2009 Big West Conference Tournament Preview

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

03/10/2009 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 34th-annual Big West Conference Tournament will once again take place at the Anaheim Convention Center Arena for a ninth straight season. The bottom four seeds of the eight-team field will take part in first-round action Wednesday night. The top two seeds receive byes all the way to Friday's semifinal round, while the No. 3 and No. 4 seeds get a bye to the quarterfinals on Thursday.

Cal State Northridge (15-13, 11-5) locked up its second straight Big West regular-season crown, which means the Matadors get the top seed in the conference tourney and are guaranteed at least an automatic berth to the National Invitation Tournament. Of course, they'll be gunning for the top prize; a ticket to the Big Dance. It's the Matadors' first-ever No. 1 seed, after finishing last season in a three-way tie atop the conference standings. They've got the top spot all to themselves this season, although it almost never happened.

Northridge lost its regular-season finale at Pacific on Saturday, while second-place Long Beach State was having its way with UC Santa Barbara. All the 49ers had to do was hold on to beat UCSB and they'd have the top seed, due to tiebreakers. However, the Gauchos put together a huge rally, eventually beating Long Beach State on a last-second three-pointer. So, as it turned out, Long Beach State (15-14, 10-6) gets the No. 2 seed and will receive the other automatic bye to the semifinal round. The 49ers are tied with Pacific for most tournament titles (4) and most tourney wins (25), with 2007 being their most recent Big West Tournament crown.

Speaking of Pacific (17-11, 10-6), the Tigers locked up the No. 3 seed and will play the lowest remaining seed in Thursday's quarterfinal round. UCSB (15-14, 8-8) has the fourth seed and will play in the night cap of Thursday's quarterfinals, versus the highest remaining seed. Teams aren't exactly lining up to face the Gauchos, who closed out the season by winning three straight and seven of their last eight games.

First-round action will get started Wednesday, with the No. 5 UC Irvine Anteaters (12-18, 8-8) taking on No. 8 UC Davis. UC Irvine (12-18, 7-9) made it all the way to the Big West Championship game last season as a five-seed. The Anteaters finished the season strong, winning four of their final five games, although they lost both regular-season meetings against UC Davis. The Aggies are making their first Big West Tournament appearance after joining the league in 2008.

The Anteaters have one of the league's top young stars in freshman forward Eric Wise, who earned second-team All-Big West honors after leading UCI with 14.2 ppg. Wise is the league's highest scoring freshman and has six 20-point games under his belt this season, and he is also collecting 5.9 rebounds per game. He is complemented by Michael Hunter (11.8 ppg), who is averaging 2.53 three-pointers per game. Hunter is also one of the team's top defensive presences, averaging a league-best 1.93 steals per game in BWC play. Kevin Bland is a solid presence down on the blocks, where he is posting 10.0 ppg and 7.2 rpg. While the Anteaters do have a few reliable scoring options, they've often struggled on the defensive end, allowing opponents to put up 68.8 ppg and shoot 46.1 percent from the floor. They are also being out-rebounded by an average margin of 3.4 boards per game.

As for the Aggies, they sputtered down the stretch by losing four straight. Their season finale was a 27-point loss to Northridge, which was also their most lopsided defeat of the season. It will be up to guys like Vince Oliver, the program's first-ever All-Big West first-team selection, to bounce back with a much better effort. Oliver led UC Davis with 15.5 ppg, and he stepped up his production to 18.4 ppg in Big West games. Joe Harden (14.9 ppg, 7.2 rpg) and Mark Payne (10.8 ppg, 5.7 rpg) were second-team selections. Harden ranks fifth in the conference in scoring and third in rebounding, and he set a school record with 158 free throws made this season. He posted 18.0 ppg over the final seven games. Payne is shooting a ridiculous 67.8 percent from the field and is also doling out 5.0 assists per game. The Aggies are one of the better shooting teams in the league, as they are knocking down 36.3 percent of their attempts from beyond the arc, and 78.4 percent of their free throws.

Cal State Fullerton (14-16, 7-9) won this tournament last season and the Titans boast this year's Big West Player of the Year in senior guard Josh Akognon. Those factors aside, Fullerton enters first-round action with losses in five of its last six league games. The Titans and Highlanders split the regular-season series. Akognon has been in the top-10 in the nation in scoring all season long, as he finished with 23.5 ppg. He started all 30 games and knocked down 123 three-pointers (36.1 percent) and 125 free throws (88.7 percent). The only other Titan to have started each game this season is Jacques Streeter, a 42.3 percent shooter from beyond the arc who averaged 10.4 ppg. Beyond that however, the Titans simply don't have a whole lot of offensive firepower. They've also struggled with some of the bigger teams, as they are a -4.5 in rebounding margin for the season.

The Highlanders (17-12, 8-8) racked up 17 wins this season, marking their highest win total since joining Division I in 2001. They actually finished in a three-way tie for fourth place with UCSB and UC Irvine, but dropped to sixth after the tie breakers were sorted out. Senior guard Aaron Scott (9.8 ppg) missed Saturday's season finale against Cal Poly, a game that UCR wound up losing and subsequently falling to the No. 6 seed. The team is hopeful Scott will be available for the conference tournament. In any case, most of the scoring onus will still fall on Kyle Austin, who leads the team with 16.8 ppg to go along with 6.2 rpg. Austin is the only double-digit scorer this season for the Highlanders, who average just 60.7 ppg. Javon Borum is tallying 9.7 ppg, though he is a 42.6 percent shooter from beyond the arc. UCR is solid on the boards, out-rebounding foes by an average margin of 3.4 boards per game.

Although they needed a good bit of fortune to lock up the No. 1 seed, the Matadors will certainly take the bye, and the fresh legs, while the other teams battle it out. The 49ers could use the extra two days to figure out how they coughed up such a comfortable lead against UC Santa Barbara. Meanwhile, those UCSB Gauchos have been red-hot of late, and they can stand toe-to-toe with anybody in the Big West. Looking at the rest of the field, while not impossible, the four bottom seeds are facing a pretty big task to win four games in four nights. But in the end Northridge has the deepest roster and, with a two-round head start, the best shot to grab the coveted NCAA Tournament bid.