Big West Tournament Prep

It's the day before the big test and the Black and Gold Insider is here to give you a crash course in Big West Tourney 101. Crack the notebooks, let's get this.

Basic information
I wasn't kidding about that 'crash course' line. The Big West Tournament (BWT) is the post-season tournament used by the Big West conference to determine who will receive an automatic bid to the 68 team NCAA Tournament. The BW tourney is held over three days at The Honda Center in Anaheim.

Format
With Long Beach State finishing in first place during the regular season, the 49ers have locked up the number one overall seed in the tournament. This year, the BWT returns to a traditional eight team format, with no teams receiving byes. Thus, the winning team will have to win three games over three days. Losing one game eliminates a team from the tournament.

With the number one seed, each round Long Beach will face off with the lowest remaining seed. The number one seed also gives LBSU game times that afford them the most time off in between games.

Schedule
Based on league results, the opening round match ups for tomorrow have already been determined. Long Beach State will face the No. 8 seed UC Irvine at Noon. For complete brackets, refer to the Big West's website

If Long Beach State wins on Thursday, their next game will be on Friday at 6:30 p.m. against the lowest remaining seed after the completion of the first round (televised on ESPNU)

If the Niners win on Friday, they will play in the championship game on Saturday at 5:00 p.m. (televised on ESPN2)

Student tickets
Students have two options for tickets to the game. The first is to sign up for the bus trips that will bring students directly to the Honda Center prior to each Long Beach State game. Bus riders will receive a game ticket, food and drink (while supplies lasts) and a tournament takeover shirt. Best of all, it's free! A $5 deposit is required at sign-up, but students will get their money back upon arrival at the bus. Bus' will depart promptly at the following times from in front of the Pyramid:

Thursday: 10:30 a.m.
Friday: 4:45 p.m.
Saturday: 3:00 p.m.

Students can sign up for the bus trips at the Pyramid Box Office and at the Beach Pride Center in the University Student Union.

Students who can't make the bus trips still have free tickets available to them, just bring your LBSU student ID card to the Honda Center box office.

Non-student tickets
All other tickets for the Big West Tournament can be purchased through Ticket Master

Here's a BWT preview video that Gazettes Sports put together