Big West

Poll: Who Will Win the Big West?

Shawn Siegel — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 09:45:50 -0400

College Basketball: Preseason Conference Ranking

CHN — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 11:43:04 -0400

After finishing 1st in the RPI the last two years, the ACC should fall back slightly thanks to the big-name departures at UNC & Wake Forest. This should allow one of the Big 12, Big Ten, or even SEC a shot at being #1. The Pac-10 is weak enough that a high-major like the A-10, MVC, or MWC could surpass it.

Chime in with your thoughts below if you agree or disagree with CHN's preseason conference ranking.

2009-10 Conference Ranking

*08-09 is last year's conference RPI. Commentary by Shawn Siegel, ranking by CHN.

	Conference	08-09*
1	Big Ten 9 of 11 teams go into season with ncaa hopes, and as many as 7 may reach that goal	2
2	Big 12 ku is the clear title contender. the bottom few teams are weak though and the middle-tier is hit or miss	3
3	ACC no dominant team like last year, but solid as always.	1
4	SEC rise of uk brings league back to prominence after down year..	6
5	Big East lose tons of big name players, and still held down by likes of depual, rutgers, etc	4
6	Pac-10 conceivable the pac-10 only receives 3 tourney bids.	5
7	Atlantic 10 should get at least 2 invites to the ncaa tournament	8
8	MVC with improvement expected from usual leaders creighton & siu, mvc should be solid all-around	9
9	MWC just about every top team loses a top player, but mwc should be one of the more entertaining leagues	7
10	Conference USA though memphis takes step back, rest of league is better than usual.	10
11	WAC after some down years, wac will once again be compeititve league	11
12	Horizon butler has top 10 hopes, but squads like csu and green bay lose key seniors.	12
13	Colonial while still 1 bid league, likes of odu, n'eastern, gmu, and vcu are all quality	14
14	Sun Belt more then just wku, the entire east division is solid	17
15	MAAC siena, niagara, and rider all have postseason hopes	13
16	WCC gonzaga and smc both worse then season ago	15
17	MAC #'s should be better than last year, but west division still a struggle	21
18	Big West led by up-and-coming long beach state. always finish around this #.	18
19	Summit darling ndsu loses a lot, so usual contenders like oru and oakland should be at forefront again	26
20	Big Sky with exception of sacramento st, this is a solid league top to bottom.	24
21	Southland underrated league always good for some non-conference upsets	19
22	Ivy cornell will be the best the ivy has offered in quite some years	29
23	Southern steph curry's departure opens up door for charleston	20
24	America East decimation of binghamton will hurt league #'s	16
25	Atlantic Sun the league's upper half is as solid as it's been for a few years	27
26	Patriot could use a rebound from former top gun bucknell.	22
27	OVC morehead st continues its improbable rise..	23
28	Big South outside of radford, not much to get excited about here..	25
29	NEC nec hasn't had much going for it in recent years	28
30	MEAC as usual, will battle swac for title of country's worst	30
31	SWAC solid jackson st gives swac hope of surpassing meac	31

College Basketball Preview - 144 Teams in 144 Days - Alphabetical Ranks/Previews

THE BIG LIST: CHN's 2008-09 Preview Index

CHN — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 23:04:02 -0500

THE BIG LIST

No one has more college basketball preview material than collegehoops.net.. not even ESPN (and if you don't believe me, I dare you to read every single preview article we put online.. it might blind your eyes.. and maybe even your ears). Here's a comprehensive list of preview content to keep you busy for the next two months. Bookmark this page and check back daily for new preview goodness. Like what you see? Spread the word.. and then Join the New Pickem Game and prove you know your ball!

TOP 144 PREVIEW - By Joel Wesler

Our annual college preview, the epic 144 Teams in 144 Days journey that commenced on June 26th and ends on the season's opening day!

Top 144 Team Previews (#1 to 25)

No surprise UNC is #1 (NEW).. but 2 to 348 are sure to stir up debate!

- 348 Team D1 Ranking - 145-200 - 201-275 - 276-348

- The Big Bracket CHN's Top 144 plugged into a bracket

Top 144 RSS/XML Feed

DAILY CONFERENCE POLLS

Who will win all 31 D1 conferences?..

