Championship week is here, and the Big West tournament is ready to take center stage in Henderson, Nevada.
The 2026 Big West men’s basketball tournament will be played March 11 - 14 at Lee’s Family Forum. Eight teams have qualified for the bracket and will compete over four days for the conference championship and the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
The format gives the top teams in the standings a significant advantage. The No. 1 and No. 2 seeds advance straight to the semifinals, meaning they only need two wins to claim the title. Seeds three and four begin in the quarterfinals, while the remaining four teams must start in the opening round and win four games in four days.
UC Irvine finished the regular season on top of the conference standings and will enter the tournament as the No. 1 seed. Hawai'i earned the No. 2 seed, while Cal State Fullerton and CSUN round out the top four teams.
With several evenly matched teams and plenty at stake, the Big West tournament usually delivers a few surprises along the way.
Big West Tournament Bracket. pic.twitter.com/YmcbUFwJJO
— Mid-Major Madness (@mid_madness) March 10, 2024
2026 Big West tournament schedule
All games will be played at Lee’s Family Forum in Henderson, Nevada.
First round
Wednesday, March 11
No. 5 UC San Diego vs No. 8 Cal Poly
6:00 PM PT
No. 6 UC Davis vs No. 7 UC Santa Barbara
8:30 PM PT
Quarterfinals
Thursday, March 12
No. 4 CSUN vs UC San Diego/Cal Poly winner
6:00 PM PT
No. 3 Cal State Fullerton vs UC Davis/UC Santa Barbara winner
8:30 PM PT
Semifinals
Friday, March 13
No. 1 UC Irvine vs CSUN/UC San Diego/Cal Poly
6:00 PM PT
No. 2 Hawai'i vs Cal State Fullerton/UC Davis/UC Santa Barbara
8:30 PM PT
Championship
Saturday, March 14
Big West Championship Game
7:00 PM PT
The first two rounds will stream on ESPN+, while the semifinals and championship game will air nationally on ESPNU and ESPN2.
Big West final standings
Here is how the conference finished the regular season heading into the tournament.
- UC Irvine: 22-10 (15-5 Big West)
- Hawai'i: 22-8 (14-6 Big West)
- Cal State Fullerton: 17-15 (12-8 Big West)
- CSUN: 19-13 (12-8 Big West)
- UC San Diego: 22-10 (12-8 Big West)
- UC Davis: 18-13 (11-9 Big West)
- UC Santa Barbara: 18-13 (11-9 Big West)
- Cal Poly: 14-18 (10-10 Big West)
Only the top eight teams qualify for the tournament, so Long Beach State, UC Riverside and Cal State Bakersfield were left out of the bracket this year.
Players who could shape the tournament
Several standout players across the conference could end up deciding how this tournament unfolds.
Cal Poly guard Hamad Mousa has been one of the most dangerous scorers in the Big West, averaging more than 20 points per game this season. If Cal Poly is going to make a run from the No. 8 seed, Mousa will likely have to carry a heavy offensive load.
UC Irvine guard Jurian Dixon has been one of the leaders for the regular-season champions and will be a key player as the Anteaters try to turn their strong regular season into a tournament title.
Hawai'i has leaned heavily on the duo of Isaac Johnson and Dre Bullock, both of whom have been steady contributors on both ends of the floor.
UC Santa Barbara guard Aidan Mahaney is another name to watch. He has the ability to take over games offensively and could make the Gauchos a dangerous team in a tournament setting.
A tournament that has produced plenty of surprises
The Big West tournament has been played since 1976 and has long been known for its unpredictable finishes.
Several different programs have won the title over the years, and it is not uncommon to see teams make unexpected runs once the tournament begins.
Last season, UC San Diego captured the championship in its first season fully eligible for postseason play at the Division I level. The Tritons showed just how quickly things can change once tournament play begins.
That unpredictability is part of what makes conference tournament week so entertaining.
With four days of games and an NCAA Tournament berth at stake, the Big West tournament once again has the ingredients for a memorable week of college basketball.