Big West? More like the Big Guess.

Preseason storylines and predictions among 2014-15 Big West Conference men’s basketball teams seem about as relevant now as Hawaii’s days in the Western Athletic Conference a few years ago. And prognosticating in the New Year, even with the nine teams’ nonconference slates in the books? Good luck.

Hawaii (12-4) and UC Davis (10-3) have merely drawn attention to the league on a national stage by far surpassing expectations to this point, opening up discussions of possible Big West title contention.

Projected contenders UC Irvine, UC Santa Barbara and Long Beach State have played tough schedules, but haven’t taken advantage with a marquee upset.

Cal Poly is steady as it goes coming off its stunning Big West conference tournament championship last March, while Cal State Northridge — or simply CSUN now, as the Matadors have branded themselves — has disappointed thus far but has experienced players to fall back upon.

Even supposed cellar dwellers UC Riverside and Cal State Fullerton have shown improvement. While the top is muddled, there also isn’t a clear-cut team destined to finish ninth and miss out on the eight-team league tournament at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif., in mid-March.

UH opens the 16-game league schedule at the Stan Sheriff Center on Wednesday against Cal Poly, then follows vs. CSUN on Saturday at home. UH was picked to finish fifth in the media preseason poll, but that was before Gib Arnold was fired and Isaac Fotu departed to the pros.

"I’m sure a couple months ago people had penciled us in as an automatic win, but that’s changed," UH coach Benjy Taylor said. "We’ve thrown a real monkey wrench into this conference. Being picked fifth with Fotu on board … I don’t know where we’re going to finish. But I didn’t think we were a fifth-place team then and I don’t think we’re a fifth-place team now. But we gotta play. We can’t (just) talk about it."

Taylor was named the recipient of the midseason Hugh Durham Award for mid-major coaches on Monday. Taylor said he was honored and called it a "tribute to my players and my staff, and our administration for giving me the opportunity to do what I love."

A significant number of the league’s most talented players from 2013-14 are back in action. Most notably, UCSB’s reigning league player of the year Alan Williams, as well as LBSU point guard Mike Caffey and Davis’ Corey Hawkins.

Davis was decimated by injuries a season ago but has four fifth-year seniors to rally around, including POY candidate Hawkins. It is only four wins away from matching its Division I wins record of 14.

"There’s going to be no easy out, night in and night out," Davis coach Jim Les said. "It’s really good for our league. Bad for your stress level. I don’t have much room for more grey hair, but I’m sure more is coming."

The Big West was recently the 12th-best conference in RPI, per RealtimeRPI.com. It still isn’t expected to compete for an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, but it’s closer to it than when UH joined the league prior to the 2012-13 season.

"I think it’s going to be a very balanced league," said UCI’s Russell Turner, the reigning BWC Coach of the Year. "There are a lot of teams that can win it. I think there are good teams that people underappreciated, like Hawaii and Davis. And to some extent Cal Poly. And teams with high expectations who haven’t yet proven consistently enough that they’re good enough to separate from anybody, us and Santa Barbara and Long Beach."

Or as Cal Poly coach Joe Callero put it: "The so-called bottom half may not want to be the bottom half."

BIG WEST CAPSULES

Compiled by Brian McInnis / Star-Advertiser
Teams listed in alphabetical order

CAL STATE FULLERTON TITANS (8-7, RPI 217)
Coach: Dedrique Taylor (second season)
Preseason poll: Eighth
Key games: at New Mexico, 69-59 L; at UCLA, 73-45 L; at Nevada, 65-55 W
Top players: Sr. G Alex Harris (15.5 ppg, 3.5 apg, 1.4 spg); Jr. G Lanerryl Johnson (11.7 ppg, 41.8 3FG%)
Synopsis: Fullerton carries a five-game winning streak into league play as it aims for its first winning season since 2011-12, the last time it posted a winning streak that long. Harris runs the show offensively, though Johnson, a junior college transfer, erupted for 27 and 31 points in back-to-back games in November. CSF is still guard-heavy but added some size in 6-foot-10 JUCO transfer Kennedy Esume.