ACC?

A10?

B. East?

Big Ten?

Big 12?

CUSA?

HL?

MVC?

MWC?

P-10?

SEC?

WAC?

WCC? (NEW)

..ALL 31 LEAGUES vote early, vote often

Other Polls

- Who will be preseason #1?

- What will be the best conference?

- Best High-Major conference?

- Best Mid-Major conference?

CONFERENCE BY CONFERENCE

In-depth previews of all D1 conferences, including team rankings, previews, CHN's All-Conference teams, and more.

CONFERENCE PREVIEWS - CONFERENCE RANKING

- #1 Big East

- #2 ACC

- #3 SEC

- #4 Big 12

- #5 Pac-10

- #6 Big Ten

- #7 Atlantic 10

- #8 MWC

- #9 MVC

- #10 WCC

- #11 Conference USA

- #12 Colonial

- #13 MAC

- #14 WAC

- #15 MAAC

- #16 Horizon

- #17 Southern

- #18 Sun Belt

- #19 Big West

- #20 Patriot

- #21 Southland

- #22 Ivy

- #23 Big Sky

- #24 America East

- #25 Summit

- #26 Ohio Valley

- #27 NEC

- #28 Atlantic Sun

- #29 Big South

- #30 MEAC

- #31 SWAC

BRACKETOLOGY

Get a head start on your 2009 NCAA Tournament bracket

2009 NCAA TOURNAMENT PROJECTION

Its never to early to project the Field.. all 65 heading to the Dance

2009 TOURNEY BRACKET

CHN's Top 144 plugged into a bracket

PRESEASON TOP 50

The Editor's take.. different from the official Top 144 ranking

Writer Final Four Picks

OFFICIAL PRESEASON AWARDS & POLLS

FOY MMPOY HMPOY POY

CollegeHoops.net Awards - Voted on by CHN contributors.

- All-America Team (& commentary)

- High-Major All-Americans (& commentary)

- Mid-Major All-Americans (& commentary)

- All-Freshman Team (& commentary)

ALL AWARDS

National Top 25 Polls/Awards

- Coaches Poll

- AP Top 25

- AP All-America Team

Official Coaches/Media Polls & All-Conference Teams

- Big 12

- MVC

- SEC

- WAC

- More

CHN Top 100
1	Tyler Hansbrough
2	Stephen Curry
3	Blake Griffin
4	Luke Harangody
5	James Haden
6	Darren Collison
7	Tyler Smith
8	Patrick Patterson
9	AJ Price
10	BJ Mullens
Complete Ranking our annual favorite!

INTERVIEWS

Enough about what we have to say, how bout the guys who actually make the games happen..

Q&A's with the games top coaches

- Lute Olson (Arizona)

- Scott Drew (Baylor)

- Paul Hewitt (Georgia Tech)

- Rick Stansbury (Mississippi State)

- Ben Howland (UCLA)

- Sean Miller (Xavier)

- Over 20 more Head Coach Q&A's (see schedule)

Player Interviews

- Lester Hudson (UT-Martin)

PLAYER RANKINGS

Perfect for your fantasy needs, as well as good ole message board fodder!

CollegeHoops.net Top 100 (archive)

- CHN Top 100 Players: Preseason Edition (NEW)

Pick Six: Top Players (archive)

Top 6 Players in Each Conference (by Jeff Fox)

- ACC - Big 12 - Big East - Big Ten - Pac-10 - SEC - Non-BCS

Top 6 Players Nationally by Position (by Joey Whelan)

- PG - SG - SF - PF - C

Top 6 Players by Class (by Joey Whelan)

- Freshmen - Sophomores - Juniors - Seniors

Other Player Rankings

- Top 10 Sleepers

- Top Breakout Stars

- Top Underrated Players

- Most Overrated Players

Fun Lists (by Jason Brubaker)

- Top Dunkers, Shooters, Rebouders

- Top Shot Blockers, Hidden Gems, Comeback Stories

- Top Floor Generals, Underrated Players, Versatile Stars

- Best Backcourts by Matthew Ryter

- Best Frontcourts by Ed Lupien

OTHER RANKINGS & ARTICLES

Scattered rankings of teams, coaches, and players that are sure to drum up debate!

