Big West Men's Basketball

The Big West is a Division I conference comprised of nine schools, all in California. It is only Division I league in the country with all its members located in the same state. The schools are Cal Poly, Cal State Fullerton, Cal State Northridge, Long Beach State, Pacific, UC Davis, UC Irvine, UC Riverside, and UC Santa Barbara, Eight of the nine institutions are public schools divided equally between the California State University and University of California systems, which are the largest in the country. Each year the conference takes part in the Big West Tournament to see who will reach the NCAA Tournament.

Pacific is the only private school. Fullerton, Northridge and Long Beach State have enrollments over 35,000. When the conference begin in 1969, it was called the Pacific Coast Athletic Association. It assumed its current name in 1988.http:// www.bigwest.org/history/<ref> The Big West has 14 wins in the NCAA tournament, led by Long Beach State with seven and Pacific with four. Long Beach State, the only school that has been a member of the Big West for every year of its existence, won an NCAA Tournament game in four straight seasons from 1970-73, when the 49ers were coached by the legendary Jerry Tarkanian. Long Beach State is the only Big West school to accomplish that feat.<ref>http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/tournament/history?team1Id=6444

Big West Basketball Members

Caly Poly Mustangs
Cal State Fullerton Titans
Cal State Northridge Matadors
Long Beach State 49ers
UC Davis Aggies
UC Irvine Anteaters
UC Riverside Highlanders
UC Santa Barbara Gauchos
Pacific Tigers

UC-Santa Barbara takes 2010 Big West crown

Orlando Johnson had 20 points, five rebounds and four assists as UC Santa Barbara defeated Long Beach State, 69-64, in the Big West Conference championship game on March 13. Johnson, the Big West Player of the Year, was named the tournament MVP. James Nunnally added 19 points and for the top-sedeed Gauchos, who qualified for the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2002. ]]James Powell]] set a UC-Santa Barbara school record for career 3-pointers with 218. Long Beach State reached the final with a 76-62 win over UC-Davis in the semifinals. Long Beach State defeated Cal Poly, 79-69, and Pacific, 68-61, to reach the championship game.