junior forward Amadou Sow has posted a double-double in four consecutive contests.

CAL STATE FULLERTON AT CSU BAKERSFIELD (ESPNU) | PXP: Dave Feldman | COLOR: Corey Williams
• Cal State Fullerton has the conference’s top two free throw shooters in Dante Maddox Jr. (.926) and Latrell Wrightsell Jr. (.923).
• CSU Bakersfield senior Taze Moore has posted double-digit points eight games in a row. Only ‘Runner averaging in double figures (11.0).
• The seven blocks by ‘Runner center Ronne Readus in last weekend’s UC Riverside series matched his total through the first 13 games.

UC IRVINE AT HAWAI‘I (BIGWEST.TV)
• UC Irvine looks for its fifth straight win in Honolulu.
• UCI is 19-2 in its last 21 conference road games.
• Hawai‘i senior forward Casdon Jardine leads the Big West in three-point field goal percentage (.536), hitting 15 of his 28 attempts.