Warrior Insider

Eleven games featuring Big West Conference teams were scheduled and completed last week. Hooray! Yes, that alone is worth cheering, regardless of the outcomes of any of those games.

It was the first time this season that the Big West was able to go a full week without seeing a game canceled due to COVID-19 issues.

The most significant action – from a COVID-related standpoint – was the two-game series between UC Davis and UC San Diego. Although the games did not count as Big West contests, it was still UCD’s first appearance since early December. The Aggies were not allowed to play any games – home or away – for seven consecutive weeks due to strict government regulations within its county (Yolo County).

As of January 25, it appears that it could be two consecutive weeks of a completed schedule for Big West teams. All 10 games scheduled for January 29 and 30 are showing as “on.”

Prior to last week, the Big West teams went through eight consecutive weeks with at least one game cancelled to start this season.

Standings update

Despite playing only four games so far, UC Irvine remains the team to catch in the Big West standings. The Anteaters are 4-0. All the other early contenders have at least two losses, including CSU Bakersfield (6-2), UC Riverside (4-2) and UC Santa Barbara (4-2).

UCI already owns a two-game sweep of UC Santa Barbara, but has yet to play CSU Bakersfield and UC Riverside. The Anteaters also have to play road games at Hawai’i and Long Beach State.

It is also worth noting that UC Davis is officially 0-0 in the current Big West standings. The Aggies have 10 conference games remaining on their schedule and technically are the only other team with a shot to go undefeated. A two-game series between UC Davis and UC Irvine was canceled on January 8-9.

Here are the current standings:

UC San Diego games may not count in standings

In what would be a recent and unannounced change by the conference, Big West results featuring UC San Diego are no longer showing in the official standings. It will apparently count only on each team’s overall record, but not as conference games.

UCSD’s completed games against UC Santa Barbara and UC Davis are now displaying as non-conference games on the Big West website.

UC San Diego is an official member of the Big West, but is making the transition from NCAA Division II. Thus, the Tritons are not eligible for the conference championship or conference tournament.

However, each Big West team is playing UCSD twice during the regular season, and until recently, it was believed that those games would count in the conference standings.

UCSB’s McLaughlin dominating awards

UC Santa Barbara senior guard JaQuori McLaughlin was named the Big West Conference Player of the Week for January 18-24. It is the third time this season that he received the honor.

McLaughlin scored 46 total points on 16-of-21 shooting in UCSB’s two road victories at CSUN last week.

Stat check

The number of total games played for each Big West team ranges from six (UC Davis) to 15 (CSU Bakersfield). Nonetheless, individual statistics are being tallied and listed. Here are the current leaders:

Scoring
TJ Starks (CSUN) 20.0
Ezra Manjon (UCD) 17.8
JaQuori McLaughlin (UCSB) 16.9
Isaiah Washington (LBSU) 16.8
Michael Carter III (LBSU) 15.2

Rebounding
Amadou Sow (UCSB) 8.4
Josh Hall (CSUF) 7.5
Vincent Lee (CSUF) 7.2
Brad Greene (UCI) 6.9
Collin Welp (UCI) 6.6

Assists
Darius Brown II (CSUN) 5.5
JaQuori McLaughlin (UCSB) 5.3
Mikey Howell (UCSD) 4.7
Isaiah Washington (LBSU) 4.1
Devearl Ramsey (UCSB) 3.8

Field Goal Percentage
James Jean-Marie (UH) .635
Trever Irish (LBSU) .619
Vincent Lee (CSUF) .617
Caleb Fuller (UCD) .579
Casdon Jardine (UH) .569

3-pointers
Will Tattersall (UCR) 26
Ajare Sanni (UCSB) 25
Justin Edler-Davis (CSUB) 23
Tray Maddox Jr. (CSUF) 21
JaQuori McLaughlin (UCSB) 21

Best game last week

CSU Bakersfield 47, UC Riverside 45. Taze Moore scored on a turnaround jumper from about 10 feet away with 3.1 seconds remaining to give the Roadrunners a crucial road victory. The winning shot came on a well-run set play that capped an otherwise ugly offensive showing by both teams. CSUB won despite shooting just 28.8 percent from the field; UCR shot 31.4 percent.

Games to watch this week

UC Santa Barbara at UC Davis. At 0-0, UCD is technically the only Big West team that can match first place UC Irvine in the loss column. A two-game sweep by UCD would actually put the Aggies near the top of the standings at 2-0.

It won’t be easy, though. Since losing two games at UC Irvine on December 27 and 28, UCSB has won six in a row.

Big West Conference
Last week’s results
Friday, January 22
UC Santa Barbara 105, at CSUN 58
at UC Irvine 68, Cal Poly 49
CSU Bakersfield 47, at UC Riverside 45
*at UC San Diego 89, UC Davis 69
at Cal State Fullerton 83, Hawai’i 67

Saturday, January 23
UC Santa Barbara 80, at CSUN 66
at UC Irvine 67, Cal Poly 44
at UC Riverside 70, CSU Bakersfield 63
*UC Davis 78, at UC San Diego 71
Hawai’i 76, at Cal State Fullerton 53
*at Cal Baptist 96, Long Beach State 75

This week’s games
Friday, January 29
UC Santa Barbara at UC Davis
CSUN at Cal Poly
*UC San Diego at Long Beach State
Cal State Fullerton at CSU Bakersfield
UC Irvine at Hawai’i

Saturday, January 30
UC Santa Barbara at UC Davis
CSUN at Cal Poly
*UC San Diego at Long Beach State
Cal State Fullerton at CSU Bakersfield
UC Irvine at Hawai’i*Non-conference game