IRVINE, Calif. -- The Big West has cracked the nation’s top ten conferences in average NET in the most recent rankings. Powered by strong starts from UC Irvine (10-1, 1-0 BW) with a NET ranking of 36 and Quad 1 & 2 wins over Northern Iowa, Kent State and Belmont and UC San Diego (10-2, 2-0 BW) with a NET ranking of 57 and a signature Quad 1 win on Tuesday vs. Utah State, The Big West currently ranks tenth nationally, less than five points behind the West Coast Conference.
Top 150 NET rankings by CSUN (NET 98) and UC Santa Barbara (NET 118) and early season Quad 1 & 2 victories by UC Riverside over Colorado State, UC Davis over Grand Canyon and Cal Poly over Stanford have also bolstered the conference’s elite standing nationally.
“The Big West has been terrific so far this season. One of the best mid-major leagues in the country,” noted Jeff Goodman of Field of 68. “UC Irvine and UC San Diego have had some huge wins, and the league has depth behind those two teams. I can’t wait to see what happens once league play resumes on January 2nd.”
The conference’s first-ever top ten NET ranking is emblematic of a steady improvement by The Big West in men’s basketball NET rankings since Commissioner Dan Butterly’s arrival in 2020. In the 2019-20 season, The Big West was tabbed 20th of the then-32 NCAA Division I conferences in NET rankings before ascending to 16th in 2023-24. In 2018-19, prior to the NET rankings, The Big West RPI rank in Men's Basketball was 25th.
“The Big West’s continual improvement in NET rankings is a testament to our programs and their desire to compete at the highest level,” Big West Commissioner Dan Butterly said. “A top ten NET ranking is indicative of great individual and team performances throughout the league and will make our conference championship this March a must-see event for any true college basketball fan.”
The 2025 Hercules Tires Big West Basketball Championships presented by Credit Union 1 are scheduled for March 12-15, 2025, at Lee’s Family Forum in Henderson, Nev. Tickets are available now through the athletic ticket office of all 11 Big West institutions and the Lee’s Family Forum box office. For more information on the championships, please visit BigWest.org/2025.
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Average NET Conference Rankings (as of 12/20/24)
|
| Rank |
Conference |
Average NET |
| 1. |
SEC |
29.38 |
| 2. |
Big 12 |
48.88 |
| 3. |
Big Ten |
51.67 |
| 4. |
Big East |
68.36 |
| 5. |
ACC |
94.86 |
| 6. |
Mountain West |
134.45 |
| 7. |
Atlantic 10 |
139.93 |
| 8. |
Conference USA |
148.10 |
| 9. |
West Coast |
154.91 |
| 10. |
The Big West |
159.73 |
For more information on NET rankings: College basketball's NET rankings, explained | NCAA.com