2024 Big West Conference men's basketball tournament

The 2024 Big West Conference men's basketball tournament was the postseason men's basketball tournament for the Big West Conference of the 2023–24 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. It was held March 13–16, 2024, at The Dollar Loan Center in Henderson, Nevada. The winner, #4 seed Long Beach State, received the conference's automatic bid to the 2024 NCAA tournament.

2024 Big West Conference men's basketball tournament
ClassificationDivision I
Season2023–24
Teams8
SiteDollar Loan Center
Henderson, Nevada
ChampionsLong Beach State (6th title)
Winning coachDan Monson (2nd title)
MVPLassina Traoré (Long Beach State)
TelevisionESPN+
ESPNU
ESPN2
← 2023
2025 →
2023–24 Big West men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
UC Irvine 17 3   .850 24 10   .706
UC San Diego* 15 5   .750 21 12   .636
UC Davis 14 6   .700 20 13   .606
Hawai'i 11 9   .550 20 14   .588
Long Beach State 10 10   .500 21 15   .583
UC Riverside 10 10   .500 16 18   .471
UC Santa Barbara 9 11   .450 16 15   .516
Cal State Northridge 9 11   .450 19 15   .559
Cal State Bakersfield 8 12   .400 13 19   .406
Cal State Fullerton 7 13   .350 14 18   .438
Cal Poly 0 20   .000 4 28   .125
* ineligible for the 2024 NCAA tournament due to transition period
2024 Big West tournament winner

Seeds

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In June 2023, the Big West Conference board of directors voted to reduce the tournament field from 10 teams to 8 teams. In the new format, the top two seeds would receive automatic berths in the semifinals, the next two seeds would be placed in the quarterfinals, and the remaining four seeds would play each other in the first round. Big West commissioner Dan Butterly stated that the decision was made to improve the regular season champion's odds of winning the tournament and thus receiving the automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.[1]

Of the 11 conference teams, 10 were eligible for tournament spots. UC San Diego was ineligible for the tournament, as it was in the final year of the four-year transition required for teams transferring to Division I from Division II. Teams were seeded based on their performance within the conference, and teams with identical conference records were seeded using a tiebreaker system.

As was the case with tournaments since 2020, reseeding of teams did not occur at any point.

Seed School Record Tiebreaker
1 UC Irvine 17–3
2 UC Davis 14–6
3 Hawai'i 11–9
4 Long Beach State 10–10 2–0 vs. UC Riverside
5 UC Riverside 10–10 0–2 vs. Long Beach State
6 UC Santa Barbara 9–11 2–0 vs. Hawai'i
7 Cal State Northridge 9–11 1–1 vs. Hawai'i
8 Cal State Bakersfield 8–12
DNQ Cal State Fullerton 7–13
DNQ Cal Poly 0–20

Schedule and results

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Game Time[2] Matchup Score Television
First round – Wednesday, March 13
1 6:00pm No. 5 UC Riverside vs. No. 8 Cal State Bakersfield 83–78 ESPN+
2 8:30pm No. 6 UC Santa Barbara vs. No. 7 Cal State Northridge 84–87OT ESPN+
Quarterfinals – Thursday, March 14
3 6:00pm No. 3 Hawai'i vs. No. 7 Cal State Northridge 75–68 ESPN+
4 8:30pm No. 4 Long Beach State vs. No. 5 UC Riverside 86–67 ESPN+
Semifinals – Friday, March 15
5 6:00pm No. 1 UC Irvine vs. No. 4 Long Beach State 79–83 ESPN+ (live), ESPNU (delayed)
6 8:30pm No. 2 UC Davis vs. No. 3 Hawai'i 68–65 ESPN2/ESPN+
Final – Saturday, March 16
7 6:30pm No. 4 Long Beach State vs. No. 2 UC Davis 74-70 ESPN2/ESPN+
*Game times in PDT. Rankings denote tournament seed.

Bracket

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First Round
Wednesday, March 13
Quarterfinals
Thursday, March 14
Semifinals
Friday, March 15
Championship
Saturday, March 16
1UC Irvine79
4Long Beach State864Long Beach State83
5UC Riverside835UC Riverside674Long Beach State74
8Cal State Bakersfield782UC Davis70
2UC Davis68
3Hawai'i753Hawai'i65Third place
6UC Santa Barbara847Cal State Northridge68
7Cal State Northridge87*

*denotes each overtime period

References

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  1. ^ "Big West Board of Directors Approves New Initiatives at Annual Spring Meeting". Big West Conference. June 9, 2023. Retrieved November 9, 2023.
  2. ^ "2024 Hercules Tires Big West Men's Basketball Championship". Big West Conference. September 28, 2023. Retrieved November 9, 2023.