Big West Preview: Prediction, Bracket, Odds, Standings and Schedule

The Big West conference doesn’t always get the love that some of the majors do. But, I bet that your opinion of this group will change if you take some time to watch. The better teams in the conference routinely keep up with mid-major teams and above.

The Big West regular season was an exciting ride that Long Beach State emerged from with the best record in the conference at 12-3. Two other teams, CSUF and Hawaii, each had double-digit wins as well. Overall, seven of the 11 teams in the Big West had winning seasons and the top five teams all finished the season with wins. 

Heading into the start of play on March 8, Long Beach State holds the No. 1 seed with Cal State Fullerton and Hawaii rounding out the top three seeds. While UC Irvine is the odds on favorite, there is no sure thing when it comes to conference tournament betting. 

What follows is all the information you will need to know to watch, bet, and beat the Big West Tournament. Let’s start with the current odds at WynnBET Sportsbook. 

Big West Conference Tournament Odds

• UC Irvine +280
• UC Santa Barbara +450
• Cal State Fullerton +500
• Long Beach State +525
• Hawaii +600
• UC Riverside +600
• UC Davis +2000
• Cal State Bakersfield +7500
• Cal Poly +20000
• Cal State Northridge +30000

Big West Conference Tournament Standings and Bracket

Here is a breakdown of the standing and bracket heading into the Big West Conference Tournament: 

Big West Conference Tournament Schedule (Dates, Times, Channel)

The Big West Tournament tips off on March 8 and runs through March 12 when the championship game is played. The entire tournament can be streamed via WatchESPN on Apple TV and Roku while the title game will be nationally broadcast on ESPN2. 

The schedule for each round of the tournament is as follows with times listed in CT: 

Tuesday, March 8, 2022 - Big West Tournament Opening Round

• 8:00 pm: No. 9 CSUB vs. No. 8 CSUN - GAME 1
• 10:30 pm: No. 10 Cal Poly vs. No. 7 UC Davis - GAME 2

Thursday, March 10, 2022 - Big West Tournament Quarterfinals

• 2:00 pm: No. 1 Long Beach State vs. Winner of No. 9 CSUB vs. No. 8 CSUN - GAME 3
• 4:30 pm: No. 4 UC Irvine vs. No. 5 UC Santa Barbara - GAME 4
• 8:00 pm: No. 2 CSU Fullerton vs. winner of No. 10 Cal Poly vs. No. 7 UC Davis - GAME 5
• 10:30 pm: No. 3 Hawaii vs. No. 6 UC Riverside - GAME 6

Friday, March 11, 2022 - Big West Tournament Semifinals

• 8:00 pm: Winner of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 4 - GAME 7
• 10:30 pm: Winner of Game 5 vs. Winner of Game 6 - GAME 8

Saturday, March 12, 2022 - Big West Tournament Final

• 10:30 pm: - Winner of Game 7 vs. Winner of Game 8 - GAME 9

Big West Conference Tournament Prediction and Pick

While taking the favorite is not the most exciting choice one can make, I have to pull the trigger on UC Irvine to win it all. The odds suggest that the rest of the pack is very well matched and will pick each other off one by one. The Anteaters have made the title game in this tournament for four straight years as well. No reason to go against a run like that.

Lean: UC Irvine (+125)

Big West Conference Tournament Dark Horse

At +600 Hawaii might be on the fringe of dark horse status but they are my pick here nonetheless. The Rainbow Warriors have the late game on Friday night against UC Riverside in quarterfinal action. While Riverside did beat Hawaii once this year already, the Rainbow Runners were robbed of revenge with the other game being outright canceled due to COVID and scheduling issues. I like Hawaii to get the payback they have been waiting for all this time. 

While their odds don’t reflect this, the Warriors have the second most efficient offense in the conference and are fourth on defense in that same category. They are far and away from the best three-point shooting team in the pack and third-best at defending the perimeter on the other end. Basically, Hawaii might be the most balanced team in this tournament and worth a look to make a run.