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MBB Dre Bullock Big West Semifinal

Men's Basketball

Men's Basketball Squares Off With UC Irvine In Big West Championship Game

HENDERSON, Nev. —  Following an impressive double-digit semifinal win over Cal State Fullerton, the University of Hawai'i men's basketball team gained a spot in the Credit Union 1 Big West Men's Basketball Championship title game and a matchup with UC Irvine.
 
The second-seeded Rainbow Warriors and top-seeded Anteaters meet for the Big West crown and an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament on Saturday, March 14 at Lee's Family Forum in Henderson, Nev. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. PT/4 p.m. HT.
 
The Rainbow Warriors (23-8) and the Anteaters (23-10) each won by double-digits on Friday to set up a clash between the top two teams in the conference all year. The team's split their regular-season meetings in a pair of epic games and will now meet for the third time with a conference title on the line.
 
UH is seeking the program's second Big West championship in its final game in the league before departing for the Mountain West.

GAME 31: Hawai'i (23-8, 14-6 Big West) vs. UC Irvine (23-10, 15-5 Big West)
Opponent | Date | Time UC Irvine |  Saturday,  March 14 |  7:00 p.m. PT/4:00 p.m. HT 
Location Henderson, Nev.  - Lee's Family Forum
Television ESPN2
Live Stream WatchESPN
Radio ESPN Honolulu 1500 / ESPN Honolulu App
Live Stats StatBroadcast.com
Game Notes Hawai'i
Social Media @HawaiiMBB Twitter | #HawaiiMBB | @HawaiiBasketball Instagram | Facebook Facebook
Championship Website Main Site | Bracket | All Session Tickets

HEAD COACH ERAN GANOTOverall record: 197-128 (12th season)
At Hawai'i: 194-126 (11th season)

BIG WEST CHAMPIONSHIP RECORDAll-Time: 8-10
At Lee's Family Forum: 3-3
As a No. 2 seed: 1-0
As a lower seed: 2-7

NEWS & NOTES
  • For the third time ever and the first time since 2016, Hawai'i will play in the Big West Championship title game.
  • The Rainbow Warriors fell to UC Irvine (67-58) in 2015 and defeated Long Beach State (64-60) in 2016 in its two previous appearances.  
  • This will be the program's final Big West game. The 'Bows, along with fellow Big West school UC Davis, move to the Mountain West next year.
  • Hawai'i returns to the finals after not qualifying at all for last year's tournament when it finished with its only losing Big West record in 14 years.
  • The 'Bows advanced to the finals after a 78-63 semifinal win over Cal State Fullerton on Friday, holding the Titans 20 points below their average. 
  • UCI dispatched CSUN 93-78 in a game it led from start to finish.
  • UH and UCI split the regular-season series. The 'Bows won, 67-66, on Hunter Erickson's buzzer beater in Honolulu on Jan. 10. UCI won in overtime, 87-76, on Jan. 29 in Irvine.
  • UH is winless in three previous matchups versus the Anteaters in the Big West Championship (2013, '18 quarterfinals; 2015 finals).
  • UH's 23 wins is its most since Eran Ganot's debut season in 2015-16 when the program won a school-record 28 games and won the Big West title.
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Players Mentioned

Hunter Erickson

#0 Hunter Erickson

G
6' 3"
Graduate Student

Players Mentioned

Hunter Erickson

#0 Hunter Erickson

6' 3"
Graduate Student
G