The University of Hawaiʻi at 惭ā苍辞补 Rainbow Warriors men’s basketball captured the Big West Men’s Basketball Championship with a 71–64 victory over the
The team found out on Selection Sunday that they will face No. 4 Arkansas on Thursday, March 19 at the Moda Center in Portland, Oregon. The Warriors earned a No. 13 ranking.
Hawaiʻi (23 wins this season) returned to the conference title game for just the third time in program history and the first time since 2016.
糖心Vlog官方 hustled on defense putting up 10 blocks, several in key moments in the final minutes. Isaac Johnson led four Rainbow Warriors in double figures with a game-high 22 points and was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player. Harry Rouhliadeff posted his second straight double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds and Dre Bullock symbolically punctuated the victory with a windmill dunk. Isaiah Kerr added 10 key points off the bench.
The win also represented a full-circle moment for the program under head coach Eran Ganot, whose debut season in 2015–16 produced a school-record 28 wins and a Big West title. This year’s 23 victories mark the most for Hawaiʻi since that championship and the last invitation to the Big Dance.
The championship matchup capped a season-long rivalry between Hawaiʻi and UC Irvine, which split the regular-season series. The Rainbow Warriors claimed a dramatic 67–66 win in Honolulu on January 10, on Hunter Erickson’s buzzer-beating shot, while the Anteaters answered with an 87–76 overtime victory in Irvine on January 29.
The championship comes after a rebound season for the Rainbow Warriors, who did not qualify for last year’s Big West Tournament after finishing with their only losing conference record in 14 years.