The Gauchos of UC Santa Barbara posted a pair of conference wins to close out the regular season and improve to 15-1 in the Big West Conference, claiming their second consecutive conference crown,14th overall. Along with the conference title, UC Santa Barbara receives the No. 1 seed in the Big West Tournament, which runs March 11-14 at the Anaheim Convention Center Arena.
The Big West Women's Basketball Tournament opens with Wednesday's first round pairings of No. 5 UC Davis versus No. 8 Cal State Northridge at noon, followed by No. 6 Cal State Fullerton against No. 7 UC Irvine 30 minutes after the conclusion of the previous contest.
The first of two quarterfinal matchups on Thursday afternoon pits third-seeded Cal Poly against the lowest seed advancing out of the first round. The second half of the quarterfinal doubleheader showcases No. 4 Pacific versus the highest seed remaining. The Nos. 3 and 4 seeds received automatic byes to the quarterfinals.
The Mustangs, posting a school-best 11-5 mark to grab the third slot, enter the tournament having won 10 of the last 12 Big West games. Pacific dropped its final three conference matchups of the regular season to tally an 8-8 league record to secure the fourth seed.
UC Santa Barbara (15-1) and UC Riverside (14-2), the top two seeds, must wait until Friday to take to the court after receiving automatic byes to the semifinals. They need to win just two games to become tournament champion and clinch the Big West’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The Gauchos advanced to the Big Dance in 2008, while UC Riverside made back-to-back trips in 2006 and 2007. In all, UC Santa Barbara or UC Riverside have won the past 12 Big West Women’s Basketball Tournament titles.
No. 1 UC Santa Barbara opens semifinal action with a noon tipoff versus the lowest seed remaining and the second-seeded Highlanders battle the highest seed left standing in the second contest of the day. The Gauchos only stumble in conference play was a 59-50 loss to Pacific, while the Highlanders strung together a school-record 13-game win streak in between a pair of losses to UC Santa Barbara.
Saturday’s championship game will be televised live on FSN-Prime Ticket at 1:00 p.m. (PDT).
The Big West Basketball Tournament takes place at the Anaheim Convention Center Mar. 11-14. Tickets may be purchased by calling the Anaheim Convention Center Box Office at (714) 765-8980.