Big West preview by Rush the Court

http://rushthecourt.net/2010/10/19/rtc-conference-primers-17-big-west-conference/

Predicted Order of Finish

1. UC Santa Barbara (13-3)
2. Long Beach State (12-4)
3. UC Davis (11-5)
4. Cal Poly (9-7)
5. Pacific (9-7)
6. UC Irvine (8-8)
7. Cal State Fullerton (5-11)
8. UC Riverside (3-13)
9. Cal State Northridge (2-14)

All-Conference Team

* Casper Ware (G) – Long Beach State
* Orlando Johnson (G) - UC Santa Barbara
* James Nunnally (F) - UC Santa Barbara
* T.J. Robinson (F) - Long Beach State
* Eric Wise (C) - UC Irvine

Sixth Man

Mark Payne (G) – UC Davis

Impact Newcomer

Kareem Nitoto (G) – UC Riverside

Predicted Champion

UC Santa Barbara (NCAA: #12 seed): With all five starters returning from the team that won the conference championship last season, the Gauchos are the clear favorite to rep the Big West come tourney time. Last year’s POY, Orlando Johnson, exceeded sky-high expectations, and the pressure will be on the 6’5 guard to keep it up despite constant double teams.