Coach Rankings - The best and worst of BCS coaches

- Big East by Dan Daitchman (NEW)

- Big 12

- Big Ten

- Pac-10

- SEC

- also Coaches on the Hot Seat by Rob Carpentier

Five-Year Rankings - BCS teams ordered by a formula that counts postseason success & conference winning %

- ACC - Big 12 - Big East - Big Ten - Pac-10 - SEC

Writers Picks - CHN staffers make some mind-boggling projections.. others not so much.

- BCS Conference Champions

- Surprise Teams

- Randoms: Coaches on the Hot Seat, Top Prospect, more..

- Final Four Picks

Other

- The Preview Magazines: Consensus Top 25

- Swiss Cheese Squads: Teams With Holes to Fill

- Conference Ranking

Metro Preview - Raphielle Johnson's annual rundown of all the team in the NYC metro area.

- Preseason Ranking & Awards (NEW)

BCS CONFERENCE EXTRAS

Everything you need to know about the Power teams, including fantasy preview material!

The Starting Fives by Shawn Siegel

Projected starting lineups for all BCS teams

- ACC - Big East - Big12 - Big Ten - Pac-10 - SEC

Fantasy Stats Previews - Fantasy Stats Archive

Projected stats for all major BCS players

- ACC - Big East - Big 12 - Big Ten - Pac-10 - SEC

Player Grades (archive)

Player/lineup grades for all BCS teams

- ACC - Big East - Big Ten - Big 12 - Pac-10- SEC

SEC Preview by Jason Brubaker

- SEC East

- SEC West

Other

ACC: Most Underrated Players

MARCH MADNESS ALL SEASON PREVIEW

Jeff Borzello provides you with everything you need to know to get prepared for the season. Players, teams, conferences -- it's all here. Everything that is going to be in the preview is listed here and a link to this main page will be at the top of every article in the preview. The following is a schedule of what is included in the preview and when it will be released:

- Position Rankings: PG SG SF PF C
- Best Backcourts
- Best Frontcourts
- Group Rankings: Trios Inside-Outside Combos Wing Duos
- Impact Transfers
- Fifty Impact Freshmen
- Various Player Rankings: Defenders, Three-Point Shooters, Break-Out Players, Mid-Major Stars, Go-To Guys
- Biggest Shoes to Fill
- Non-Conference Games to Watch
- Non-BCS Top 25
- Mid-Major Sleepers
- Major Conference Sleepers
- Conference Rankings
No. 31 SWAC Preview
No. 30 MEAC Preview
No. 29 Big South Preview
No. 28 Atlantic Sun Preview
No. 27 Northeast Preview
No. 26 Ohio Valley Preview

No. 25 Ivy League Preview
No. 24 Southland Preview
No. 23 Patriot League Preview
No. 22 America East Preview
No. 21 Big Sky Preview
No. 20 Summit Preview
No. 19 Big West Preview
No. 18 Sun Belt Preview
No. 17 MAAC Preview

No. 16 Horizon Preview
No. 15 Mid-American Preview
No. 14 Southern Preview
No. 13 WAC Preview
No. 12 CAA Preview
No. 11 Missouri Valley Preview
No. 10 Mountain West Preview
No. 9 West Coast Preview

No's 1-9: Complete Preview

March Madness All Season Feed

OTHER

- Weekly TV Schedule (NEW)

- College Basketball Schedules

- CHN's Weekly Sunday Night Top 50 is Back! (NEW)

- Early Signing Day

- State of '08 - Ranking Every Program in Every State

- Rise & Fall - Programs & conferences that are on the up and up, or about to bottom out

ACC - Big 12 - Big East - BCS Leagues - High-Majors - Mid-Majors - Low-Majors

- NBA Preview

Big West Basketball Preview: 08-09

Shawn Siegel — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 07:24:46 -0500

Conference Rank: 19th

Conference Page

All-BIG WEST Team
Pos.	Player	Team	Yr.

