Big West Tournament is underway
If there is such a thing as a surprising upset in the first round “play in” games, it happened on Tuesday in the Hercules Tires Big West Conference Championship Tournament at Henderson, Nev.
No. 10 seed Cal Poly – which went 1-19 during the conference regular season – upset No. 7 Long Beach State, 88-68, in Tuesday’s first round at the Dollar Loan Center. The Mustangs trailed by five at halftime, then opened the second half with a 17-5 to take control.
Cal Poly, which improved to 8-24 overall, advanced to Thursday’s quarterfinals to face No. 2 UC Santa Barbara. The Beach completed its season with a 17-16 record, including 11-10 against BWC opponents.
In Tuesday’s other first round game, No. 8 CSU Bakersfield defeated No. 9 CSUN, 51-47. The Roadrunners will face No. 1 UC Irvine in a Thursday quarterfinal. CSUB improved to 11-21; CSUN completed its season at 7-25.
Hawai’i will face Cal State Fullerton in another quarterfinal game on Thursday. It is scheduled to start at 2:30 p.m. Pacific Time (12:30 p.m. Hawai’i). The Rainbow Warriors arrived in Las Vegas on Monday, and practiced on Tuesday afternoon at Coronado High School.
Hawai’i is 22-10 overall and finished in fifth place in the conference at 13-7. Fullerton is 18-12 and finished in fourth at 12-6.
The teams took vastly different paths in the final week of the regular season. The Warriors went 1-1 on the road – routing CSUN 81-55, then getting routed at UC Santa Barbara 81-61.
Meanwhile, the Titans did not play last week because a scheduled home game against UC San Diego was cancelled due to health protocols within the UCSD program.
Hawai’i is also seeking to avenge a season sweep. The Titans beat the Warriors in Fullerton (79-72) and in Honolulu (52-51). What’s more, Fullerton eliminated Hawai’i in the semifinals of last season’s BWC Tournament.
The University of Hawai’i women’s team will take the court on Wednesday, facing Cal State Fullerton in a quarterfinal game at 8:30 p.m. Pacific (6:30 p.m. Hawai’i).
Big West Conference Tournament
Tuesday’s First Round
No. 8 CSU Bakersfield 51, No. 9 CSUN 47
No. 10 Cal Poly 88, Long Beach State 68
Thursday’s Quarterfinals (all times Pacific)
No. 1 UC Irvine vs. No. 8 CSU Bakersfield, 12:00 p.m.
No. 4 Cal State Fullerton vs. No. 5 Hawai’i, 2:30 p.m.
No. 2 UC Santa Barbara vs. No. 10 Cal Poly, 6:00 p.m.
No. 3 UC Riverside vs. No. 6 UC Davis, 8:30 p.m.
