Yet another conference heading down to Las Vegas, albeit at a less glamorous sounding locale (I’m sure it’s nice). The 2023 Big West Conference Tournament gets started tonight with some play-in games.

When is the Big West Tournament?

Tuesday, March 7th through Saturday, March 11th, 2023.

Where is the Big West Tournament played?

The Dollar Loan Center in Henderson, Nevada. (this is Las Vegas). This is of course the home arena for the NBA G League Ignite and presumptive second overall pick Scoot Henderson.

How to watch the Big West Tournament

ESPN+ this week to stream the first few rounds. One of the semifinals will be on ESPNU Friday with the final shown on ESPN2.

Who won the regular season title?

UC Irvine and UC Santa Barbara finished the year with identical 15-5 records in conference play. Irvine will get the top seed in Vegas due to the season sweep of UCSB.

Defending Champ

Cal State Fullerton beat top seeded Long Beach State to advance to the NCAA Tournament last year.

Who will participate

Everyone who is eligible. UC San Diego will sit this one out while they are still in their transitional period.

How Many teams will the Big West send to the tournament?

While we are getting a bit closer to some teams that could sniff an at-large spot, no one in the Big West has enough juice to make it without a tourney win.

Big West Tournament Bracket

The Big West used to do reseeding after the Quarterfinals but did away with that a couple years back. Straight up bracket with the top six teams getting a first round bye. All games on the neutral floor.

Big West Tournament Odds

A very solid middle class in this one with a MASSIVE drop off for the cellar dwellers.

Big West Tournament Preview

This is extremely wide open and even the top seeds should be worried right off the bat.

UC Irvine ranks out high enough in all the metrics but both prospective semi-final opponents have beaten them this season already. Their defense can and has shut teams down but we’ll have to see how well it travels.

The Gauchos of Santa Barbara play offense well enough but aren’t that dangerous from deep. The defense also leaves a little to be desired. Considering their size, they don’t rank well in rebounding or blocks. They will likely have a tough test immediately with a LBSU team that played them close both times they met this year.

Fullerton also rode their defensive prowess to a hot finish to the season but, a person could dislike their reliance on the 3-ball and distinct lack of size. They grade out very low when it comes to rebounding on both ends of the floor but do make up for it a bit by leading the league in steals. I will give them a bit of a pass on some of the troublesome losses as well as a couple came in the absences of Latrell Wrightsell.

I want to like Hawaii, but the price is a little bit short considering a tough path that likely takes them through the best three teams one after another. The offense is likely just not good enough to pull off multiple upsets.

Big West Tournament Prediction

I think saying the Fullerton is the second best team here isn’t crazy. Getting a number that implies they win this less than 15% of the time feels pretty good.

My Bet: Cal State Fullerton Titans +600

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