by Ben Perks
After beating No. 9 seed Cal State Bakersfield 66-61 on Saturday to secure the No. 4 seed, Vegas oddsmakers have made UC Irvine a +250 favorite to win the Big West Conference Tournament. Sportsbooks favor the Anteaters over the Gauchos and top seed Long Beach State. View the opening odds for this college basketball tournament that begins on Tuesday at the Dollar Loan Center in Henderson, Nevada.
2022 Big West Conference Tournament Info
- UC Irvine is a +250 opening favorite to win the tournament
- The competition starts on March 8 and finishes with the Championship Game on March 12
- UC Santa Barbara are the current champions
Big West Conference Tournament Winner Odds
| Team | Odds |
|---|---|
| #4 UC Irvine | +250 |
| #5 UC Santa Barbara | +360 |
| #1 Long Beach State | +500 |
| #6 UC Riverside | +600 |
| #3 Hawaii | +600 |
| #2 Cal State Fullerton | +700 |
| #7 UC Davis | +2000 |
| #9 Cal State Bakersfield | +5000 |
| #10 Cal Poly | +150000 |
| #8 Cal State Northridge | +250000 |
Big West Conference Tournament Info
This men’s college basketball tournament starts with #9 Cal State Bakersfield (7-18) vs. #8 Cal State Northridge (11-17) at 9:00 pm ET. After this matchup, #10 Cal Poly (7-20) takes on #7 UC Davis (12-10) at 11:30 pm ET. Top-seeded Long Beach State (18-11) and No. 2-seeded Cal State Fullerton (18-10) enter the competition in the quarterfinals stage on March 10.
The semifinals take place the following day before the final on Saturday, March 12, at 11:30 pm ET. The tourney winner receives an automatic bid to this year’s NCAA Men’s Division I Basketball Championship.
UC Irvine
UC Irvine’s solid defense is the main reason why online sportsbooks have the 2019 Big West Tournament winners as opening favorites. UCI has the best three-point defense in the country but has struggled when it comes to attacking opponents – they are 268th in offensive adjusted efficiency, and its 66.1 points per game is 303rd in the division
However, in the team’s last game of the regular season, sophomore guard DJ Davis managed to score a career-best 24 points (7-of-13 from the field and 4-of-8 from beyond the arc) to help the Anteaters beat the Roadrunners. This result has put them in good stead to secure a March Madness automatic bid by winning the tourney.
Last Year’s Winners Hoping To Retain Title
The Gauchos, who beat UCI to win the Big West Tournament last year, are decent betting value to repeat the feat at +360. Santa Barbara goes into the competition on fire after winning eight of the last nine regular-season games and with star forward Amadou Sow in fine form. The six-foot-nine Malian leads the Big West in field goal percentage (56.6%), occupies third for scoring (15.8 ppg), and shares the lead for rebounding (8.2 RPG) with freshman guard Ajay Mitchell (11.8 ppg) and senior forward Miles Norris (10.3 ppg).
What’s more, the Gauchos are the highest-ranked team in the conference (137th). Therefore, if you’re looking for a futures bet with longer odds, betting on UC Santa Barbara to win the Big West Tournament is an attractive option.
Long Beach State +500
This top-seeded team has a genuine chance of marching to the title. After falling to Hawaii in the first game, Beach went on to win 11 times in a row before finishing the season with a 12-3 record. The team owes its impressive season to danger men Joel Murray (16.2 ppg) and Colin Slater (13.9 ppg) – a formidable duo that will make the Beach tough opposition for any opponents in this tourney.
Ben is a sports journalist & part-time trader with a passion for finding +EV bets. Ben lives in Madrid, Spain where he enjoys the live poker scene, and sunshine where he covers UFC, MLB, NHL, NBA, as well as tennis betting.
