New Mexico St. Is Pick in Big West

New Mexico State is favored to win the men’s and women’s Big West Conference basketball championships in polls of the coaches taken Wednesday at the preseason conference media meeting.

Nevada Las Vegas and Utah State tied for second in the men’s poll, with Long Beach State rated fourth. UC Irvine, which finished second in the postseason tournament after concluding regular-season league play in last place, tied for fifth with UC Santa Barbara. Cal State Fullerton ranked last in the men’s poll.

In the women’s poll, Long Beach State was ranked sixth, Cal State Fullerton eighth and UC Irvine ninth.

The coaches’ preseason polls (rankings by points, first-place votes in parentheses):

MEN

1. New Mexico State (6), 92; 2. (tie) Nevada Las Vegas (2), Utah State (1), 83; 4. Long Beach State (1), 77; 5. (tie) UC Irvine, UC Santa Barbara, 54; 7. Nevada, 44; 8. Pacific, 32; 9. San Jose State, 20; 10. Cal State Fullerton, 11.

WOMEN

1. New Mexico State (9), 98; 2. UC Santa Barbara (1), 81; 3. Nevada Las Vegas, 72; 4. (tie) Hawaii, Pacific, 66; 6. Long Beach State, 62; 7. San Jose State, 37; 8. Cal State Fullerton, 25; 9. UC Irvine, 23; 10. Nevada, 20.