G	Josh Jenkins	Northridge	Sr
G	Josh Akognon	Fullerton	Sr
G	Donovan Morris	LBSU	Sr
F	Chris Devine	UCSB	Sr
F	Tremaine Townsend	Northridge	Sr
CHN Award Winners		Returning Leaders
Mid-Major All-Americans Josh Akognon Donovan Morris		Points: Josh Akognon 20.2 Rebounds: Tremaine Townsend 9.8 Assists: Josh Jenkins 6.4

BIG WEST Standings
Nat'l	Team	League	Tourney

98	Pacific	Big West	1	NCAA
115	CS Northridge	Big West	2
138	UC Santa Barbara	Big West	3
166	CS Fullerton**	Big West	4
182	Cal Poly	Big West	5
210	Long Beach St	Big West	6
259	UC Irvine	Big West	7
281	UC Riverside	Big West	8
311	UC Davis	Big West	9

*Click on links for full Top 144 team preview

** returning conference champion

Note: A lot of changes have occurred at Pacific in the months since this preview was written. They would almost certainly not be our #1 choice as of today.

Poll: Who Do You Think Will Win the Big West?

Other BIG WEST Content

Conference Media Poll

Other

Rise & Fall: Big West

State of '08: California

NCAA Basketball Conference Ranking: 2008-09

CHN — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 00:30:46 -0500

CHN's 31 conference ranking, including 10 year historical averages based on average RPI finish. For more information on historical RPI averages, check out the Conference Data Page. Links lead to league preview pages.

Big East

10 Year Average: 3

10 Year Average: 1

10 Year Average: 2

10 Year Average: 5

10 Year Average: 6

10 Year Average: 4

10 Year Average: 10

10 Year Average: 7

10 Year Average: 9

WCC

10 Year Average: 12

11 Conference USA

10 Year Average: 8

12 Colonial

10 Year Average: 14

13 MAC

10 Year Average: 13

14 WAC

10 Year Average: 11

15 MAAC

10 Year Average: 17

16 Horizon

10 Year Average: 15

17 Southern

10 Year Average: 19

18 Sun Belt

10 Year Average: 16

19 Big West

10 Year Average: 18

20 Patriot

10 Year Average: 23

21 Southland

10 Year Average: 27

22 Ivy

10 Year Average: 24

23 Big Sky

10 Year Average: 20

24 America East

10 Year Average: 21

25 Summit

10 Year Average: 26

26 OVC

10 Year Average: 22

27 NEC

10 Year Average: 28

28 Atlantic Sun

10 Year Average: 25

29 Big South

10 Year Average: 29

30 MEAC

10 Year Average: 30

-Independents

31 SWAC

10 Year Average: 31

Daily Conference Poll: Who Will Win the Big West?

Shawn Siegel — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 11:38:18 -0400

Rise & Fall: Mid-Major Conference Review

Shawn Siegel — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 14:34:12 -0400

In recent weeks, the Rise & Fall series has chronicled the progress (or regress) of college basketball's major conference teams. But if I equated each team to a civilization, I was mistaken. It is really the NCAA conference that equates to a burgeoning civilization or nation, each with its sometimes stable and sometimes rotating member states. Like civilizations, the prestige and power of conferences wax and wane..

Today, I'll start with the status of the mid-major conferences before moving up to the big boys. (See the Rise & Fall: Data article to see how the league groupings were made).

MID-MAJORS

BIG WEST - DECLINING (VERY SLOWLY)

The BW rides the fence between the "mid-major" and "low-major" categories. It hasn't finished in the top-half of the RPI in at least the last dozen years, but yet it tends to avoid any major embarrassments. Following the departure of Utah State in 2005, the league RPI plummeted to a low of 23rd but has since rebounded. However, this has been due to a bit of smoke and mirrors, as the BW's non-conference schedule is one of the worst out there. In 2007 for example, the BW managed to play an easier schedule than the independents (a rare accomplishment) and last season's was only marginally better. Its highly possible that just on BW team will finish in the Top 100 RPI this time around.

COLONIAL - STATUS QUO

While things have returned to normal following the banner 2006 year (two tourney teams including the George Mason run), that success was really just an aberration. The CAA usually finishes around 13-14th in the RPI, and its teams manage to win about 50% of their non-league games. While VCU has a chance to be one of the year's big mid-major success stories, the CAA should hover around its norm.

