1998 WAC Men's Basketball Tournament
| 1998 WAC Men's Basketball Tournament | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Classification | Division I | ||||
| Season | 1997–98 | ||||
| Teams | 12 | ||||
| Site |
Thomas & Mack Center Paradise, NV | ||||
| Champions | UNLV (1st title) | ||||
| Winning coach | Bill Bayno (1st title) | ||||
| MVP | Kenny Thomas (New Mexico) | ||||
| |||||
The 1998 Western Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Tournament was held March 3–7 at the Thomas & Mack Center at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas in Paradise, Nevada.[1]
Hosts UNLV upset New Mexico in the championship game, 56–51, to clinch their first WAC men's tournament championship.
The Rebels, in turn, received an automatic bid to the 1998 NCAA Tournament. They were joined in the tournament by three other WAC members, New Mexico, TCU, and Utah, who all earned at-large bids. Utah, who was also the WAC regular season champion, ultimately went on to the national championship game, losing to Kentucky, while knocking off San Francisco, Arkansas, West Virginia, Arizona, and North Carolina on their way to title game.
Format
No changes were made to the tournament format from the 1997 tournament. Teams were again seeded based on their position within either the Mountain or Pacific Division (top six teams only).
Bracket
| First Round Tuesday, March 3 |
Quarterfinals Thursday, March 5 |
Semifinals Friday, March 6 |
Championship Saturday, March 7 |
|||||||||||||||
| P1 | TCU | 71 | ||||||||||||||||
| P5 | SMU | 69 | ||||||||||||||||
| P5 | SMU | 76 | ||||||||||||||||
| M4 | Colorado State | 71 | ||||||||||||||||
| P1 | TCU | 73 | ||||||||||||||||
| M2 | New Mexico | 80 | ||||||||||||||||
| P3 | Tulsa | 59 | ||||||||||||||||
| M6 | BYU | 56 | ||||||||||||||||
| M2 | New Mexico | 60 | ||||||||||||||||
| P3 | Tulsa | 59 | ||||||||||||||||
| M2 | New Mexico | 51 | ||||||||||||||||
| M5 | UNLV | 56 | ||||||||||||||||
| P2 | Fresno State | 92 | ||||||||||||||||
| P6 | San Diego State | 57 | ||||||||||||||||
| M3 | Wyoming | 57 | ||||||||||||||||
| P6 | San Diego State | 60 | ||||||||||||||||
| P2 | Fresno State | 67 | ||||||||||||||||
| M5 | UNLV | 76 | ||||||||||||||||
| P4 | Hawaiʻi | 59 | ||||||||||||||||
| M5 | UNLV | 64 | ||||||||||||||||
| M5 | UNLV | 54 | ||||||||||||||||
| M1 | Utah | 51 | ||||||||||||||||
References
- ↑ "1997-98 Western Athletic Conference Season Summary". sports-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. 2016. Retrieved April 16, 2016.