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Fast starts from UC Irvine, UCSD have showcased the talent hidden in the Big West

If you didn’t have your TV tuned in to ESPNU late on Saturday night or you aren’t super involved with the mid majors of the college basketball world, chances are you have no idea just how good UC Irvine and UC San Diego, along with the rest of the Big West, are.

The conference as a whole ranks 12th at KenPom, with UC Irvine (59th) and UC San Diego (65th) headlining the conference. When those two teams met in San Diego on Saturday night, both were 4-0 in conference play and had a combined record of 28-4. The Anteaters of UC Irvine came away victorious on the road, winning 60-52 behind an inspired Bent Leuchten performance, one that puts him in the driver seat for the Big West Player of the Year race.

Leuchten has battled injuries throughout his career but has been fully healthy this year and is putting together a season to remember. The 7-1 big man from Germany scored 23 points, grabbed 13 rebounds, and had two blocks against UCSD, upping his averages to 15.6 ppg and 8.9 rpg. His presence on the interior completely shut down UCSD’s attack inside the paint and led the Anteaters to a come from behind win. Leuchten’s unique talent is part of what makes this team fun, but the trio of Devin Tillis, Justin Hohn, and Myles Che have all been big parts of its success as well.

Tillis is averaging 13.2 ppg and 7.8 rpg and has gone for 25 points three times this season. Hohn is the point guard and primary playmaker for this team, averaging 12.2 ppg, 3.6 rpg, and 3.5 apg this season, but has also proved himself to be an elite three-point shooter, connecting on 38.0% of his shots from behind the arc this season on nearly five attempts per game.

Che is the lowest scoring of the four Anteaters in double-figures, but is an elite perimeter defender, and was the one tasked with defending UCSD’s Tyler McGhie is the Big West heavyweight matchup on Saturday night. Che is averaging 11.1 ppg on the season but is averaging 16.2 ppg against Big West opposition.

As highlighted with Leuchten and Che, really all four of these guys are elite defenders, which is what makes this team so impressive. Everyone on the floor plays well on both sides of the bell and it has UC Irvine’s defense ranked 8th nationally according to KenPom.

After the big road win in San Diego, UC Irvine has the advantage in the conference with a 5-0 start, but there’s a handful of teams who will be looking to change that by the end of the regular season. Russell Turner has the Anteaters on pace to finish at their highest KenPom finish ever, and it would mark the 13th season in a row under Turner inside the top 150 nationally.

The Tritons surrendered home court on Saturday night, but the boys from UCSD will be hot on the chase over the course of the next two months. Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones, a guy Austin Goetsche and I both showed a lot of love to in the preseason, has played at an elite level. Tait-Jones leads UCSD in scoring at 18.0 ppg and does a little bit of everything on the court besides shoot the three. Tait-Jones has gone for 20+ nine times this season, including a 20-point performance when the Tritons secured the biggest non-conference win for any Big West team. Then-undefeated Utah State was the opposition, and UCSD went into Spectrum Arena on December 17 to hand the Aggies their first loss.

Tyler McGhie fell victim to Myles Che’s elite defense in Saturday’s matchup, but before that, the sharpshooter ranked first nationally in three-pointers made per game. Now, McGhie sits second nationally at 3.8 3PM per game, hitting 63 threes already this season and shooting the ball at 42.5%. Austrian big man and Division II transfer Nordin Kapic has been a solid addition to the Tritons’ frontcourt, averaging 11.1 ppg and 5.5 rpg so far this season.

Then, there’s the nation’s leader in steals, Hayden Gray, at point guard for UCSD. The hometown hero, Gray has played the last two seasons for the Tritons, averaging 10.7 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 3.1 apg, and 3.7 steals per game through 17 contests.

UCSD is a more balanced team overall than UC Irvine, ranking top 75 nationally in both offensive and defensive efficiency according to KenPom. The Tritons ability to take care of the ball (17th in turnover% offensively) and to force turnovers on the defensive end (4th in turnover% defensively) have been key, making every possession valuable for them offensively, and defensively creating plenty of extra opportunities. Eric Olen is the mastermind behind the success, coaching the Tritons through the DII to DI transition period, and now hoping to lead UCSD to its first March Madness appearance in its first season eligible.

UC Irvine and UCSD may run away from the rest of the conference and make this truly a two-horse race, but there’s plenty of talent outside the top two squads that deserve some love too.

Barrington Hargress (19.4 ppg, 3.9 apg) is one of the more exciting small guards in the country, standing at just six feet tall but making waves as an elite scorer and playmaker. The UC Riverside sophomore led the Highlanders to an overtime road win over Colorado State earlier this season, scoring a career-high 31 points in the 77-75 victory.

TY Johnson (20.4 ppg, 4.8 rpg) for UC Davis is another elite scorer in the conference and perhaps nationally as well. The senior guard has scored 30+ three times already this season, but his team has struggled to start conference play, dropping to 3-3 with a loss Saturday to Long Beach State.

UC Santa Barbara is the team most in position to challenge the top two teams, sitting 3-2 in conference play and ranking 137th nationally according to KenPom. Stetson transfer Stephan Swenson (12.4 ppg, 4.3 apg) has been solid through his start to life in California, but the Belgian guard will have to continue to come up with big performances like he did against Hawaii (21 points, seven assists) and Cal Poly (22 points, six assists, six three-pointers) already in conference play if the Gauchos want to be in it until the end.

Two more quick shoutouts for two of the overachieving squads in my eyes in this conference in Hawaii and Cal State Northridge.

On the islands, Eran Ganot has the Rainbow Warriors off to a 3-2 start in conference play, led by Xavier transfer Gytis Nemeiksa (14.6 ppg). The Rainbow Warriors have lots of height and lots of length, matching up well defensively with nearly every team they come across.

Cal State Northridge has quietly risen 100 spots in KenPom since the start of the season, with the Matadors ranking 152nd at KenPom and playing at the ninth-fastest pace in the country. BYU transfer Marcus Adams Jr. (15.5 ppg, 4.9 rpg), Cal Baptist transfer Scotty Washington (13.3 ppg), Keonte Jones (13.1 ppg, 8.9 rpg), and Washington transfer PJ Fuller II (8.8 ppg, 3.4 apg) make up an extremely exciting core for Andy Newman and have a chance to cause problems for the defensive-minded Anteaters and Tritons with the extreme change of pace.

It’ll be an uphill battle for any of these stars or squads to match UC Irvine or UC San Diego for a full, 20-game, double-round robin conference schedule, but that’s not to say there won’t be plenty of exciting late-night basketball on ESPN+ for the next two months. The two bid Big West agenda hasn’t started quite yet, but I’d happily bear the flag to get that notion going.

Conference Standings (Top 9)

• UC Irvine 15-2 (5-0)
• UC San Diego 14-3 (4-1)
• UC Santa Barbara 11-5 (3-2)
• Hawaii 11-5 (3-2)
• UC Riverside 10-7 (3-2)
• Long Beach State 7-10 (3-2)
• Cal State Northridge 11-6 (3-3)
• Cal State Bakersfield 9-9 (3-3)
• UC Davis 9-8 (3-3)