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HENDERSON, Nev. - The bracket has been finalized for the 2023 Hercules Tires Big West Men’s Basketball Championship, presented by The Hawaiian Islands, with UC Irvine and UC Santa Barbara both earning a share of the regular-season title after an intriguing final day that began with four teams still in the hunt for the crown.

The 10-team, five-day event returns to The Dollar Loan Center in Henderson, Nev., for the second year in a row. Seedings for this season’s edition were determined by straight winning percentage in league games, as a handful of cancellations made it such that not every team played all 20 conference contests.

The Anteaters and Gauchos split their regular-season meetings, with each team dropping the home showdown. The next tiebreaker, performance against the third-place finisher, went the way of the ‘Eaters for the top seed this week in Nevada. UCI swept UC Riverside, while UCSB fell twice to the Highlanders. UC Irvine and UC Santa Barbara were last regular-season victors in 2019-20 and 2020-21, respectively.

At the start of play Saturday, the ‘Eaters and Gauchos were tied for first at 14-5 apiece, while Hawai’i and UCR were together in third just a game back at 13-6, with all four squads playing in primetime. UCI and UCSB sprinted out to double-digit leads at home by halftime against CSU Bakersfield (29-18) and the Rainbow Warriors (46-26), and took care of business from there, 52-44 and 81-61.

The loss by UH dropped it behind idle Cal State Fullerton and into the fifth position, with the Titans moving up to grab the No. 4 seed, and UC Riverside taking the third position by virtue of surviving a game last-place Cal Poly team in San Luis Obispo, 73-72 in overtime, in the night’s latest tipoff (7 p.m.) and finish. The Highlanders trailed for a majority of regulation, before The Big West Freshman of the Year candidate Lachlan Olbrich’s three-pointer from the left wing gave UCR a 71-69 edge with 18.7 seconds left in overtime, and The Big West Best Sixth Player candidate Jamal Hartwell II knocked down a pair of clutch free throws with 4.5 ticks to go.

In a further bit of drama, UC Davis outlasted visiting Long Beach State in a thriller, 93-92 in double overtime, to vault over and nip the Beach for the No. 6 seed and subsequently the last first-round bye on Tuesday. The Aggies trailed by 11 when LBSU’s Aboubacar Traore made a put-back layup off a missed free throw with 1:04 left in regulation, before pulling off a remarkable comeback to force the first extra session.

UC Irvine (22-10, 15-5 Big West, .750), UC Santa Barbara (24-7, 15-5 Big West, .750), UCR, reigning tourney champion Cal State Fullerton, Hawai’i and UC Davis are thus directly through to the quarterfinal round on Thursday, March 9.

Getting the men’s tourney started in the first round on Tuesday evening, eighth-seeded CSU Bakersfield (10-21, 6-14 Big West, .300) matches up with No. 9 seed CSUN (7-24, 4-16 Big West, .200). The teams split their regular-season series, each triumphant at home. The winner advances to take on top-seeded UC Irvine in the first game of the quarterfinals.

The 7/10 matchup sees LBSU (17-15, 11-9 Big West, .550) taking on Cal Poly (7-24, 1-18 Big West, .053). The Beach won both regular-season meetings by an average of 18.5 points in January. The advancing squad gets the Gauchos in Thursday’s quarterfinal round at 6 p.m.

In known quarterfinal matchups Thursday, fourth-seeded Cal State Fullerton (18-12, 12-6 Big West, .667) is pitted against No. 5 seed Hawai’i (22-10, 13-7 Big West, .650) at 2:30 p.m. The Titans edged the Rainbow Warriors 79-72 in overtime at home, and 52-51 on O’ahu. 

To wrap up Thursday’s activity at 8:30 p.m., third-seeded UC Riverside (21-11, 14-6 Big West, .700) faces No. 6 seed UC Davis (18-13, 11-8 Big West, .579). The Highlanders likewise took a pair of single-digit affairs over the Aggies, 74-72 in Davis and 72-65 at home.

UC San Diego remains ineligible for The Big West postseason this year and next as the Tritons reclassify from Division II to Division I.

All games from The Dollar Loan Center will be seen on ESPN Networks, with the first round and quarterfinal contests on ESPN+. Matt Neverett and Richie Schueler are on the call for the first two days of action. Roxy Bernstein and Corey Williams then take over for Friday’s semifinals and Saturday night’s championship tilt.

The second semifinal will again air live on ESPNU at 8:30 p.m. PT, with the first semifinal airing live on ESPN+ at 6 p.m. PT, and then on tape delay on ESPNU following the conclusion of the late semi. Saturday’s championship game has been pulled up to a 6:30 p.m. PT tip on ESPN2.

The winner of the 2023 Hercules Tires Big West Men’s Basketball Championship, presented by The Hawaiian Islands, earns the league’s automatic berth into the 2023 NCAA Division I Championship.

2023 Hercules Tires Big West Men’s Basketball Championship, presented by The Hawaiian Islands
FIRST ROUND | Tuesday, March 7
No. 8 CSU Bakersfield vs. No. 9 CSUN (6 p.m. PT) - ESPN+/SiriusXM
No. 7 Long Beach State vs. No. 10 Cal Poly (8:30 p.m. PT) - ESPN+/SiriusXM

QUARTERFINALS | Thursday, March 9
No. 8/9 Winner vs. No. 1 UC Irvine (Noon PT) - ESPN+/SiriusXM
No. 5 Hawai’i vs. No. 4 Cal State Fullerton (2:30 p.m. PT) - ESPN+/SiriusXM
No. 7/10 Winner vs. No. 2 UC Santa Barbara (6 p.m. PT) - ESPN+/SiriusXM
No. 6 UC Davis vs. No. 3 UC Riverside (8:30 p.m. PT) - ESPN+/SiriusXM

SEMIFINALS | Friday, March 10
Quarterfinal No. 1 Winner vs. Quarterfinal No. 2 Winner (6 p.m. PT) - ESPN+/ESPNU/SiriusXM
Quarterfinal No. 3 Winner vs. Quarterfinal No. 4 Winner (8:30 p.m. PT) - ESPNU/SiriusXM

CHAMPIONSHIP | Saturday, March 11
Semifinal No. 1 Winner vs. Semifinal No. 2 Winner (6:30 p.m. PT) - ESPN2/SiriusXM