2026 Big West Conference Basketball Tournament Odds & Predictions

Seven California teams plus Hawaii make up the field for the Big West Conference Tournament, which will be played in Henderson, NV, a suburb of Las Vegas southeast of the Strip. Hawaii will have a lot of representation in what is referred to as the “Ninth Island”, as there are a lot of Hawaii transplants in the Vegas Valley and a lot of Hawaiians vacation or stay a while in town.

Eight of the 11 Big West teams qualified for the conference tournament, as three California teams did not qualify. The three teams that failed to make the field combined to go 13-47 in conference play. Everybody who made the Big West Tournament field was at least 10-10 or better, with five teams at 12-8 or better. They really beat up on the bottom-feeders and took turns beating each other.

How to Watch the Big West Conference Tournament

When: March 11-14

Where: Lee’s Family Forum in Henderson, NV (fifth year hosting)

Format: Top two seeds get byes to the semifinals, No. 3 and No. 4 get byes to the quarterfinals, Seeds 5 through 8 play in the first round

Watch: ESPN+, ESPNU, ESPN2; Championship Game on ESPN2 on Mar. 14 at 10 p.m. ET

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Big West Conference Tournament Bracket

Coming soon.

Big West Conference Tournament Seeds, Teams and Odds

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1. UC Irvine (+165)

2. Hawaii (+200)

3. Cal State Fullerton (+2200)

4. Cal State Northridge (+1500)

5. UC San Diego (+750)

6. UC Davis (+2200)

7. UC Santa Barbara (+850)

8. Cal Poly (+10000)

Current Odds

(odds from DraftKings Sportsbook accurate at time of publish)

Favorite To Win Big West Conference Tournament

Coaching turnover was a huge story heading into the season for this conference. Most notably, UC San Diego lost Eric Olen and UC Riverside lost Mike Magpayo. The Tritons persevered for a spot in the field. The Highlanders didn’t. But, the top four seeds in this conference tournament all had returning coaches, including UC Irvine and Hawaii, who have had Russ Turner and Eran Ganot, respectively, for a long time.

UC Irvine is favored, but the path for the Anteaters looks more challenging than the path for the Rainbow Warriors because of how the tiebreakers shook out. Cal State Fullerton is a weak No. 3 seed, but the Titans swept CSUN and UC San Diego to wind up on the No. 3 line. They are the seventh-ranked team in the conference per Torvik and sixth-ranked for KenPom. 

Irvine split with Hawaii and had losses to UC Davis, Cal Poly, and UC San Diego. Hawaii dropped one with Irvine and lost to UCSD, UCSB, CSUN, Cal Poly, and the finale against Long Beach State in a game that didn’t matter one iota. Obviously the travel is unique to and from Hawaii in this conference, but the centralized conference tournament should help.

UC Irvine was the best defensive team in this conference, leading in adjusted defensive efficiency, eFG%, FT Rate, and 2P%. UCSB was actually the best offensive team and also ranked second in 3P Rate, which is why as a No. 7 seed, they have the odds that they do. Hawaii only led the conference in 3P% defense, but they were arguably the most balanced team statistically.

Big West Conference Tournament Darkhorse

UC Santa Barbara is definitely dangerous here. The Gauchos also just got Miro Little back for the regular season finale, a one-point loss to UC San Diego. They dropped five of six to finish the regular season, losing two in overtime and two more by 4 and by 1 in regulation. Little, a two-time transfer, first from Baylor and then from Utah, has only played 15 games, but he’s part of an expensive transfer portal class for UCSB that included Aidan Mahaney from UConn. From a talent standpoint, this team has it.

The Gauchos excel so much on offense, but they do have their defensive shortcomings. And the fact that they’re very good at defending 3s would matter less if they ran into an Irvine team that takes one of the lowest rates of 3-pointers in the nation. But, it could help against Hawaii and that’s the game they’d need to get through first if they beat UC Davis.

Betting Pick to Win The Big West Conference Tournament

As good as UC Irvine has been in the regular season, they haven’t won the Big West since 2019. They’ve lost twice in the final, including last season to UC San Diego in a rout. I do wish UCSB didn’t have to win four games in four days to take this down, but they probably wouldn’t be +850 if the format were different. Same thing with UC San Diego, who is a stout defensive team. Cal Poly also plays a very high-variance style of basketball that could trip up the Tritons.

So, I’ll go with UCSB to win four games in four days. UC Irvine has offensive challenges and Hawaii struggles away from the island. Ganot usually has strong teams and Hawaii hasn’t been to the finals in this tournament since 2016.

Pick: UC Santa Barbara (+850)

Makinen Power Ratings for Big West

Coming soon.

Coming soon.

Check out the other previews in our 2026 College Basketball Conference Tournament Betting Guide.

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