Interactive Bracket
Hawai’i, winner of the 2026 Credit Union 1 Big West Men’s Basketball Championship, is going dancing and headed to Portland, Ore. in the first round of the 2026 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament. The Rainbow Warriors earned the No. 13 seed and will face No. 4 seed Arkansas of the SEC in the first round of the West Region on Thursday, March 19 at the Moda Center. The advancing team will move on to the second round to face the winner of No. 5 seed Wisconsin and No. 12 seed High Point, Saturday.
Hawai’i (24-8) earned its place in the big dance as the conference’s automatic qualifier after defeating UC Irvine 71-64 in the title game of the 2026 Credit Union 1 Big West Championship, Saturday night at Lee’s Family Forum in Henderson, Nev. Arkansas (26-8) is also an automatic qualifier after winning the SEC Tournament with an 86-75 win over Wisconsin as the third seed.
Hawai’i is making its sixth NCAA Tournament appearance overall (1972, 1994, 2001, 2002, 2016), and second representing The Big West and under head coach
Eran Ganot. The last time the Rainbow Warriors made the NCAA Tournament was in 2016, when they were also a No. 13 seed and upset Cal in the first round.
It will be the first time since Hawai’i has faced Arkansas since 1977. The Rainbow Warriors are 0-2 all-time against Arkansas.
As a team, Hawai‘i is sound defensively, ranking in the top 25 in the country in defensive rebounds per game (28.2 DRPG) and 3-point percentage defense (.304 Opp 3PP). The Rainbow Warriors also top 25 in free throws made per game (18.6 FTM/G) and free throw attempts per game (25.1 FTA/G).
Hawai’i is led by senior center
Isaac Johnson, an All-Big West First Team selection and the championship’s Most Outstanding Player, who averages 14.1 points on a .503 field goal percentage and 5.8 rebounds per game. Graduate guard
Dre Bullock, an All-Big West Second Team selection, adds 13.5 points and 5.8 boards per outing and senior forward
Harry Rouhliadeff pitches in 10.8 points and 5.0 rebounds per contest. Both Bullock and Rouhliadeff joined Johnson on the All-Tournament team.