HORIZON - RISING (SLOWLY)

The last two years have been as good as it gets in the Horizon. Led by Butler's amazing success, league teams not only played challenging schedules, but they actually won a fair share of games against top teams.. leading to Top 10 non-conference RPI's each year. Cleveland State beat an ACC & Big East team, while Wright State & Valpo each knocked off multiple Top-100 non-con opponents. Butler will inevitably fall back this year following the big senior losses, but there's enough positive momentum in place to prevent a relapse to the low of 2005 (19th RPI and only one team over 16 wins).

MAC - STATUS QUO

If I hadn't looked the numbers, I probably would have guessed the MAC is in a slight decline. It just seems like the member teams aren't as relevant on the national scene as they once were. But last year's numbers were in line with the usual MAC season (RPI of 12 compared to a 12.7 average over the last decade). Kent State's Top 25 ranking in the computers was the best by a MAC team since the banner year of 1999 when both Miami and Kent made the big dance. If the league finishes 14th or worse (for the 4th time in 6 years), it would constitute a decline, but for now it hangs on the "status quo" edge.

MAAC - STATUS QUO

The MAAC tends to do better than its low profile suggests.. its also one of the most volatile leagues. Its best seasons are akin to or better than the Big West and Sun Belt, but its worst seasons are low-major quality (for example, a non-conference RPI of 25 in 2007). Thus while Siena is coming off a nice season (66th overall) thanks in large part to the huge Stanford win and Rider was solid thanks to Jason Thompson, its hard to know what to expect in 2009. In general, league form has remained the same for quite some time.. hence the "status quo."

SUN BELT - DECLINING (VERY SLOWLY)

From 2007 to 2008, the Sun Belt made serious strides coming off one of its worst ever seasons. The league's non-conference winning % jumped from .386 to .480. Before last year's mini-renaissance I would have said the league was in a bit of a decline. 2006 & 2007 weren't nearly as good as 2003-2005. Part of this is due to league membership changes.. low quality teams like Troy and Louisiana-Monroe joining in, while New Mexico State moved out. As WKU and USA lose top talent in the off-season, I expect the RPI to return to the 18 to 20 range this year which would constitute the continuance of a very slight decline.

WCC - STATUS QUO

While Gonzaga raises the profile of the West Coast Conference, its really just a middling league. In fact, its fallen between 12th and 15th in the RPI in 8 of the last 10 years. But I give the WCC credit for always playing one of the toughest non-conference schedules in the country. Its been one of the two hardest in the country each of the last three years. This means that most seasons, the WCC's non-conference RPI (which is probably a better indicator of league power) is usually a little better than its overall RPI. Despite the glory of three tournament teams last season, the numbers suggest the WCC wasn't any better than usual.. the bad teams were just so bad that they made the good teams look good.

- Note that league power isn't quite as fluid as team power, so seemingly small baby steps end up counting more..

- Up Next: Mid-Majors

BCS

ACC

Big 12

Big East

Big Ten

Pac-10

SEC

High-Major

Atlantic 10

Conference USA

MVC

MWC

WAC

Mid-Major

Big West

Colonial

Horizon

MAC

MAAC

Southern

Sun Belt

WCC

2008 CollegeHoops.net Mid-Major All-Americans

CHN — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 13:12:09 -0400

CollegeHoops.net Mid-Major Player of the Year: Stephen Curry (Davidson)

CollegeHoops.net First Team Mid-Major All-American
G: Stephen Curry (Davidson)
G: Mike Green (Butler)
G: Courtney Lee (WKU)
F AZ Reid (High Point)
F: Jason Thompson (Rider)

CollegeHoops.net Second Team Mid-Major All-American
G: Lester Hudson (UT- Martin)
G: Patty Mills (Saint Mary’s)
G: George Hill (IUPUI)
F: Reggie Williams (VMI)
F: Gyno Pomare (San Diego)

CollegeHoops.net Third Team Mid-Major All-American
G: Al Fisher (Kent State)
G: Bo McCalebb (New Orleans)
F: Charron Fisher (Niagara)
F: Kyle Hines (UNCG)
F: Ryan Wittman (Cornell)

