Conference preview: Big West

Pacific has owned the Big West as of late, earning the conference's NCAA Tournament berth in each of the past three seasons, but its quest for a fourth consecutive trip to the Big Dance will see plenty of roadblocks, namely from up-and-comer Long Beach State and experienced Cal Poly.

Pacific won 13 conference games in a row to close out the '05-06 season before falling in the first round of the NCAA Tournament 88-76 to Boston College in double overtime. The Tigers return two starters from the team that finished 24-8, 12-2 in the conference. But Pacific will have to replace its top three scorers, including Player of the Year Christian Maraker. Hoping to fill the void are the two remaining starters, Anthony Esparza and Michael White.

Despite its impressive run, Pacific isn't favored to take the Big West. That honor would go to Long Beach State, which returns eight seniors mixed in with a large freshman class (six). The 49ers went to the title game of the conference tournament before losing to the Tigers 78-70. Senior Aaron Nixon (14.7 points per game) played well late in the season and should be the team's leader. The 49ers used an up-tempo style, leading the nation in scoring last season with an 83.3-point average.

Cal Poly (10-19, 7-7) has the most experienced team with four starters and nine upperclassmen returning. Guard/forward Derek Stockalper, a first-team all-conference selection, is the top returning player at 12.9 points and 6.7 rebounds per game. The Mustangs have a strong young pair in the backcourt with Big West Freshman of the Year Trae Clark (8.3 ppg, 2.8 apg) and regular starter Chaz Thomas. Both were selections to the conference's All-Freshman Team.

Cal State Fullerton tries to rebound from a disappointing 2005-06 season in which it went 16-13, including 5-9 in conference play. Player of the Year favorite Bobby Brown is back and 6-foot-7 forward Justin Burns and Frank Robinson give the Titans arguably the top 1-2-3 tandem in the league.

UC Irvine (16-13, 10-4) is also a team that could contend. The Anteaters knocked off No. 13 Stanford last season 79-63 at Maples Pavilion and are deadly from behind the arc, ranking second in the nation at 42 percent last season. UCI is strong under the basket with the trio of Nic Campbell (10.5 ppg, 2.0 apg), Darren Fells (9.8 ppg, 7.1 rpg) and Patrick Sanders.

Cal State Northridge took a hit when senior-to-be Mike Efevberha, who scored 17.1 points per game last season, declared for the NBA and then wasn't drafted. The Matadors go from contending for the conference crown to the lower echelon. Another team in that echelon is UCSB. The Gauchos bring back three starters but welcome eight newcomers. Cecil Brown, the team's leading scorer, was granted a sixth year of eligibility by the NCAA.

UC Riverside brings back just two starters and eight letter-winners, but change is a good thing for the Highlanders, who have won just 29 percent of their games the past five seasons, including a 5-23, 3-11 effort in '05-06.

The conference remains an all-California conference for the second consecutive season. Another California school, UC Davis, will join for 2007-08, making the league nine deep.

Team to beat

Pacific: Until a team can knock Pacific off its perch atop the Big West, consider the Tigers the team to beat. They've earned the automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament for three consecutive seasons, losing in the first round in 2006 for the first time during that run after knocking off Providence in 2004 and Pittsburgh in 2005.

However, the Tigers lost a lot, including Maraker and Johnny Gray, and will plug in inexperienced-yet-talented sophomores Steffan Johnson and Anthony Brown. The Tigers' leading returning scorer, 6-foot-7 center Michael White, averaged just 7.5 points last season, though he shot 58 percent.

If there's one reason not to worry it's coach Bob Thomason, the elder statesman in the Big West. Pacific has won 108 games the past five seasons, including four with 20 or more wins, all under Thomason, who enters his 19th season. Thomason finds a way to get it done, but with his most recent departures it will be no easy task to return to the Big Dance.

Watch out for

Long Beach State: The 49ers had one of the most memorable games in Big West Tournament history a season ago, advancing to the title game when Aaron Nixon hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to top UC Irvine 75-73 in the semifinal. They made a tournament-record 17 3-pointers in the contest. It was sweet March magic, but they didn't have much left for the title game and lost in their first appearance there since 1995. LBSU brings an up-tempo style to the Pyramid and broke the school record for 3-pointers last season (256). Three starters and eight letter-winners return, including Nixon, who scored 25.3 points per game during the conference tournament after averaging under 15 during the regular season.

Still, there's a culture of losing at Long Beach. The 49ers had four consecutive losing seasons until their 18-12 breakout in '05-06. Their coach, Larry Reynolds, is 39-75 after four seasons at the Beach.

Player of the Year

Bobby Brown, Cal State Fullerton: Being Bobby Brown isn't such a bad thing in the Big West. The explosive senior guard put up 17.5 points and 4.55 assists per game last season for the Titans.

The 6-2 guard out of Los Angeles toyed with the idea of jumping to the NBA, participating in pre-draft camps, before deciding to come back for his senior season.

Brown and the Titans have a couple interesting non-conference matchups, first at Eastern Washington on Nov. 27, where Brown will get to go head-to-head with Eagles star Rodney Stuckey, and then on Dec. 5 at national runner-up UCLA.