UC Irvine picked to win Big West men’s basketball title in media poll

The UC Irvine Anteaters were chosen by a vote of the media to win the Big West Conference men’s basketball title.

UC Irvine finished with with 183 points and nine first-place votes. UC Santa Barbara was second with 167, votes with Cal Poly and Long Beach State coming in third and fourth, respectively.

This is the first time in 12 years the Anteaters have been picked to win the conference in the media poll.

Anteater junior forward Will Davis II was named to the six-member, 2013-14 preseason all-conference team. He broke his own single-season record last year with 88 blocked shots as he earned the Big West Conference’s Best Defensive Player Award.

Davis averaged 9.7 points and a team-leading 6.8 rebounds last season.

UCI finished 21-16 overall last season, tying the program’s third-most victories for a season. The Anteaters were 11-7 (9-0 at home) in the Big West for the program’s most conference victories in 10 years.

UCI advanced to the championship game of the Big West Conference Tournament in March for the fourth time in its history and the first time in the last five years.

UC Riverside was chosen to finish last and Cal State Northridge was picked seventh, just ahead of Cal State Fullerton.

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