The 2002 Big West Conference men's basketball tournament was held March 7–9 at Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, California.
[2] UC Santa Barbara defeated Utah State in the championship game, 60–56, to obtain the first Big West Conference men's basketball tournament championship in school history.
The Gauchos participated in the 2002 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament after earning the conference's automatic bid.
Eight of the ten teams in the conference participated, with UC Riverside and Cal State Fullerton not qualifying.
Teams were seeded based on regular season conference records.