What 2 Watch 4
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. Tip-off is scheduled for 1:25 p.m. PT and the game is set to be broadcasted on TBS. 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.
Five From Big West Named NABC All-District
Five student-athletes from Big West men’s basketball teams have been selected to the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) 2026 Division I All-Pacific District Teams, as voted by NABC member-coaches across the Division I landscape.
Hawai‘i center Isaac Johnson was a first-team selection. Second-team honors went to CSUN guard Josiah Davis, UC Irvine forward Kyle Evans, CSUN guard Larry Hughes II and Cal Poly guard/forward Hamad Mousa. All five were All-Big West selections with Davis, Evans, Johnson and Mousa on the first team and Hughes II on the second team.
Johnson is averaging 14.1 points, on .503 shooting from the floor, 5.8 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 1.1 blocks per game and led Hawai‘i to the Big West Championship title. The American Fork, Utah native was the Most Outstanding Player of the championship.
Davis, this season’s Big West Player and Newcomer of the Year, leads the league in assists at 7.4 per contest, to go along with 15.9 points and 4.6 rebounds. The Matador senior’s 253 assists rank third in the country.
Evans, the conference’s Best Defensive Player, rewrote the conference record book with 113 blocks and counting to set a new single-season conference mark. The Anteater senior was also second in the league in field-goal percentage (.624) and rebounds per outing (8.5), and average 12.0 points per game.
Hughes II was first in the league in 3-pointers made at 3.1 per contest and second in 3-point percentage at .395, for an scoring average 17.7 points per game, which ranked fourth in the conference.
Mousa led all scorers in The Big West, averaging 20.4 points, to go along with 6.3 rebounds per game.
All-Big West Teams & Awards
The Big West announced its 2025-26 men’s basketball all-conference team and individual award winners on the eve of the 2026 Credit Union 1 Big West Men’s Basketball Championships. The awards and all-conference teams were determined by the league’s 11 head coaches.
CSUN's Josiah Davis was named the league's Player of the Year and Newcomer of the Year. Freshman of the Year went to Gavin Sykes and Coach of the Year honors were bestowed upon Cal State Fullerton's Dedrique Taylor. In the specialty award category, UC Irvine had two recipients in Best Defensive Player Kyle Evans and Best Sixth Player Andre Henry. CSUN's Mahmoud Fofana was named the Best Hustle Player.
UC Irvine redshirt sophomore guard Jurian Dixon, Hawai‘i senior center Isaac Johnson, UC Santa Barbara senior guard Aidan Mahaney and Cal Poly sophomore guard Hamad Mousa joined Davis and Evans on the 2025-26 All-Big West First Team. The second team featured Sykes, Hawai‘i graduate guard Dre Bullock, UC Riverside senior guard Andrew Henderson, CSUN senior guard Larry Hughes II and Cal State Fullerton senior guard Josh Ward.
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The Big West in the Rankings
The Big West has two teams featured in the latest edition of the College Insider Men’s Basketball Mid-Major Top 25 poll. Hawai‘i is ranked No. 11, followed by UC Irvine at No. 18.
Mid-Major Top 25
Big West Extends with Lee’s Family Forum
The Big West announced a multi-year extension of its partnership with Lee’s Family Forum, securing the venue as the home of the Big West Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships through March 2030, reinforcing the conference’s strong commitment to the Las Vegas/Henderson region and to delivering a premier championship experience for student-athletes and fans alike. Learn more >>> |
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