The Hawaii Rainbow Warriors will meet the UC Irvine Anteaters Saturday night for the Big West Championship game at Lee’s Family Forum in Henderson, Nevada.
Both squads reached the conference finale with comfortable 15-point wins in Friday’s semifinals: Hawaii (23–8, 2nd Big West) downed Cal State Fullerton, 78–63, while UC Irvine (23–10, 1st Big West) cruised to a 93–78 rout of Cal State Northridge.
The teams split their regular-season meetings. The Rainbow Warriors notched a 67–66 home win on Jan. 10 on Hunter Erickson’s buzzer beater before the Anteaters answered with an 87–76 overtime win at their house on Jan. 29 — setting up a high-stakes trilogy bout for the Big West crown and a trip to March Madness.
Tipoff is set for 10 p.m. ET. UC Irvine enters as a narrow 1.5-point favorite on DraftKings Sportsbook, while Hawaii sits as a +100 underdog. The game total is set at 142.5 points.
Hawaii vs. UC Irvine Preview
Hawaii Rainbow Warriors Preview
Hawaii enters the Big West Championship on the heels of a truly impressive bounce-back campaign. After finishing below .500 last season, the Rainbow Warriors went 23–8 with a 14–6 mark in conference play to reach their first conference title game since 2016, when they captured their lone Big West crown in program history. They’ll look to seize one more before departing for the Mountain West next season.
The program plays at a brisk pace and draws a ton of fouls — the third-most in the country, to be exact. Hawaii ranks inside the nation’s top 20 in both attempted and made free throws per game, and it went 25-for-26 from the charity stripe in Friday’s semifinal win over Cal State Fullerton. It helps that the team’s offensive engine — seven-foot senior and All-Big West First Team member Isaac Johnson — shoots nearly 90% from the line.
Hawaii’s true calling card is on the other end, owning KenPom’s 44th-ranked defensive rating and allowing the second-fewest points in the Big West. The Rainbow Warriors rank 32nd nationally in rebounds, 38th in opponent field-goal percentage, and 17th in opponent three-point percentage, while leading the country in opponent assists per contest.
UC Irvine Anteaters Preview
UC Irvine has been on quite the revenge tour this season. The program went 23–10 with a 15–5 mark in conference play after a dominant 2024–25 campaign ended in disappointment — a lopsided loss to UC San Diego in the Big West finale. Back in the conference championship, the Anteaters are looking to finish the job and capture their third Big West crown and first since 2019.
The Anteaters employ a slightly too methodical offense that, while owning the Big West’s second-highest field-goal percentage, ranks 255th nationally in KenPom’s offensive rating. A glaring issue is that the team avoids the three-point line like the plague.
However, the team stepped up its production in the playoffs. In Friday’s semifinal win over Cal State Northridge, UCI erupted for 93 points on 52/40/77 splits as four Anteaters reached double digits.
But just like Hawaii, UCI thrives behind its lockdown defense. The squad ranks 25th nationally in KenPom’s defensive rating, 14th in rebounds, 43rd in opponent scoring, and third in blocks. Their catalyst? Big West Best Defensive Player Kyle Evans, who averages 12.1 points and 8.5 rebounds and leads the nation with 3.3 blocks per contest.
Hawaii vs. UC Irvine Pick, Best Bet
Points should remain at a premium in Saturday’s championship showdown between two of the top defenses in the country. Hawaii and UC Irvine combined for just 133 points in their first regular-season meeting and amassed 144 during regulation of the rematch before heading to overtime.
UCI has fallen short of the game total in 19 of its 31 qualifying games this season (61%), and Hawaii has fallen short in 17 of 29 such matchups (59%). Expect a defensive-minded chess match in the Big West finale.
