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Big West Tournament Championship game: Preview, odds, how to watch, more

The Big West will give their automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament to the winner on Saturday.

Long Beach State 49ers Aboubacar Traore goes up for a dunk in the second half of the game against the UCLA Bruins at Pauley Pavilion. Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

The first event ever in the Dollar Loan Center in Henderson, Nevada is the 2022 Big West Tournament, which will conclude on Saturday when Cal-State Fullerton faces Long Beach State in the conference final with a berth in the NCAA Tournament on the line.

No. 2 Cal-State Fullerton: 20-10 (11-4 Big West), 154 NET, 149 KenPom

The Titans lost to both UCSD and UC Riverside before barely beating UC Davis to close the regular season, so their good form here is a bit of a surprise. Wins over Davis and Hawai’i have put them in the final, and the school that’s more known for baseball than football has played in three NCAA Tournaments previously, but hasn’t won a game in once since 1978

No. 1 Long Beach State: 20-11 (12-3 Big West), 152 NET, 152 KenPom

The Beach will extend their season with a win or loss today, as the NIT will accept them as a conference champion if they fail to win today. The Beach is 20th in the nation in pace, so they aren’t afraid to wear down an opponent. This is a team that likes to attack off the dribble, and has a scorer in junior Joel Murray (16.5 ppg) who can do just that.

Head coach Dan Monson has been in the LBC since 2007, and is looking for his second NCAA Tournament appearance.

How to watch the Big West Tournament Championship game

When: Saturday, March 12th, 11:30 p.m.
Where: Dollar Loan Center, Henderson, NV
TV: ESPN2
Livestream: WatchESPN.com, ESPN App

Odds for Big West Tournament Championship Game from DraftKings Sportsbook:

Spread: Long Beach -1.5
Total: 139.5

Odds for both teams at DraftKings Sportsbook before tournament

Fullerton: +700
Long Beach: +500

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