CollegeHoops.net FourthTeam Mid-Major All-American
G: Alex Harris (UCSB)
G: AJ Graves (Butler)
G: Demetric Bennett (South Alabama)
F: Tim Pollitz (Miami)
F: Thomas Sanders (Gardner Webb)

Mid-Major Honorable Mention:
Josh Alexander (Stephen F Austin), Marqus Blakely (Vermont), John Bryant (Santa Clara), J’Nathan Bullock (Cleveland State), Scott Cutley (Fullerton), Jeremiah Dominguez (Portland State), Justin Hare (Belmont), Brandon Johnson (San Diego), Dior Lowhorn (San Francisco), Jason Richards (Davidson), Jonathan Rodriguez (Campbell), Greg Sprink (Navy)

The CollegeHoops.net All-American teams are voted on by staff writers. Up tomorrow are our All-Rookie teams.

CHN 2007-08 Postseason Awards

All-Americans, All-Rookie, Top Coaches & more!

Daily Dribble: Friday Report Card

Shawn Siegel — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 11:30:59 -0500

The Report Card

A - Big West Race

The battle for top spot in the Big West is shaping up to be an exciting race. The top four teams in the conference met last night with Pacific beating Northridge in OT and UCSB getting the best of Fullerton. These four teams are now all within a game of each other. Northridge is still the favorite in my opinion, as their schedule shapes up nicely.. with a challenging road game at Fullerton, but otherwise home games or easy road games remaining.

B - Pittsburgh

When Levance Fields and Mike Cook went down right before New Year's, this team looked like it might collapse. But since the Dayton debacle, the Panthers have hung tough in Big East play and currently sit at 6-4 after Ramon's buzzer-beater upended West Virginia. The Panthers did enough in their non-conference schedule so that anything over .500 in league play should situate them nicely for the Big Dance. The rest of their schedule is by no means a walk in the park, four road games at Marquette, ND, WVU, and Syracuse remain, which is why last night's win was so important.

C - Shaun Pruitt

Watching the senior hit only 1 of 7 free throws, including two at the end of the 2nd OT that could have won the game, was painful. But it pains me to put Pruitt low on the list, because he's one of my favorite players in the Big Ten, is the team's most consistent player, and he's worked hard to improve since freshman year.

D - Virginia

Remember when the Cavs beat Arizona back in November and then almost beat Syracuse a couple weeks later. They were 10-2 heading into January 1st, but are just 1-8 in 2008.. must have been some bad champagne on New Year's. Obviously the increased talent-level of the ACC competition is a big reason for the struggles, but they're not even coming close to winning games. Making things worse, its not like youth is an excuse. Singletary & Joseph are seniors, and Diane is a junior.

F - Illini Nation

Enough with the Eric Gordon obsession. It's not his fault your coach can't recruit.. brought in nobody with talent last year, and has no one good lined up for next year. At one point during the game, the announcers mentioned that this team "has more talent" than a 10-14 team. But that's completely wrong. This team barely has the talent of a 10-14 team.. but Weber's coaching (he can't recruit but he can coach) keeps them in games.

The Daily Report Card tells you all you need to know about the day in college hoops. From good to bad and bad to worse, I'll be laying down the law.

Previous Best / Worst

February 6th - Chris Lofton / Dick Vitale

February 5th - Bob Knight / Josh Heytvelt

February 4th - New York Giants / Washington State

February 1st - Nevada / Penn

January 31st - Kansas State / St. John's

January 29th - Winthrop / Dyson & Wiggins

January 28th - Rutgers / Doris Burke

January 25th - Ron Hunter / Princeton Offense

January 23rd - Kentucky / Archbishop Burke

January 22nd - DJ Augustin / Scott Sutton

January 21st - New York Giants / Marquette

January 20th - Maryland / ESPN.com editors

January 18th - Cleveland State / Marquette

January 17th - Drake / HP Laptops

January 14th - Roy Hibbert / Michigan State

January 10th - Tony Bennett / Saint Louis

January 9th - DJ White / CSTV

January 8th - Robert Morris / Schedule Makers

January 7th - Wayne Ellington / Illinois

January 6th - Herb Sendek / Kentucky

Daily Poll: Who Will Win the Big West?

Shawn Siegel — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 10:42:59 -0400