CAL STATE NORTHRIDGE MATADORS (4-11, RPI 312)
Coach: Reggie Theus (second season)
Preseason poll: Fourth
Key games: at No. 16 San Diego State, 79-58 L; at No. 2 Arizona, 86-68 L; at No. 4 Louisville, 80-55 L
Top players: Sr. G Stephan Hicks (17.8 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 57.1 FG%); Sr. F Stephen Maxwell (15.5 ppg, 7.7 rpg, 84.7 FT%)
Synopsis: It’s been a sophomore slump so far on CSUN’s redesigned "Blacktop" court for the flashy Theus; the Matadors have clearly missed departed sharpshooting senior Josh Greene. CSUN leans heavily on Hicks and Maxwell, who took over as CSUN’s all-time leading scorer and rebounder, respectively, in the nonconference season. Junior forward Tre Hale-Edmerson also owns the CSUN career blocks record with 122.

CAL POLY MUSTANGS (7-5, RPI 125)
Coach: Joe Callero (sixth season)
Preseason poll: Sixth
Key games: at Saint Mary’s, 82-56 L; at San Francisco, 78-71 W; vs. No. 8 Gonzaga, 63-50 L
Top players: Jr. G/F David Nwaba (14.7 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 50.9 FG%); Jr. F Brian Bennett (11.5 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 55.0 FG%)
Synopsis: Gone is playmaking swingman Chris Eversley from the Mustangs’ surprise Big West tournament championship squad, but Poly still seems to get it done no matter who’s around. As always under Callero, the Mustangs take exceptional care of the ball — a nation-best 8.4 turnovers per game, compensating for a BWC-low 63.1 scoring output. Nwaba brings considerable athleticism to bear and a crop of young guards are drilled to minimize mistakes.

HAWAII RAINBOW WARRIORS (12-4, RPI 175)
Coach: Benjy Taylor (first season)
Preseason poll: Fifth
Key games: vs. Pittsburgh, 74-70 W; vs. BYU, 90-70 L; vs. Nebraska, 66-58 W; vs. No. 11 Wichita State, 80-79 OT L; vs. Colorado, 69-66 W
Top players: So. F Aaron Valdes (14.9 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 50.9 FG%); Sr. G Garrett Nevels (11.4 ppg, 4.7 rpg); Jr. G Roderick Bobbitt (9.2 ppg, 5.8 apg, 2.6 spg)
Synopsis: UH has turned the tide of several games with its disruptive defense; the ‘Bows are 17th nationally in steals per game (9.0), led by Bobbitt, who is 11th individually. UH counts heavily on Bobbitt offensively as well; he leads the BWC in assists by a wide margin to pace the highest-scoring team (74.0) in the BWC. He is one of six players in Division I to record a triple-double this season. Taylor’s squad has gotten by with smallball lineups for long stretches through gang rebounding; eight players average 3.7 boards or better. UH

LONG BEACH STATE 49ERS (6-10, RPI 84)
Coach: Dan Monson (eighth season)
Preseason poll: Third
Key games: at BYU, 95-90 L; vs. Kansas State, 69-60 W; vs. Xavier, 73-70 W; at No. 18 San Diego State, 60-59 L; at No. 9 Texas, 78-68 L; at No. 17 St. John’s, 66-49 L; at No. 5 Louisville, 63-48 L
Top players: Sr. G Mike Caffey (16.4 ppg, 3.6 apg, 45.3 3FG%); Sr. G Tyler Lamb (9.9 ppg, 89.3 FT%)
Synopsis: Like usual, Monson loaded up with the toughest nonconference slate in the league by far — only this one rated as the toughest in the country, per KenPom.com. LBSU’s backcourt, arguably the best in the league, is the reason why it was routinely competitive navigating a seven-game road trip heading into BWC play. Caffey can become the fourth Beach player to be a three-time first-team all-conference pick. The Beach runs deep, though, with an 11-man rotation. Among them, nine have scored double figures in a game this season. Monson (125 LBSU wins) passed Jerry Tarkanian for most victories in Beach history this season.

