UCI men, women in middle

The UC Irvine men’s and women’s basketball teams will finish in the middle of the pack, according to Big West Conference coaches, while the media believes both teams will fare even worse.

The preseason media poll, conducted at the conference’s annual basketball media day at the Irvine Hilton Wednesday, predicted the Anteaters’ men will finish sixth and the women seventh in the eight-team conference.

The coaches tabbed the UCI men fourth and the UCI women fifth.

UCI junior center Darren Fells, who averaged 9.8 points and 7.1 rebounds last season, was selected to the six-player men’s all-conference team, selected by members of the media.

UCI senior guard Angie Ned, a first-team all-conference returner who was also the Big West Defensive Player of the Year last season, is on the six-player women’s preseason all-conference squad.

The UCI men were 10-4 and finished second in the Big West last season, when they compiled a 16-13 overall record and lost in the conference tournament semifinals.

The UCI women were 7-7 in conference, tied for third, and posted a 9-19 overall mark.

Coach Pat Douglass’ men’s squad lost first-team all-conference performer Aaron Fitzgerald, as well as career three-point field goal leader Ross Schraeder from last year’s team.

The ‘Eaters return starters Fells, senior Nic Campbell and junior Patrick Sanders and should be fortified by what Douglass calls the best recruiting class in his 10 seasons at the helm.

Douglass is 138-120 at UCI.

In addition to Ned, who averaged 13 points and 5.6 rebounds last season, Coach Molly Tuter’s UCI women return starters Kelly Cochran, a second team all-conference performer as a freshman, Stephanie Duda (7.0 points and 6.1 rebounds per game), and sophomore point guard Kirian Ishizaki.

The two teams play an exhibition doubleheader Nov. 2 at the Bren Events Center. The women take on Team Concept at 5 p.m., while the men tangle with St. Xavier, an NAIA school from Chicago, at 7:35 .

The University of the Pacific, a three-time defending champion that is 47-3 against Big West foes the last three seasons, shares the top spot with Long Beach State in the men’s coaches poll, with both receiving 45 points.

Cal State Fullerton (37 points) is third in the men’s coaches poll, followed by UCI (28), UC Santa Barbara (26), Cal Poly San Luis Obispo (20), Cal State Northridge (16) and UC Riverside (seven).

The men’s media poll put Long Beach State on top (157 points), followed by Pacific (124), Cal State Fullerton (110), Cal Poly (91), UC Santa Barbara (87), UC Irvine (82), Cal State Northridge (46) and UC Riverside (23).

Long Beach State received 18 first-place votes in the media poll, with Pacific getting the other two.

The women’s coaches poll ranked reigning conference tournament champion UC Riverside (47 points) ahead of 11-time defending regular-season conference champion UC Santa Barbara (43 points).

Long Beach State, which shared the regular-season title last season, was third (33), followed by Cal State Northridge (29), UCI (23), Cal State Fullerton (22), Cal Poly (20) and Pacific (seven).

In the women’s media poll, UCSB is first (93), followed by UC Riverside (92), Long Beach State (83), Cal State Northridge (69), Cal Poly (53), Cal State Fullerton (42), UCI (40) and Pacific (32).

The UCI men open the regular season Nov. 10 against South Alabama in the Travelers Classic at Fresno State.

The UCI women will play a second exhibition Nov. 8 against Love & Basketball.

They will then tip off their regular season Nov. 13, when they play host to Eastern Washington.

— Barry Faulkner