With the final week upon us, there are still many questions regarding the eight-team tournament field for next week's Big West Women's Basketball Tournament. Two things we do know, Cal Poly has clinched the No. 3 seed and Pacific has secured the fourth seed.
UC Riverside and UC Santa Barbara, who enter the last week of competition tied for first in the league with a 13-1 mark, are guaranteed the top two seeds in the tournament and a bye to the semifinal round. The only thing left to be decided is who will earn the coveted No. 1 seed. The answer could come as early as Thursday as the defending tournament champion Gauchos travel to the Student Recreation Center to face the Highlanders, who are riding a 13-game win streak and are a perfect 9-0 at home this season. Since UC Santa Barbara won the earlier meeting, 47-40, a Gauchos’ win on Thursday would award UCSB the tie-breaker for the top seed in the tournament. If the Highlanders come out on top, Saturday’s game will determine the seeding. UC Riverside hosts Cal Poly and UC Santa Barbara visits Long Beach State.
In the event UC Santa Barbara and UC Riverside tie for the Big West regular season title with a 14-2 mark, the Gauchos will receive the No. 1 seed in the tournament because of having a better record against No. 3 seed Cal Poly. The Gauchos won the 2007-08 Big West regular season and tournament championships and UC Riverside claimed the 2006-07 regular season and tournament titles.
Picking up steam late in the regular season, Cal Poly has won eight of its last nine conference contests with its only loss coming to UC Santa Barbara. The Mustangs close-out the regular season with games at Long Beach State and UC Riverside.
Fourth-seeded Pacific plays a nonconference midweek game against Cal State Bakersfield before rounding out league play with a trip to Cal State Northridge Saturday at 4:00 p.m.
While the top four seeds are falling into place, determining the final four seeds is a little more difficult. UC Davis and Cal State Fullerton are in the tournament, but the seeding can’t be resolved until the final week of play. The Aggies take on Cal State Northridge Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. for their final game of the regular season. Cal State Fullerton plays its lone contest this Saturday when the Titans visit the Bren Center to battle UC Irvine.
Long Beach State (4-10), Cal State Northridge (3-11) and UC Irvine (3-12) are fighting for the final two slots in the Big West Women’s Basketball Tournament. If the season ends with all three teams knotted at 4-12, UC Irvine holds the advantage with a 3-1 record versus CSUN and LBSU. The Anteaters swept the Matadors this season so they would win any two-way tie with the Matadors. While trumping a three-way tie and a CSUN tie, UC Irvine would lose a tie with Long Beach State because of the 49ers’ 1-1 mark against UC Davis.
The outcome of a tie between Long Beach State and Cal State Northridge cannot be determined until the conclusion of this week’s games. The Matadors host UC Davis (3/4) and Pacific (3/7), while the 49ers entertain central coast foes Cal Poly and UC Santa Barbara. The Anteaters play their final contest of the season at home against Cal State Fullerton Saturday afternoon.