After falling short of an NCAA Tournament bid, UC Irvine looks to leave no doubt in 2024-25.
Last season was an interesting one in the Big West. For the second straight year, UC Irvine won the regular-season title after being picked to finish fourth in the preseason poll. The top three teams in the preseason poll all finished fourth or worst. And Long Beach State was led to the NCAA Tournament by a coach who would be fired at the end of the season.
This season, the top of the conference looks to be stronger, with UC Irvine and UC San Diego returning a lot of their production and UC Santa Barbara amassing a deep pool of talented players. Both Long Beach State and Cal Poly have new coaches who will be looking to make an instant impact on the program, and the other teams all have the talent to compete with anyone in the league.
- Heat Check CBB ’24-25 season preview coverage
- Subscribe to HC+ today for exclusive content
- Follow @HeatCheckCBB on X
But if this conference has demonstrated anything over the past few years, it is that no team can be doubted. There have not been back-to-back conference tournament winners since 2011, and every team but UC San Diego and UC Riverside has played in an NCAA Tournament in the last 15 years. Anyone can find themselves in the Big Dance, making this one of the most exciting mid-major races to watch.
1. UC Irvine Anteaters
Last season was a reminder that doubting a Russ Turner-coached UC Irvine team rarely pays off. After falling to fourth in the preseason poll, the Anteaters rode their defense to the most conference wins in school history, winning the regular-season championship by a full two games. Despite losing first-team All-Big West point guard Pierre Crockrell, the Anteaters still return four starters and four of their top five scorers from last year’s championship roster.
Justin Hohn-Mack (12.6 ppg) and Andre Henry (10.3 ppg) return to lead the scoring charge for Irvine. Last season, Hohn-Mack led the team in scoring, but Henry’s shooting efficiency (51.1 2P%, 42.9 3P%) —coupled with his production on the other end as the league’s Defensive Player of the Year — should make him an early contender for Big West Player of the Year.
If it wasn’t for injuries slowing him down the past two seasons, 7-1 center Bent Leuchten may have already had his breakout season. However, his strong finish to last season (11.0 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 1.0 bpg in March) gives some hope that he can take a big step forward this year — as long as he stays on the floor.
Offensively, a lot of uncertainty will be answered by the play of newcomer Myles Che (7.5 ppg, 1.9 apg at Chattanooga). Between Che and Hohn, someone will need to make up for the lost playmaking of Crockrell, who averaged a conference-leading 6.4 assists.
Defensively, UC Irvine should be just as strong as they always seem to be, especially with Leuchten and Devin Tillis (9.7 ppg, 6.1 rpg) returning to man the frontcourt positions. The Anteaters have finished top-three in the Big West on defense in each of the past eight seasons, with six No. 1 finishes, per KenPom.
Log in to your HC+ account or sign up now to view this content.
You must be logged in to post a comment.