2009 Big West Conference Men’s Basketball Tournament Predictions
Written March 10, 2009 by Jason Lowry
This Wednesday the Big West Conference Men’s Basketball Tournament is scheduled to get underway with first round action, and the 8 teams playing in this tournament will be vying for that automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament that goes along with winning this tournament. The tournament will be held at Anaheim Convention Center Arena with the championship game being played on Saturday, March 14. The top 2 seeds in Cal State Northridge and Long Beach State receive first round byes, and need to win just 2 games to take home the trophy. Here is a look at the 3 favorites to win this tournament, and a sleeper I feel could make a big run and possibly win this thing. Bet Big West Basketball Tournament at Bookmaker.com.
1. Cal State Northridge Matadors (15-13, 11-5 Big West)
The Matadors are coming into the tournament off a loss to Pacific to finish the season, and this team is just 3-3 in its final 6 games, and during that stretch had a 22 point loss to UC Irvine. The Matadors can score the basketball, as they scored 90 points 3 games this season, and its not just one guy doing the scoring, as the Matadors have 7 players scoring more than 7.5 points per game. The Matadors have played much of the final part of the season without their leading scorer Deon Tresvant, and that means the rest of the team will have to continue to step up if this team wants to keep playing and head to the NCAA Tournament.
2. Long Beach State 49ers (15-14, 10-6 Big West)
The 49ers have struggled down the stretch in conference play, as this team started out conference play 5-1. The 49ers have traded wins and losses in their last 11 games, and thats not a good sign heading into the tournament, but with just 2 wins needed, maybe this team can pull it together and win this thing. The 49ers have a very balanced offensive attack, as 4 players average in double figures, but the go to guy is Donovan Morris, who leads the way with 14.8 points per game.
3. Pacific Tigers (17-11, 10-6 Big West)
The Tigers come into the tournament with a 3 game winning streak, and a big win over Cal State Northridge to end the season. The Tigers would have earned the No.2 spot had they been able to beat the 49ers in either of their matchups this season, and to win this tournament they are likely going to have to beat the 49ers in the semifinals. The Tigers are led on the floor by Bryan LeDuc and Chad Troyer, as both average right around 11 points per game.
Sleeper: UC Irvine Anteaters (12-18, 8-8 Big West)
The Anteaters don’t have the best overall record, but made some noise to end the season by beating the Matadors 65-62 on the road. The Anteaters come in winners of 4 of their final 5 games, and will look to revenge two losses to UC Davis when they meet up in first round action this week. The Anteaters will need big time performances from Eric Wise all tournament long, as Wise comes in averaging a team best 14.2 points per game, and also adds nearly 6 rebounds a game.
Prediction: Pacific Tigers
For those of you getting ready for even more NCAA basketball betting this season, be sure to keep checking our expert college basketball picks and make sure you have the latest college basketball lines for all the tournament games at Betfirms.
If you liked this article, you may also be interested in:
- 2009 Conference USA Men’s Basketball Tournament Predictions
- 2009 Mountain West Men’s Basketball Tournament Predictions
- 2009 Atlantic Sun Conference Basketball Tournament Predictions
- 2009 Horizon League Conference Basketball Tournament Predictions
- 2009 Ohio Valley Conference Basketball Tournament Predictions
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