2014 WAC men's basketball tournament

The 2014 WAC men's basketball tournament was the postseason men's basketball tournament for the Western Athletic Conference, held from March 13–15, 2014 at the Orleans Arena in Paradise, Nevada,[1] with the champion New Mexico State Aggies receiving an automatic bid into the 2014 NCAA tournament. This was the third consecutive year the WAC Tournament took place in Las Vegas.

2014 Western Athletic Conference men's basketball tournament
ClassificationDivision I
Season2013–14
Teams8
SiteOrleans Arena
Paradise, Nevada
ChampionsNew Mexico State (5th title)
Winning coachMarvin Menzies (4th title)
MVPSim Bhullar (New Mexico State)
TelevisionESPNU
← 2013
2015 →
2013–14 WAC men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Utah Valley 13 3   .813 20 12   .625
New Mexico State 12 4   .750 26 10   .722
Grand Canyon* 10 6   .625 15 15   .500
Chicago State 8 8   .500 13 19   .406
Idaho 7 9   .438 16 17   .485
UMKC 7 9   .438 10 20   .333
Seattle 5 11   .313 13 17   .433
Cal State Bakersfield 5 11   .313 13 19   .406
Texas–Pan American 5 11   .313 9 23   .281
2014 WAC tournament winner
Rankings from AP poll
* Grand Canyon ineligible for WAC Tournament as part of reclassification from Division II

Format edit

Grand Canyon did not compete in the 2014 men's basketball tournament. As a D2 to D1 transitioning school, they are ineligible to compete in the NCAA tournament until the 2018 season, so they could not win the conference tournament since the winner received an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, in which they were ineligible to participate. However Grand Canyon was eligible to win the regular season title and was eligible to compete in the NIT, CIT, or CBI, had they been invited.[2]

Eight teams competed in the 2014 tournament in a traditional single-elimination style tournament, with 1 playing 8, 2 playing 7, 3 playing 6, and 4 playing 5 on Thursday, March 13. The winners met in the semifinals on Friday, March 14 with the late game airing on an ESPN Network. The championship aired Saturday, March 15, also on an ESPN Network.

Seeds edit

Seed School Conference Overall Tiebreaker
1 Utah Valley 13–3 19–10
2 New Mexico State 12–4 23–9
3 Chicago State 8–8 13–18
4 UMKC 7–9 10–19 1–1 vs. Idaho; 1–1 vs. Utah V
5 Idaho 7–9 14–17 1–1 vs. UMKC; 0–2 vs. Utah V
6 Cal State Bakersfield 5–11 12–18 3–1 vs. Sea & TPA
7 Seattle 5–11 13–16 2–2 vs. CSB & TPA
8 Texas–Pan American 5–11 9–22 1–3 vs. CSB & Sea

Overall record at the end of regular season

Schedule edit

Session Game Time* Matchup#
Quarterfinals – Thursday, March 13
1 1 12:00 pm #1 Utah Valley vs. #8 Texas–Pan American
2 2:30 pm #4 UMKC vs. #5 Idaho
2 3 6:00 pm #3 Chicago State vs. #6 Cal State Bakersfield
4 8:30 pm #2 New Mexico State vs. #7 Seattle
Semifinals – Friday, March 14
3 5 6:00 pm #1 Utah Valley vs. # 5 Idaho
6 8:30 pm #6 Cal State Bakersfield vs. #2 New Mexico State
Championship – Saturday, March 15
4 7 7:00 pm # 5 Idaho vs. #2 New Mexico State
*Game times in PT. #-Rankings denote tournament seeding.

Bracket edit

Quarterfinals
Thursday, March 13
Semifinals
Friday, March 14
Championship
Saturday, March 15
ESPNU
         
1 Utah Valley 83
8 Texas–Pan American 63
1 Utah Valley 69
5 Idaho 74
4 UMKC 70
5 Idaho 73
5 Idaho 55
2 New Mexico State 77
2 New Mexico State 70
7 Seattle 68
2 New Mexico State 69
6 Cal State Bakersfield 63
3 Chicago State 62
6 Cal State Bakersfield 67


See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ "WAC basketball tournaments will be held in Las Vegas". The Monitor. Retrieved June 17, 2013.
  2. ^ "Grand Canyon joins Western Athletic Conference". AZCentral Sports. Retrieved November 27, 2012.