What 2 Watch 4
Non-conference action returns after a weekend of Big West league play as part of Bold Week.
This week’s schedule starts on Tuesday with Long Beach State visiting San Jose State.
CSUN hosts Fresno State on Wednesday, while Cal State Bakersfield welcomes North Dakota State to the Icardo Center on Thursday.
Eight games line the slate on Saturday, including two neutral-site games. First, UC Santa Barbara takes on future Big West member Utah Valley at the Delta Center, home of the Utah Jazz, as part of the Salt Lake Slam. Second, UC San Diego faces Tulane in the Jack Jones Classic at Lee’s Family Forum, site of the 2025 Big West Championships.
There are also two P4 matchups on the docket with UC Davis at Oregon and UC Riverside at No. 10 BYU. The four other contests on Saturday are CSUN at Delaware, Cal State Fullerton at Denver, Pepperdine at Cal State Bakersfield and UTEP at Hawai‘i.
Cal Poly and UC Irvine do not have a game this week.
All told, seven games on the schedule will air on the ESPN family of networks with every Big West home contest appearing on ESPN+ throughout the season. Check listings for specific game information.
Around the League
UC San Diego, Hawai‘i, UC Santa Barbara and UC Irvine started conference play without a blemish, going undefeated in Bold Week.
The Gauchos went 2-0, led by senior guard Aidan Mahaney scoring a combined 46 points. Mahaney dropped 26 points with six rebounds and three assists in an 84-77 win over Long Beach State before recording a new career-high of 30 points, going 7-for-7 from deep, in an 109-84 victory against Cal State Bakersfield.
Senior forward Kyle Evans dominated the paint to anchor UC Irvine to a 2-0 weekend. Evans put up 19 points with eight rebounds and five blocks in a 73-60 triumph over UC Riverside, and then recorded a third double-double of the season with 12 points, 16 rebounds and three blocks as the Anteaters prevailed against CSUN, 85-71. Evans currently leads the nation in blocked shots with 35.
Hawai‘i is off to a 2-0 start in conference play for the first time in three seasons. Senior guard Dre Bullock had 15 points, six rebounds, three assists and four steals in a 75-69 victory over UC Davis. Senior forward Gytis Nemeiksa compiled a 12-point, 10-reound double-double in a 69-59 triumph over Cal State Fullerton.
UC San Diego won its only league game last week against Long Beach State, 80-74. Junior guard Aidan Burke hit four 3-pointers for a team-high 18 points, while junior forward Leo Beath grabbed a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds.
Cal Poly’s Hamad Mousa and Peter Bandelj went off for 37 and 27 points, respectively, in a 94-84 triumph against Cal State Fullerton. Mousa followed up with 31 points in an 88-84 loss to UC Riverside. In the same game, Andrew Henderson and Marqui Worthy Jr. put away 28 and 24 points, respectively, for the Highlanders.
CSUN earned its first league win, defeating Cal State Bakersfield 87-66. Senior guard Larry Hughes II had 27 points, six rebounds, five assists and four steals.
The Big West in the Rankings
The Big West has five teams featured in the latest edition of the College Insider Men’s Basketball Mid-Major Top 25 poll. UC San Diego is ranked No. 12, followed by UC Santa Barbara at No. 16, Hawai‘i at No. 19. UC Irvine and UC Davis are receiving votes in the poll.
Hoops in Henderson
In October, The Big West announced an enhanced agreement with Credit Union 1, the Official Credit Union, Bank and Financial Services Partner of The Big West, to become the title partner of the 2026 Big West Basketball Championships, March 11-14, 2026, at Lee’s Family Forum in Henderson, Nev. All-Session tickets are available now! Learn more >>>
Preseason Prognostications
The UC Irvine men’s basketball team is predicted to win The Big West, according to a poll of the league’s 11 head coaches before the start of the season. The coaches also voted for a six-member Big West Preseason Team.
The Anteaters garnered eight of the 11 first-place votes for a total of 98 points. Last season, UC Irvine went 32-7 overall and finished second in The Big West regular season standings with a 17-3 conference record. The Anteaters qualified for the NIT and won four games in the national tournament before falling in the title match to Chattanooga in overtime.
