If the Big West Tournament is anything like the recently concluded regular season, expect some memorable performances this week in Henderson, Nevada.
The UC Irvine men’s basketball team won 17 times away from home this season, the most road/neutral-site victories by any team in the nation, Cal State Northridge tied a program record for victories in a season, and UC Riverside point guard Barrington Hargress smashed his school’s single-season scoring record.
Those accomplishments helped UCI, UCR and CSUN finish in the top four in the regular-season standings, and each has the coaching and personnel to knock off top-seeded UC San Diego, which is eligible for the conference tournament for the first time since leaving Division II for the Big West four years ago.
The Tritons (28-4 overall, 18-2 Big West) won the second-most road games in the nation (15) behind UCI and enter the tournament riding a 13-game winning streak.
The eight-team tournament begins on Wednesday with two first-round games at Lee’s Family Forum. CSUN and Riverside earned byes into Thursday night’s quarterfinals, and UCI and San Diego each have double byes into Friday night’s semifinals.
UCI’s season has been a rollercoaster of ups and downs.
The Anteaters (27-5, 17-3) won their first nine games, but lost starting shooting guard Andre Henry and key reserve Langston Redfield to season-ending knee injuries during that stretch.
UCI then won its first seven conference games before an overtime loss at UCR on Jan. 23 was followed two weeks later by an 85-67 blowout loss to UCSD, ending its program-record 22-game home winning streak and dropping the Anteaters into a tie for first in conference play.
Another home loss to CSUN on Feb. 20 dropped UCI into second place and that’s where the Anteaters finished, a game behind UCSD.
The Anteaters steadied themselves by winning the final five games of the regular season, including a 97-88 win at UC Santa Barbara on Saturday after trailing by 13 points with just under eight minutes remaining.
UCI scored 67 points in the second half.
“Our team showed great belief in the next man up when another guy is out,” UCI coach Russell Turner said. “The belief this team has makes me the most excited for the opportunity we get to have to play in the Big West Tournament. We know we are going to play good teams that can beat us. We also know what we are made of.”
Injuries continue to be a factor for the Anteaters, however.
Justin Hohn sat out an 85-59 win at UC Davis on Thursday because of a nagging injury, and starting backcourt mate Myles Che left the UCSB game because of an injury.
“I think Myles will be OK,” Turner said. “We will be cautious on that one just like we were in the last game with Justin.”
UCR (21-11, 14-6) and CSUN (22-9, 14-6) finished with identical records in conference play, but UCR took third after beating Northridge last Thursday to complete a two-game sweep, getting 32 points from Hargress in the 94-79 victory.
During the game, Hargress broke the program’s 36-year-old single-season scoring record, which was previously held by Maurice Pullum. Hargress, a sophomore point guard, has scored 658 points this season.
After losing to Riverside, the Matadors closed their season with an 83-73 win against visiting Hawaii on Saturday.
CSUN’s 22nd win tied a program record that was set in 1977-78 and matched in 2000-01.
“It’s all those players in that locker room,” second-year CSUN coach Andy Newman said. “They played their hearts out this season for these fans and this school. So proud of the accomplishment that they had.”
Marcus Adams Jr. has been one of the difference-makers for the Matadors this season.
The former L.A. City Section Player of the Year at Narbonne High committed to Kansas and Gonzaga before ultimately landing at BYU last season.
A foot injury limited the 6-foot-8 forward to just one game, however, and he decided to play closer to home at CSUN.
Adams ended up leading the team in scoring during the regular season (16.5 ppg), which was also the eighth-best mark in the conference.
Scotty Washington transferred in from Cal Baptist and boosted his scoring average from 8.5 to 14.5 ppg, power forward Keonte Jones led the Big West in rebounding (9.1 rpg) while also averaging 12.8 ppg, and P.J. Fuller II solidified the point guard duties after playing two seasons at Washington and two at TCU.
“We’re a deep team,” Newman said. “We got a lot of really good players on this team and, when you win 22 games, it’s because you’ve got a deep bench.”
—– 2025 BIG WEST MEN’S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT —–
All games at Lee’s Family Forum in Henderson, Nev., all times are PT
First Round – Wednesday
6 p.m. – No. 5 seed UC Santa Barbara (19-12) vs. No. 8 seed Cal State Bakersfield (14-18)
8:30 p.m. – No. 6 seed UC Davis (15-16) vs. No. 7 seed Cal Poly (14-18)
Quarterfinals – Thursday
6 p.m. – No. 4 seed CSUN (22-9) vs. UCSB-CS Bakersfield winner
8:30 p.m. – No. 3 seed UC Riverside (21-11) vs. UC Davis-Cal Poly winner
Semifinals – Friday
6 p.m. – No. 1 seed UC San Diego (28-4) vs. CSUN-TBD winner, ESPN2 (delayed)
8:30 p.m. – No. 2 seed UC Irvine (27-5) vs. UC Riverside-TBD winner, ESPN2 (live)
Final – Saturday
6:30 p.m. – Championship game, ESPN2 (live)