2019 WAC men's basketball tournament
The 2019 WAC men's basketball tournament was the postseason men's basketball tournament for the Western Athletic Conference during the 2018–19 season. All tournament games were played at the Orleans Arena in Paradise, Nevada, from March 14–16, 2019. New Mexico State defeated Grand Canyon 89–57 in the championship to win the tournament, and received the conference's automatic bid to the 2019 NCAA tournament. The win was New Mexico State's WAC leading ninth championship, and seventh in the last eight seasons.
| 2019 WAC men's basketball tournament | |
|---|---|
| Classification | Division I |
| Season | 2018–19 |
| Teams | 8 |
| Site | Orleans Arena Paradise, Nevada |
| Champions | New Mexico State (9th title) |
| Winning coach | Chris Jans (2nd title) |
| MVP | Trevelin Queen (New Mexico State) |
| Television | ESPN3, ESPNU |
| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | W | L | PCT | W | L | PCT | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| New Mexico State † | 15 | – | 1 | .938 | 30 | – | 5 | .857 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Utah Valley | 12 | – | 4 | .750 | 25 | – | 10 | .714 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Grand Canyon | 10 | – | 6 | .625 | 20 | – | 14 | .588 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Texas–Rio Grande Valley | 9 | – | 7 | .563 | 20 | – | 17 | .541 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| California Baptist* | 7 | – | 9 | .438 | 16 | – | 15 | .516 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cal State Bakersfield | 7 | – | 9 | .438 | 18 | – | 16 | .529 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Seattle | 6 | – | 10 | .375 | 18 | – | 15 | .545 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| UMKC | 6 | – | 10 | .375 | 11 | – | 21 | .344 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Chicago State | 0 | – | 16 | .000 | 3 | – | 29 | .094 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| *Ineligible for WAC Tournament (reclassification from Division II) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| † 2019 WAC tournament winner | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Seeds
8 of the 9 teams in the WAC were eligible to compete in the conference tournament. California Baptist is ineligible due to their transition from Division II to Division I. Teams were seeded by record within the conference, with a tiebreaker system to seed teams with identical conference records.
| Seed | School | Conference | Tiebreaker | Tiebreaker 2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New Mexico State | 15–1 | ||
| 2 | Utah Valley | 12–4 | ||
| 3 | Grand Canyon | 10–6 | ||
| 4 | UTRGV | 9–7 | ||
| 5 | Cal State Bakersfield | 7–9 | ||
| 6 | Seattle | 6–10 | H2H and through the conference tied | Higher NET Rankings |
| 7 | UMKC | 6–10 | H2H and through the conference tied | Lower NET Rankings |
| 8 | Chicago State | 0–16 |
Schedule and results
| Game | Time[1] | Matchup | Score | Television |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quarterfinals – Thursday, March 14 | ||||
| 1 | 12:00 pm | No. 1 New Mexico State vs No. 8 Chicago State | 86–49 | ESPN+ |
| 2 | 2:30 pm | No. 4 UTRGV vs. No. 5 Cal State Bakersfield | 85–70 | |
| 3 | 6:00 pm | No. 2 Utah Valley vs. No. 7 UMKC | 71–64 | |
| 4 | 8:30 pm | No. 3 Grand Canyon vs. No. 6 Seattle | 84–75 | |
| Semifinals – Friday, March 15 | ||||
| 5 | 6:00 pm | No. 1 New Mexico State vs. No. 4 UTRGV | 79–72 | ESPN+ |
| 6 | 8:30 pm | No. 2 Utah Valley vs. No. 3 Grand Canyon | 74–78 | |
| Final – Saturday, March 16 | ||||
| 7 | 7:00 pm | No. 1 New Mexico State vs. No. 3 Grand Canyon | 89–57 | ESPNU |
| Game times in PDT. Rankings denote tournament seed. | ||||
Bracket
| Quarterfinals March 14 ESPN3 | Semifinals March 15 ESPN3 | Championship March 16 ESPNU | ||||||||||||
| 1 | New Mexico State | 86 | ||||||||||||
| 8 | Chicago State | 49 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | New Mexico State | 79 | ||||||||||||
| 4 | UTRGV | 72 | ||||||||||||
| 4 | UTRGV | 85 | ||||||||||||
| 5 | Cal State Bakersfield | 70 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | New Mexico State | 89 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Grand Canyon | 57 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | Utah Valley | 71 | ||||||||||||
| 7 | UMKC | 64 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | Utah Valley | 74 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Grand Canyon | 78 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Grand Canyon | 84 | ||||||||||||
| 6 | Seattle | 75 | ||||||||||||
References
- "2019 WAC Men's Basketball Tournament" (PDF). WACSports.com. Western Athletic Conference. Archived (PDF) from the original on April 20, 2022. Retrieved April 20, 2022.