The 35th annual Big West Men's Basketball Tournament begins on Wednesday at the Anaheim Convention Center with two first round games as No. 5 Cal State Fullerton plays No. 8 Cal State Northridge, and No. 6 Cal Poly meets No. 7 UC Irvine.
NOTEWORTHY
Keep An Eye On
Darren Moore, UC Irvine
Moore helped vault the Anteaters into the Big West Tournament with crucial shots in the waning moments of Saturday’s 91-84 win at Cal Poly. Moore hit two three-pointers in the final nine seconds of regulation to send the game into overtime, and finished with a career-high 24 points in a must win game. Moore has increased his production in the last eight games, averaging 15.3 points and 7.4 rebounds.
MORE NOTABLES
UC Santa Barbara, Pacific Tie For Championship
UC Santa Barbara and Pacific earned Big West regular season co-championships with 12-4 records. The Gauchos claimed the No. 1 seed in the Big West Tournament by virtue of sweeping the Tigers in head-to-head action. It is the second time in three seasons that UCSB tied for the regular season crown. In 2007-08, UCSB finished 12-4 with Cal State Fullerton and Cal State Northridge atop the league standings. Pacific stands atop the Big West podium for the first time since the 2005-06 season.
UCSB Pulls Off A First At Home
UC Santa Barbara’s 77-74 victory versus UC Irvine in its regular season finale last Wednesday completed an undefeated run at home in Big West play. UCSB had a knack for the dramatic, winning five of those home league games by five points or less. The Gauchos concluded the league slate 8-0 at home, the first time ever they accomplished that feat.
Twenty-Twenty Vision
Head coach Bob Thomason has established a model of consistent success for the Pacific program. Thomason’s Tigers enter the Big West Tournament with a 20-10 overall record. His teams have won 20 or more games in three straight and six of the last seven seasons. In addition, Thomason has guided the program to 20 wins in nine of the last 14 seasons.
Thomason’s 20-Win Campaigns (since 2003-04)
Season Record Season Record
2009-10 20-10 2005-06 24-8
2008-09 21-13 2004-05 27-4
2007-08 21-10 2003-04 25-8
Tenth Straight Year At The ACC
The Big West is hosting its postseason basketball tournament at the Anaheim Convention Center for the 10th straight year. The tournament was held at the same venue from 1977-82, then moved to other venues such as The Forum (1983-88), Long Beach Arena (1989-93), Thomas & Mack Center (1994-95) and Lawlor Events Center (1996-2000). Here are some facts during the Big West’s second stint in Anaheim.
• In the last nine years at the ACC, six different teams have won the tournament title.
• A different team has won in each of the last five years.
• Either a No. 1, No. 2 or No. 3 seed has worn the crown all nine years.
• No team has won the title in consecutive seasons.
TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONS AT THE ACC (2001-09)
Year Champion Seed
2009 Cal State Northridge #1
2008 Cal State Fullerton #3
2007 Long Beach State #1
2006 Pacific #1
2005 Utah State #2
2004 Pacific #2
2003 Utah State #3
2002 UC Santa Barbara #3
2001 Utah State #2
Big West Tournament Moves To Honda Center In 2011
Honda Center announced a five-year partnership with the Big West Conference to host its annual Big West Tournament beginning in 2011. The two have teamed up to host NCAA men’s basketball regionals in 1998, 2001 and 2003, and the men’s first and second rounds in 2008. The Big West and Honda Center will also host the 2011 NCAA Men’s Basketball Regional.
Make That A Double-Double
Long Beach State’s T.J. Robinson is among the nation’s best in regards to notching a double-double. The sophomore ranks 11th in the nation through games of Mar. 7 with 17 double-doubles. Robinson, who leads the Big West with 10.3 rebounds per game, is the first conference player in a dozen years to average double-digit boards. Pacific’s Michael Olowokandi led the Big West with 11.0 rebounds per game in 1997-98.
Hunter Sets UC Irvine Threes Record
Senior Michael Hunter hit what might have been the biggest three-pointer of his career in the waning minutes of UCI’s win at Cal Poly in the season finale, and not just in terms of how that affected the school’s record book. He hit the shot with 37 seconds remaining, which helped the Anteaters erase an eight-point deficit in the final minute. In addition, Hunter also broke UCI’s career record for threes with that shot. It was the 234th three of his career, surpassing the old mark of 233 set by Ross Schraeder (2002-06). Hunter now has an opportunity to dent the Big West record book, needing four more trifectas to enter the career top 10.
Welch, Sypkens The Future Of Aggie Backcourt
The motor that makes the UC Davis offense run consists primarily of the Big Three - Dominic Calegari, Joe Harden and Mark Payne - who have combined to average 47 of the Aggies’ 70 points per game as the top three scorers on the team. The fourth and fifth-leading scorers are guards Julian Welch (7.3 ppg) and Ryan Sypkens (5.3 ppg). The duo, who were teammates at Franklin High School in Elk Grove, Calif., were named to the Big West All-Freshman Team on Monday. Welch was tabbed the league’s Freshman of the Year.
Douglass, Williams Tied For Fifth On Victories Chart
UC Irvine’s Pat Douglass and UC Santa Barbara’s Bob Williams are tied for fifth in career victories as a head coach in the Big West. Both mentors own 197 victories at their schools. Pacific’s Bob Thomason is No. 2 on that list with 384 career victories as a Big West head coach.
ALL-TIME VICTORY LEADERS - BIG WEST TENURE
Rk. Coach, School No.
1. Jerry Tarkanian, LBSU & UNLV 405
2. Bob Thomason, Pacific 384
3. Neil McCarthy, New Mexico State 248
4. Jerry Pimm, UC Santa Barbara 222
5. Pat Douglass, UC Irvine 197
Bob Williams, UC Santa Barbara 197
7. Boyd Grant, Fresno State 194
8. Stew Morrill, Utah State 167
9. Bill Mulligan, UC Irvine 163
10. Rod Tueller, Utah State 158
Bold denotes active Big West head coach
Follow Your Team On BigWest.TV
The Big West Tournament will be broadcast on BigWest.TV, with all women’s games through the semifinals airing and men’s games through the quarterfinals. Free for current subscribers, $7.95 for the package of every game for non-BigWest.TV subscribers. Also covered are select contests in men’s and women’s soccer, baseball, softball, and Big West Conference Championships. A monthly subscription of $9.95 or an annual subscription of $79.95 delivers you exclusive coverage. If you can’t make it to the gym or the field, you can still catch all the action on BigWest.TV!