Joe Pasternack has frequently employed the use of scissors in the last three seasons.

Nylon nets at two of the last three Big West Tournaments have been dismantled by UC Santa Barbra’s head coach. However, these wins serve as nothing more than fond memories for Pasternack now. He wants it again in 2024.

That said, experience isn’t everything, and the Big West features other formidable teams. UC Irvine boasts some of the best defense in the conference, with  UC Davis and UC San Diego not too  far behind.

The No. 1 or No. 2 seeds have one each of the last four conference titles.However, this year feels different. As dominant as Irvine’s run has been through the regular season, they’re beatable. Any one of these eight teams has a legitimate shot at the Big Dance.

The incumbent: UC Santa Barbara

The Gauchos lost significant production from last year, leading to a middling 9-11 regular season. However, they have retained reigning conference Player of the Year Ajay Mitchell, and Auburn transfer Yohan Traore has stepped up admirably.

Despite its  mediocre record, UCSB is  tied for the fifth-best odds to win the tournament. Just a week ago, they were in danger of missing the tournament altogether. A magical run isn’t out of the picture; without a bye, however, they will have to remain perfect in four games to do so.

The dark horse: UC Riverside 

Another team that failed to earn a bye, the Highlanders enter the tournament red-hot. They won seven of their last nine contests, and the two they lost were close calls against Hawaii and UC San Diego (who would’ve been the two-seed, but are ineligible for postseason play as part of its  transition from Division II to Division I). Riverside even handed top-seeded UC Irvine one of its  three losses of the year.

They are led by redshirt freshman Barrington Hargress; however, the scoring wealth is rationed evenly, as six players average more than seven points per game. Statistically, there isn’t much that pops about Riverside. However, they are in the top half of the conference in nearly every category.

The favorites:

UC Davis

With a double-bye and the second-best odds to punch their ticket to The Dance, the Aggies are riding the high of a 14-6 regular season. The Aggies have Big West Player of the Year candidates Elijah Pepper and Ty Johnson, but they  face the more challenging half of the bracket. 

UC Irvine

As the odds-on favorite to win the tournament, UC Irvine has both the highest-scoring offense and the lowest-scoring defense in the conference. Out-physicalling opponents has been the Anteaters’ biggest calling card.

However, the last two seasons have spelled heartbreak for UCI. As the top seed last year, they were upset by Cal State Fullerton in the final seconds, and the previous year, they were beaten by UCSB. With the easier half of the bracket, if there was any year for them to get over the hump, this is it.

My pick: Hawaii

The last time Hawaii won this tournament was in 2016, when they went on to upset the Jalen Brown-led California Golden Bears in March Madness. 

However, they are hot this year. They’ve won close shootouts. They’ve won close defensive slugfests. They’ve even mixed in some blowouts.

The Rainbow Warriors enter the tournament having won seven of their last nine. They feature two of the conference’s top six rebounders in Bernardo Da Silva and Justin McKoy. Nobody really pops on this team; however, everyone plays their roles extremely well.