2021 NCAA TOURNAMENT BRACKET
UCSB POSTGAME NOTES – BIG WEST TOURNAMENT FINALS
2021 MEN'S BASKETBALL RELEASE NO. 17
UC Santa Barbara earned a No. 12 seed in the West Region of the 2021 NCAA Men's Basketball Championship, drawing No. 5 seed Creighton in the first round.
The game will be played Saturday, March 20 at Lucas Oil Stadium Unity (South). Tip time is 12:30 p.m. (PT) on truTV announced by the broadcast team of Lisa Byington, Steve Smith and AJ Ross.
The winner will move on to play either No. 4 seed Virginia or No. 13 seed Ohio in the second round.
UCSB's seed matches the highest for a Big West school since Long Beach State claimed the No. 12 seed in the 2012 West Region.
UCSB is in the NCAA Tournament for the sixth time in school history and making its first appearance since 2011. Previous seeds included a No. 10 (1988), No. 9 (1990), No. 14 (2002) and No. 15 (2010 & 2011). The Gauchos are 1-5 all-time in the NCAA Tournament, with their lone win coming in the 1990 first round against Houston.
UCSB won its fourth Big West Tournament crown, defeating Long Beach State, UC Davis and UC Irvine to capture the conference's automatic bid. The team enters the NCAA's 22-4 overall and claimed the Big West regular season title with a 13-3 record. The Gauchos won a school record 13 straight games at one point and set more program records for consecutive conference wins (11) and consecutive home wins (17).
Creighton received an at-large bid, going 20-8 overall and finishing second in both the Big East regular season and conference tournament.
TIPOFF TIME
UC Santa Barbara Earns No. 12 Seed
UC Santa Barbara, the champion of the 2021 Air Force Reserve Big West Championship, presented by the Hawaiian Islands, and conference NCAA Tournament automatic qualifier, earned the No. 12 seed in the West Region and drew No. 5 seed Creighton in a first round matchup.
The Gauchos and Bluejays are scheduled to play Saturday, March 20 in Indianapolis at Lucas Oil Stadium on the Unity court, with tip-off time 12:30 p.m. PT on truTV.
UCSB is making its sixth NCAA Tournament appearance and first since 2011. The Gauchos are 1-5 all-time in the event with their lone win coming against Houston in the 1990 first round.
Gauchos Reach 20 Win Mark Again
Top-seeded UC Santa Barbara defeated Long Beach State, UC Davis and UC Irvine to capture its fourth Big West Tournament title, culminating in a 79-63 victory over the Anteaters last Saturday in Las Vegas. It was the fourth tournament crown for the Gauchos, which also clinched titles in 2002, 2010 and 2011. UCSB also was a No. 1 seed in 2010. UCSB scored 95 points in a quarterfinal win over LBSU, a program record for a conference tournament game.
UCSB’s 22 wins gives head coach
Joe Pasternack four consecutive 20-win seasons, a first time feat for the program. It is the longest string of 20 win seasons by a Big West member since UC Irvine reeled off five in a row from 2012-17. The Gauchos have won 88 games during that span.
| 2020-21 |
22-4 |
| 2019-20 |
21-10 |
| 2018-19 |
22-10 |
| 2017-18 |
23-9 |
UCSB Captures Fifth Regular Season Title
After beginning 0-2 in Big West play with losses to UC Irvine, UCSB reeled off a school record 13 straight victories which included another program-best 11 consecutive Big West wins. The Gauchos finished 13-3 in league play to clinch their fifth regular season championships. They also won regular season titles in 1999, 2003, 2008 and 2010. The 1999 title was actually a Western Division championship, but it was considered a co-regular championship.
Defense, Defense, Defense
UCSB is 12-0 this season when holding an opponent to 60 points or below.
Protect The Ball
UCSB is ranked No. 11 nationally in assist-to-turnover ratio (+1.48). The Gauchos committed a season-low seven turnovers in back-to-back Big West Tournament games.
Shoot The Ball
UCSB has shot 50 percent or better 12 times in 26 games this season, and is 12-0 when hitting that mark.
Transfer Of Power
UCSB stopped UC Irvine’s run of two straight regular season Big West titles and prevented the Anteaters from winning a second consecutive tournament title. The Gauchos have succeeded largely due to a crop of Division I transfers leading the way. The roster includes transfers
JaQuori McLaughlin (Oregon State),
Devearl Ramsey (Nevada),
Josh Pierre-Louis (Temple),
Brandon Cyrus (DePaul),
Ajare Sanni (Pacific),
Miles Norris (Oregon) and
Destin Barnes (Jacksonville University). All-Big West First Team honoree
Amadou Sow came in as a freshman and has started three seasons.
NOTEABLES
• The Big West played 62 of its final 70 conference games, including three straight weekends with no COVID disruptions. Twenty-six of the 110 conference games were canceled due to COVID or county-related pauses, although 18 of those occurred within the first four weeks of the start of league play.
• UC Santa Barbara senior
JaQuori McLaughlin and
Devearl Ramsey combined have 222 assists against 78 turnovers this season.
• UCSB is the eighth No. 12 seed to represent the Big West in the NCAA Tournament. The conference is 4-7 all-time as a No. 12 seed.
| 1980 |
San Jose State (0-1) | Lost to Missouri |
| 1992 |
New Mexico State (2-1) | Def. DePaul, SW Louisiana |
| 2000 |
Utah State (0-1) | Lost to Connecticut |
| 2001 |
Utah State (1-1) | Def. Ohio State, Lost to UCLA |
| 2004 |
Pacific (1-1) | Def. Providence, Lost to Kansas |
| 2007 |
Long Beach State (0-1) | Lost to Tennessee |
| 2012 |
Long Beach State (0-1) | Lost to New Mexico |
• The Big West recently has won NCAA games in 2019 (UC Irvine def. Kansas State); 2017 (UC Davis def. North Central in First Four); 2016 (Hawai‘i def. California); and 2014 (Cal Poly def. Texas Southern in First Four).
• The Big West owns an all-time record of 44-61 in the NCAA Tournament.