2025 Big West Conference Tournament

The Big West Conference Tournament could feature a real heavyweight matchup in the championship game between UC San Diego and UC Irvine. The Tritons deserve an at-large berth, as they rank in the top 40 for KenPom and top 45 for Bart Torvik, but a middling major-conference team is likely to get the Selection Committee’s blessing over a Big West squad.

While those two have the headlines, this is a much deeper conference than usual, as eight of the 11 teams qualify for the festivities in Henderson, NV, a suburb of Las Vegas. This will be the fourth installment of the Big West Tourney at the recently-renamed Lee’s Family Forum.

 

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How to Watch the Big West Conference Tournament

When: March 12-15

Where: Lee’s Family Forum in Henderson, NV

Format: No. 3 and No. 4 seeds get byes to the Quarterfinals; No. 1 and No. 2 seeds get byes to the Semifinals

Watch: ESPN+, ESPN2; Championship Game on ESPN2 on Mar. 15 at 9:40 p.m. ET

College Basketball Odds | College Basketball Betting Splits | Greg Peterson’s Daily Lines | Steve Makinen’s Power Ratings

Big West Conference Tournament Bracket

Big West Conference Tournament Seeds, Teams and Odds

1. UC San Diego (-160)

2. UC Irvine (+170)

3. UC Riverside (+1400)

4. Cal State Northridge (+1200)

5. UC Santa Barbara (+4000)

6. UC Davis (+15000)

7. Cal Poly (+8000)

8. Cal State Bakersfield (+30000)

(Odds from DraftKings Sportsbook accurate at time of publish)

Favorite to win Big West Conference Tournament

UC San Diego is chalk to win this tournament. Bracket Matrix has them ranked as a 12 seed, which is going to be disgusting when they go up against a mid-major 5 seed like Saint Mary’s or something because the Committee loves to screw over dangerous mid-major teams. The Tritons should be in the NCAA Tournament whether they win this event or not.

Per Torvik, they are 62nd in adjusted offensive efficiency and 37th in adjusted defensive efficiency nationally. For KenPom, they rank 58th on offense and 34th on defense in his rankings. They currently have a streak of nine straight games without allowing a point per possession. Head coach Eric Olen is in his fifth season and not much attention was paid to the 11-win improvement from 2022-23 to 2023-24, but a lot of attention being paid now.

UC Irvine is the very clear No. 2 seed here and anything aside from a final between these two would be a shocker. Irvine won the first head-to-head meeting 60-52 in San Diego, but the Tritons got revenge with an 85-67 win in Irvine. Torvik has the Anteaters listed as a top 25 defense that also ranks in the top 10 in eFG% defense. KenPom actually has them 16th in his defensive rankings.

Big West Conference Tournament Darkhorse

This conference tournament does not re-seed, so I am a little surprised to see Cal State Northridge lined as the third choice given that they’d run into UC San Diego in the Semifinals. That said, they are definitely the third-best team in the conference and Andy Newman’s team gets to the rim at a very high rate, which helps in these neutral settings. The Quarterfinal matchup between UC Santa Barbara and CSUN could be really fun, as the Gauchos shoot and make a ton of 3s.

That’s the tough part about a future here. The two most dangerous teams in my opinion are UCSB and CSUN, but they’re the No. 4 and No. 5 seeds, which means a date with UCSD and that’s a problem.

UC Riverside does have wins over UC San Diego and UC Irvine, so they’re obviously the only darkhorse to really consider at +1400, but a moneyline rollover on the Highlanders given their draw is going to do better.

Players to Watch in Big West Conference Tournament

Speaking of the Highlanders, Barrington Hargress is one of two players averaging 20+ PPG in this conference. The other is UC Davis’ Ty Johnson, who leads the conference with 21.2 PPG, but he’s only a 37.7% shooter. The most efficient scorer is UC San Diego’s Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones with 19.7 PPG on 58% shooting. It helps to have teammate Tyler McGhie, who is seventh in conference with 16.7 PPG.

UC Irvine has a double-double machine in Bent Leuchten with 15.4 PPG and 9.1 RPG. Devin Tillis is another stat sheet monster with 13.1 PPG and 7.6 RPG for the Anteaters.
Cal State Northridge has two top-10 scorers in Marcus Adams Jr. (16.9 PPG) and Scotty Washington (14.5 PPG). This is a conference with a lot of scorers, as 33 players averaged 10+ PPG during the regular season.

Betting Pick to Win the Big West Conference Tournament

UC San Diego was mostly a pick ‘em at UC Irvine on Feb. 8. At home, the Tritons were -5 or -6 on Jan. 11. I’m guessing they’ll be -4 or so in this game here. With that in mind, I don’t think -160 is that far off from the moneyline you’ll see in the title game if they get there. UC Irvine’s price is probably a touch higher than you’d see in a hypothetical championship game, so there’s a little bit of perceived value on the Anteaters.

Ultimately, I think UCSD gets the job done, so they’re the pick, but I don’t think there’s a good bet to make in this conference.

Pick: UC San Diego (-160)

Makinen Power Ratings for Big West Conference

  • Since the recent expansion of the Big West tournament back in 2021, teams off of byes in earlier rounds have gone 9-1 SU and 6-4 ATS (60%).
  • There has been a significant benchmark line point in recent years of the Big West tourney, and that has been 7.5 points. Favorites of 7.5 points or more are 17-2 SU and 10-8-1 ATS (55.6%) since 2014, while underdogs of 7 points or less have gone 34-23-3 ATS (59.7%) in that same span.
  • Favorites in the semifinal round of the Big West tournament are just 9-11 SU and 6-12-2 ATS (33.3%) since 2014.
  • Totals of 140 or less in the Big West tourney are 15-7 Under (68.2%) since 2014.

More Steve Makinen Conference Tournament Betting Trends.

Check out the other previews in our 2025 College Basketball Conference Tournament Betting Guide.

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