UC DAVIS AGGIES (10-3, RPI 129)
Coach: Jim Les (fourth season)
Preseason poll: Seventh
Key games: vs. Utah State, 77-70 OT W; at Air Force, 81-75 W; at Washington State, 90-83 L
Top players: Sr. G Corey Hawkins (20.3 ppg, 51.6 FG%, 48.6 3FG%, 81.0 FT%); Sr. F Josh Ritchart (13.0 ppg, 4.6 rpg)
Synopsis: Hawkins, the son of former NBA All-Star Hersey Hawkins, is putting together a league MVP-type season with impressive stats across the board. His teammates have followed suit for a team leading the country in 3-point percentage (43.2) and 10th in the land in overall field-goal percentage (50.4). Defensively, the Aggies have been stout as well with a 39.8 field-goal percentage defense mark. Josh Fox, an ex-UC Riverside forward who considered UH, now leads the league in field-goal percentage at 64.5 percent.

UC IRVINE ANTEATERS (7-7, RPI 161)
Coach: Russell Turner (fifth season)
Preseason poll: First
Key games: at No. 2 Arizona, 71-54 L; at Saint Mary’s, 72-69 L; vs. Green Bay, 72-70 W; at Oregon, 69-57 OT L;
Top players: So. C Mamadou Ndiaye (12.0 ppg, 69.4 FG%, 2.0 bpg); Jr. G Alex Young (10.9 ppg, 3.9 apg, 1.8 spg)
Synopsis: UCI is coming off tying the most wins in program history (23) and a was a near-unanimous choice to win the league, but it’s had a rough time so far. The 7-foot-6 defensive force Ndiaye has only played five games and missed the last nine with a foot injury, but is expected back soon. But with forward Will Davis II, UCI is still capable of swatting teams off their game. Guard Luke Nelson has also dealt with a facial fracture and missed time. At full health, the ‘Eaters could still be the team to beat.

UC RIVERSIDE HIGHLANDERS (7-7, RPI 286)
Coach: Dennis Cutts (second season)
Preseason poll: Ninth
Key games: at No. 25 Utah, 88-42 L; at UCLA, 77-66 L: at San Diego State, 61-33 L
Top players: Jr. F Taylor Johns (16.6 ppg, 9.1 rpg, 50.9 FG%, 2.1 bpg); Jr. G Jaylen Bland (14.9 ppg, 40.7 3PT%, 44 3PTM)
Synopsis: UCR has shown considerable improvement under Cutts, who stepped in for Jim Wooldridge as interim coach last season. The Highlanders posted their best record through 13 games since the 2008-09 season, when they got off to a 9-4 start. Johns and Bland have a chance to become the top scoring duo in the Highlanders’ (admittedly brief) Division I history. Bland, with 3.1 3-pointers made per game, could set UCR’s record for 3s in a season.

UC SANTA BARBARA GAUCHOS (7-7, RPI 128)
Coach: Bob Williams (17th season)
Preseason poll: Second
Key games: at No. 5 Kansas, 69-59 L; vs. Colorado State, 65-63 L; at Oregon, 82-78 OT L
Top players: Sr. C Alan Williams (18.3 ppg, 11.8 rpg, 2.5 bpg); Jr. G Michael Bryson (14.1 ppg, 40.6 3FG%, 94.6 FT%)
Synopsis: The 6-foot-7 center Williams has piled up awards like one of his rebounding binges. The defending BWC Player of the Year has received plenty of national attention, and has the record for most BWC Player of the Week awards with 11, and counting. Big Al is still the most dominant player in the league, leading the way in rebounds and blocks, but Bryson has developed into a capable sidekick, adept at playing off Williams’ double teams while ranking second nationally in free-throw percentage. Zalmico Harmon leads BWC point guards in assist-to-turnover ratio at 2.3.