Big West Conference Tournament Preview & Betting Guide: UC Irvine Eyeing 3rd NCAA Tournament in 5 Seasons

The Big West has produced some serious cinderellas over the years, and there are multiple teams in the league this season that could produce similar results. To prepare you for the Big West Tournament, we will discuss the favorite, a dark horse, and the best bet we think could go dancing on the league’s behalf.Big West Tournament Dates & Sites

• Dates: March 7, 9-11
• Location: The Dollar Loan Center | Henderson, NV
• Championship Game: Saturday, March 11th, 9:30 p.m. ET | ESPN2

With good reason, UC Irvine is the lead horse in the Big West pack. The Anteaters have been a mainstay atop the conference for years under head coach Russell Turner. A unique aspect of his coaching is that he loves to utilize his bench. It isn’t uncommon for Turner to go 12-deep into his rotation on a typical night, and we should see more of the same in Henderson this weekend. It provides them a hefty advantage regarding foul trouble and fatigue in a tournament where you could play three games in three days. The backcourt pair of Dawson Baker and DJ Davis are solid three-level scorers that pour in over 30 points per game combined. They each shoot over 38 percent from three and are the ones who see the most minutes within Turner’s hectic rotation. The Anteaters are eyeing their third tournament appearance in five seasons.

The Rainbow Warriors are always a fan favorite for bettors with their late-night tip-offs, and those who have tuned in realize the level of talent this team has. The floor is high with Hawai’i, with their worst loss in conference play coming to UC Davis, a formidable squad that finished the regular season 11-8 in Big West play. They also showed their ceiling late in the season with a home triumph over UC Irvine on February 25th, showing they can hang with the best of them in the conference. They hang their hat on running teams off the three-point line, forcing isolation brilliance from opposing players. They allow the least three-point attempts and the least assists per field goal made in the nation this season. They could be worth a small wager ahead of the quarterfinals.

Sometimes you have to take a look at the draw in order to get an idea of where the value may lie, and Santa Barbara has a great one. The Gauchos get a cupcake matchup against Cal Poly – who went 1-18 in conference play – to kick off their tournament in the quarterfinals. A date with either UC Riverside or UC Davis awaits in the semifinals, and then the championship is anyone’s best guess. UCSB finds their scoring inside the arc. They rank 21st in the country in two-point percentage, scoring 58.8 percent of their points from two, the 17th-highest rate in Division I. The Gauchos feel like the value play here.

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