UC Irvine is expected to be led by two Preseason Team selections in redshirt sophomore guard Jurian Dixon and graduate guard Andre Henry. Dixon is the reigning Big West Freshman of the Year after averaging 8.8 points per game as a rookie, including career-high 23-point performance at UC Santa Barbara. Henry played in nine games last season before suffering a season-ending injury. In 2023-24, Henry was The Big West Defensive Player of the Year and an All-Big West Honorable Mention, starting in all 34 games, averaging 10.3 points and 3.7 rebounds per game.
UC Santa Barbara is predicted to finish second, receiving the remaining three first-place votes for a total of 93 points. Last year, the Gauchos went 21-13 overall and 11-9 in conference play. Newcomer Aidan Mahaney along with third-year guard Jason Fontenet II were selected to the preseason team.
Mahaney is a transfer from UConn and averaged 4.6 points and 1.3 assists per game. Before UConn, the senior was a standout at Saint Mary’s for two seasons with a list of accolades including Lou Henson All-American, NABC First Team All-District, First Team All-WCC, WCC All-Tournament Team, WCC All-Freshman Team. Fontenet II started all 34 games and averaged 9.9 points, 6.0 rebounds and 2.7 steals for the Gauchos last season.
Hawai‘i was third with 76 points. Last season, the Rainbow Warriors went 15-16 overall and did not qualify for The Big West Championship with a 7-13 league record. Gytis Nemeiksa represents Hawai‘i on the preseason team. Nemeiksa logged 12.3 points, on 48.8 percent shooting from the floor, 5.6 rebounds and 1.0 assists per game.
Defending Big West champion UC San Diego is predicted to finish fourth with 69 points. The Tritons went 30-5 overall and 18-2 in conference play in 2024-25. CSUN rounds out the top-five with 63 points and Matador senior forward Mahmoud Fofana fills the final spot on the preseason team. In 2024-25, Fofana played in 33 games with 32 starts, averaging 8.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, 1.0 assists and 1.2 steals per contest.
UC Davis (58), Cal Poly (54), Long Beach State (31), UC Riverside (26), Cal State Bakersfield (20) and Cal State Fullerton (17) conclude the rest of the poll.
See the complete poll and read more about the team here >>>
Watch Us Work
Building on one of the most successful men’s and women’s seasons since the 1990’s, The Big West has announced that more than 350 men’s and women’s basketball games will be available nationally on the ESPN family of networks and Spectrum SportsNet during 2025-26 season. All Big West men’s and women’s basketball home games and all seven games of the Credit Union I 2026 Big West Women’s Basketball Championship will stream nationally on ESPN+. Additionally, The Big West will continue its regional partnership with Spectrum SportsNet for the fifth consecutive season. Five women’s contests are part of the 14-game Spectrum SportsNet package with Long Beach State, UC San Diego, Hawai’i, UC Irvine, UC Santa Barbara and Cal Poly each slated to appear. Learn more >>>
2024-25 Recap
The 2024-25 Big West men’s basketball season showcased unprecedented success and growth, solidifying the conference as a rising force on the national stage.
The Big West was home to two 30-win teams, UC San Diego and UC Irvine, marking an unprecedented feat in conference history. Nationally, only the SEC also had two programs reach the 30-win mark this season. The conference closed the year ranked a collective 12th in the NET, its highest standing since 2000, and cracked the Top 10 in NET rankings during the season. The Big West also ranked 12th in KenPom—a significant leap from 24th in 2019-20 in both listings to highlight the growing competitive depth across the membership.
Five Big West teams finished in the NET top 150: UC San Diego (#35), UC Irvine (#62), CSUN (#104), UC Santa Barbara (#140), and UC Riverside (#142) all finished in the top 150, the most in Big West history.
The Big West had the most NIT appearances in its history with three teams – UC Irvine, CSUN, and UC Riverside – earning postseason bids. UC Irvine reached the NIT championship game, falling by just one point, and serving as the league’s first postseason tournament finalist since Fresno State won the event back in 1983. |
|