Big West Conference Championship: Odds, Best Bets & Sleeper Picks
Odds, best bets and sleeper picks for which team will win the 2023 Big West Men’s Basketball Conference Championship
Matthew Horner - Mar 2, 2023, 2:11pm EST
2023 Big West Conference Championship Odds
Conference tournament time is here and BetQL is your source for best bets, sharp picks, public data, historical trends and so much more every single day for every single game! These are the odds to win the 2023 Big West Conference Championship:
UC Irvine +250, UC Santa Barbara +450, UC Riverside +550, Hawaii +700, CS Fullerton +800, UC Davis +1250, Long Beach State +1550, CS Bakersfield +25000, UC San Diego +25000, CS Northridge +60000, Cal Poly +80000
The Big West is a very top-heavy conference this season, with a massive dropoff after Long Beach State. For the first seven teams in the conference, it should be a real battle. The top three teams in the Big West all are tied atop the conference with the same record, so all three of them should be very close in the standings. I think UC Irvine has the best chance to win the conference, but not by a ton, and not enough to where they would ever lay money. In fact, there's another team that I would suggest taking over them to win the Big West, and we'll go through some others below. Let's take a look at the 2023 Big West Conference Championship best bets.
2023 Big West Conference Championship Picks & Predictions
Big West Winner Best Bet: UCSB (+450)
I think my favorite bet to win the Big West would be UC Santa Barbara. Not only are they tied at the top of the conference, but I believe they have two of the better players in the conference. Preseason All-Big West selections Ajay Mitchell and Andre Kelly lead a veteran group that has been in big spots before. Mitchell leads the team in points per game with 15.7 and also leads in assists at 4.9, which is not shocking. He was the 2021-22 Big West Freshman of the Year after providing 11.6 points and a team-leading 3.7 assists per contest, and he has since bumped up those numbers as you can see. Kelly is a graduate transfer from Cal this season, but he has provided much needed scoring and rebounding, and leads the team in boards with 6.5 per game.
Big West Winner Sleeper Pick: Hawaii (+700)
Hawaii is a sleeper team that I think can compete for the championship in this conference, mostly because they have a player that can catch fire at any moment in guard Noel Coleman. Admittedly, he actually has seen his scoring drop a bit this season, down to 12.2 points per game compared to 14.8 last season. Still, he is one of the best players in the conference and one of the few that could be considered a "microwave" that can heat up and torch a team. Plus, this conference doesn't have a lot of separation between the top teams and the middle, as Hawaii is just a game below the leaders of the Big West.
As long as they have Coleman, they have a shot, and I like them at a little better price than some of the top dogs.
Big West Winner Deep Sleeper Pick: Long Beach State (+1550)
This is about as deep of a sleeper that I think can actually win as it gets, as the teams listed after them would be throwing away money in my opinion. Long Beach State, the 2021-22 regular-season champion and tournament runner-up, didn't have as much success this season as last year due to a key injury, but their experience always makes them a tough out. Head coach Dan Monson, the Big West Coach of the Year for the fourth time in 2021-22, leads a team of guys who have been there and done that. Joel Murray's loss for the season was a massive blow to the team, as the senior guard led The Big West in scoring as a first-year standout for Long Beach at 16.7 points per game last season, and was averaging 15.7 this season.
It's hard to replace that kind of production, but the team has managed to stay above water. They will need to lean on their experience and the steady hand of Monson to navigate through to another championship appearance.
Want More Conference Tournament Picks?
We have picks and predictions for all of our favorite Conference Tournaments happening this March. Check out our other prediction articles below and see which teams we think are the best bet to win and a few sleeper teams you can catch longshot odds on:
American Athletic Conference Tournament Picks
Sun Belt Conference Tournament Picks
Colonial Conference Tournament Picks