Big West Basketball Tournament Bracket, Standings and Conference Breakdown

Published by

Zach Brunner

5 years ago

uc santa barbara basketball big west basketball tournament bracket standings schedule

With UC San Diego ineligible for the NCAA Tournament, the Big West conference has 10 other teams vying for the automatic bid by winning the Big West basketball tournament. Let’s break down the conference tournament, previewing the conference and giving the standings, bracket and schedule.

Be sure to visit our College Basketball Conference Tournaments Hub for more Champ Week coverage!

Big West Basketball Standings

Team	Conference Record	Overall Record	Tournament Outlook
UC Santa Barbara	13-3	19-4	1 Seed
UC Irvine	10-4	16-8	2 Seed
UC Riverside	8-4	13-7	3 Seed
UC Davis	6-4	9-7	4 Seed
CSU Bakersfield	9-7	15-10	5 Seed
Hawai’i	9-9	11-9	7 Seed
CSU Fullerton	5-7	6-9	6 Seed
CSU Northridge	5-9	9-12	8 Seed
Long Beach State	4-8	5-11	9 Seed
Cal Poly	1-15	3-19	10 Seed

Big West Basketball Schedule

Dates: March 9, 11-13
TV: ESPN2, ESPN3, ESPNU
Location: Michelob Ultra Arena, Las Vegas< NV
Byes: Top six get single bye
Most Recent Champion: UC Irvine

Big West Tournament Bracket

*Note: All times provided are Eastern

First Round (Tues., March 9), ESPN3

(9) Long Beach State 85, (8) Cal State Northridge 63
(10) Cal Poly 87, (7) Cal State Fullerton 82

Quarterfinals (March 11), ESPN3

(1) UC Santa Barbara 95, (9) Long Beach State 87
(4) UC Davis 58, (5) Cal State Bakersfield 56
(2) UC Irvine 58, (10) Cal Poly 51
(3) UC Riverside 62, (6) Hawai’i 52

Semifinals (March 12), ESPNU

(1) UC Santa Barbara 71, (4) UC Davis 55
(3) UC Riverside vs. (2) UC Irvine

Championship (March 13), ESPNU

(1) UC Santa Barbara, 7 p.m

Big West Basketball Breakdown

Given their recent history, UC–Irvine has to be considered one of the top two favorites to win this tournament. They have won or had a share of the regular season title in five of the eight past seasons. They were also the winners of the last Big West basketball tournament. UC-Irvine handed UC-Santa Barbara two of their three losses on the season, and it looks likely that the two teams will meet again. Consistency is the difference between these two teams.

While Irvine was on point in their matchups, it’s UC–Santa Barbara that was most consistent this season. They also have one of the best offenses and defenses in the conference. Led by JaQuori McLaughlin, the offense can compete with anyone. McLaughlin is top-five in the conference in field goals made, field goals attempted and field goal percentage.

Hawai’i had an average season, shown by their 9-9 conference record. However, they are a dangerous team because they have shown the ability to play up to their competition. They have wins against UC-Riverside, Cal State Fullerton, UC-Irvine, Cal Poly, Cal State Northridge, Cal State Long Beach and UC-Davis. They are one of those annoying teams that will find a way to hang around, giving themselves a chance to play spoiler.

This post was last modified on March 12, 2021 11:00 PM

Zach Brunner

I am a simple Wisconsin man: I love beer and sports. I decided to create FlurrySports because I was sick of the politics and non-stories that the fat cat corporations put out. When you see football articles from me, just know that I combine my knowledge from playing, coaching, athletic training, and sports management/economic courses to give you a unique, but I feel well-rounded point of view. I am always down to talk about anything, so follow me on Twitter @FantasyFlurry if you decide you want more of me!