March Madness Descends Upon Big West
Final Week of Regular Season
The final week of Big West Conference begins today, with much to be decided. To quote Mike Francesa, it’s “Da Witching Howah.”
There's the matter of 3rd Place, which will be decided in Riverside, as CSUN and UC Riverside face off at the SRC Arena. The Matadors clinch with a win, while a win for UC Riverside puts them in the drivers' seat, to clinch third with a win Saturday against Cal State Fullerton, at Historic Titan Gym, as they'd hold tie-breaker over CSUN, by virtue of the season sweep.
UC Irvine and UC San Diego are in a tussle for the top seed in next week's conference tournament in Henderson. The Tritons clinch with a win over Long Beach State Thursday, though the Eaters would be on the two-line with a double-bye as well. Eaters wrap up at UC Davis and at UC Santa Barbara, while UC San Diego heads to Davis on Saturday, for a nationally televised affair.
But the most intriguing story line of the weekend, could be at the bottom of the bracket, as CSU Bakersfield, Hawaii, and Cal Poly are in a three-horse race, for the final two slots in Henderson. Hawaii clinches a spot in the festivities with a win on Thursday over CSU Bakersfield. While the Runners need a win, and a loss by either Cal Poly or Hawaii, to avoid a three-way tie scenario, which would have them on the outside looking in.
The Mustangs are in with two wins, based on tie-breakers, and can even get in with one win, provided Hawaii beats CSU Bakersfield, who they'd have the tie-breaker against. If all three teams finish 8-12, the Runners are out, in a tie-breaker scenario, with Hawaii taking 8th and Cal Poly coming in 7th.
In the double-bye format, the top two seeds would need two wins to take the tourney title, while the next two seeds would need three wins. Teams that play that first day (Wednesday 3/12), would need to win four games in four days to dance. Going back to 1980, only three teams that didn't win at least ten conference games have ever won the Big West Tournament, San Jose State in 1996 (9-9), UC Santa Barbara in 2011 (8-8) and Cal Poly in 2014 (6-10). That's a little more complicated now, with the twenty-game conference schedule, since the league expanded in 2020. In 1994, UC Irvine finished 4-14 and in 10th Place, but in an era where all ten teams advanced to the conference tournament, they went on a run of three straight wins, before falling to New Mexico State in the Finals.
TRENDING
UC San Diego (16-2) - “The Beatles” of college basketball, playing as well as anyone in the country. Eleven straight wins, and counting. Win Thursday clinches Top Seed in Henderson. If they can get to the Big West Final, could be in place for potential at-large bid. Finish with Long Beach State at home (3/6) and at UC Davis (3/8). Will bring their “Triton Mania” vibe with them, to Henderson, for the first time.
UC Irvine (15-3) – One game off the pace, but still a legit contender for league crown. At-Large Bid is no longer a possibility, but the double-bye puts them into Big West Semis, priming for a re-match with UC San Diego. Finish with UC Davis (3/6) and UC Santa Barbara (3/8) on the road. Eaters were the top seed in Henderson last year.
CSUN (13-5) – Took a stumble with loss to UC San Diego, but them bounced back with huge effort against Gauchos on Saturday. Finish at Riverside (3/6) and home to Hawaii (3/8). Clinch third with win over Highlanders. Lots of fire power and have been solid on defense. Next win matches school record for single-season (22).
UC Riverside (12-6) – Hiccup against Cal Poly makes today's game vs. CSUN (3/6) a must-win, but already have wins in hand over both Irvine and UC San Diego, and are assured bye to Thursday. Well-coached and very good in close games. 9-2 in games decided by four points or less. Finish at Cal State Fullerton on Saturday (3/8).
UC Santa Barbara (11-8) – Had won three in a row and six of eight before their loss in Northridge on Saturday. Have the bye on Thursday, and host Irvine (3/8) on Senior Day, Saturday. 0-5 against Top Three teams, but do have a win over UC Riverside. Locked into fifth seed for First Round Wednesday.
UC Davis (9-9) – Wrap up schedule at home, but against top two teams, UC Irvine (3/6) and UC San Diego (3/8). Aggies are 4-2 in league games decided by four points or less. After big home win against Riverside 2/13, dropped four straight. If anyone can rally this group, it's Head Coach, Jim Les. Davis needs win or Hawaii loss to clinch 6th seed.
CSU Bakersfield (7-12) – Need win and some help to qualify for Henderson. Lose tie-breaker to Cal Poly, but win over Hawaii (3/6), puts them in a good spot. Would still need loss by either Mustangs or Bows to clinch. Three-way tie at 8-12 does them no good. They also lose-tie breaker at 7-13, against Cal Poly. Runners can get in with a loss to Hawaii, if Cal Poly loses twice.
Hawaii (7-11) – win over CSU Bakersfield (3/6) clinches a spot in Henderson. Two wins puts them in a position to leapfrog Davis into sixth place. Bows can also get in with two losses and a Cal Poly split, as they finish the season at CSUN (3/8). Bows hold tie-breaker over Cal Poly with win over UC Davis, and over CSU Bakersfield due to win over UC Riverside. Bows lost 5 of 6 before win over UC Davis Saturday, in Honolulu. This is first year Bows had been sub-.500 in conference play, since they joined Big West. Hawaii went 6-8 in WAC, in 2012, a year before joining Big West Conference.
Cal Poly (6-12) – Two wins over Fullerton (3/6) and at Long Beach (3/8) gets them to Henderson. They can get a split, and still get in, depending on how Hawaii and CSU Bakersfield do. But surest path to get in, is just to win. First three weeks of conference play, Mustangs had to deal with injuries and wacky travel schedule. When they finally got healthy, won 4 of 5 between January 25th and February 13th. Poly gave CSUN a scare in The Valley on February 15th and stole one from UC Riverside in OT on Feb 22nd. Cal Poly is 6-4 after 0-8 start in league play. Could be a problem in Henderson, due to pace of play.
WORD FROM THE COMMISH
Dan Butterly took a few minutes to chat Big West Men’s Basketball, ahead of the end of the regular season, with the tournament in Henderson approaching. We also touch on proposed Big West expansion. A vote was scheduled for February 28th, to extend invitations to both Cal Baptist and Utah Valley to join the league. Both are currently in the WAC. There have also been some adjustments made, with regard to the price of tickets to the upcoming Men’s & Women’s Basketball Championships.
