2014-15 Projected Big West Standings
1. UC Irvine Anteaters | 2. UC Santa Barbara Gauchos | 3. Long Beach State 49ers | 4. Hawaii Warriors | 5. UC Davis Aggies | 6. Cal State Northridge Matadors | 7. Cal Poly Mustangs | 8. UC Riverside Highlanders | 9. Cal State Fullerton Titans
The Big West had more close games than any other conference last season, with nearly a third of its regular-season contests decided by three points or less or in overtime. A few late-game possessions played a large role in the league race, as well as in the conference tournament, where three of the seven games were one-possession affairs. Expect more nail-biters this season as the league's powers return most of their arsenals. And that means the Big West's representative in the NCAA tournament could get a high enough seed from which to be a threat to win a game or even two.
UC Irvine won the regular season title in 2014 largely because it held its D-I opponents to 39.2 percent on 2-point shooting. That was the best figure in the country last season and the lowest since Kansas held its opponents to 38.4 percent inside the arc in 2005-06.