1986 Pacific Coast Athletic Association men's basketball tournament


The 1986 Pacific Coast Athletic Association men's basketball tournament (now known as the Big West Conference men's basketball tournament) was held March 6–8 at The Forum in Inglewood, California.[1]

1986 Pacific Coast Athletic Association men's basketball tournament
ClassificationDivision I
Season1985–86
Teams8
SiteThe Forum
Inglewood, CA
ChampionsUNLV (3rd title)
Winning coachJerry Tarkanian (3rd title)
MVPAnthony Jones (UNLV)
Pacific Coast Athletic Association men's basketball tournaments
← 1985
1987 →
1985–86 Pacific Coast Athletic Association men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 11 UNLV 16 2   .889 33 5   .868
UC Irvine 12 6   .667 17 13   .567
New Mexico State 10 8   .556 18 12   .600
San Jose State 9 9   .500 16 12   .571
Pacific 9 9   .500 17 14   .548
Cal State Fullerton 8 10   .444 16 16   .500
Fresno State 8 10   .444 15 15   .500
Utah State 8 10   .444 12 16   .429
UC Santa Barbara 7 11   .389 12 15   .444
Long Beach State 3 15   .167 7 22   .241
1986 PCAA tournament winner

Top-seeded UNLV defended their title and defeated New Mexico State in the final, 75–55, and captured their third PCAA/Big West championship (and third in four seasons).

The Runnin' Rebels, in turn, received a bid to the 1986 NCAA tournament, their seventh in program history, and advanced to the Sweet Sixteen.

Format

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The tournament field remained the same as 1985, with eight total teams. Again, only the top eight teams, out of ten, from the regular season standings qualified for the tournament.

All eight participating teams were placed into the first round, with teams seeded and paired based on regular-season records. After the first round, teams were re-seeded so the highest-remaining team was paired with the lowest-remaining time in one semifinal with the other two teams slotted into the other semifinal.

Bracket

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First round
Thursday, March 6
Semifinals
Friday, March 7
Championship
Saturday, March 8
         
1 No. 13 UNLV 68
8 Fresno State 49
1 #13 UNLV 75
7 Cal State Fullerton 65
5 Pacific 55
4 San José State 53
1 #13 UNLV 75
(Pairings are reseeded after the first round)
3 New Mexico State 55
3 New Mexico State 74
6 Utah State 71
3 New Mexico State 75
5 Pacific 61
7 Cal State Fullerton 66
2 UC Irvine 58

References

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  1. ^ "1985-86 Pacific Coast Athletic Association Season Summary". sports-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. 2016. Retrieved February 8, 2018.