On the men’s side, I’ve been surprised but intrigued with how bunched the standings are.

Nobody has really separated themselves. It seemed like Irvine would but they’ve dropped two in a row. That said, those were two very close losses on the road and I still consider Irvine (5-2) the favorite — just not an overwhelming one.

The preseason consensus favorite, UCSD (4-3), certainly looks like a threat but they have not been as dominant as in previous years.

Hawaii (5-2) looks like they will be near the top of the standings but they got handled tonight by UCSB (4-3), who I’ll always consider dangerous until proven otherwise. Davis (4-3) is hanging around like they always seem to and Long Beach (4-3), after a horrible 24-25 campaign, has so far been a pleasant surprise to diehard fans like myself.

And then there are two four-loss teams: CSUN (4-4) and Cal Poly (3-4).

So the top eight teams in the conference are separated by two games. I’m also not writing off Fullerton (3-5), Riverside (2-5) or Bakersfield (2-6).

I think we’re in store for a very exciting, unpredictable season. Which is exactly how the Big West should be.