2024 WAC men's basketball tournament
| 2024 WAC men's basketball tournament | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Classification | Division I |
| Season | 2023–24 |
| Teams | 8 |
| Site | Orleans Arena Paradise, Nevada |
| Television | ESPN+, ESPN2 |
| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | W | L | PCT | W | L | PCT | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Grand Canyon † | 17 | – | 3 | .850 | 30 | – | 5 | .857 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tarleton* | 16 | – | 4 | .800 | 25 | – | 10 | .714 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| UT Arlington | 13 | – | 7 | .650 | 20 | – | 14 | .588 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Seattle | 11 | – | 9 | .550 | 23 | – | 14 | .622 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Utah Valley | 11 | – | 9 | .550 | 16 | – | 16 | .500 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Stephen F. Austin | 10 | – | 10 | .500 | 18 | – | 15 | .545 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Abilene Christian | 10 | – | 10 | .500 | 16 | – | 18 | .471 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| California Baptist | 8 | – | 12 | .400 | 16 | – | 17 | .485 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Utah Tech* | 7 | – | 13 | .350 | 11 | – | 20 | .355 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Southern Utah | 5 | – | 15 | .250 | 10 | – | 21 | .323 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| UT Rio Grande Valley | 2 | – | 18 | .100 | 6 | – | 25 | .194 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| * Ineligible for the NCAA tournament due to transition from Division II | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| † 2024 WAC tournament winner | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The 2024 WAC men's basketball tournament is the postseason men's basketball tournament of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) for the 2023–24 season. The conference tournament is scheduled to be played from March 13–16, 2024 at the Orleans Arena in Paradise, Nevada near Las Vegas.[1] Basketball seating capacity at the Orleans Arena is 7,471.[2] The winner of the conference tournament will receive the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.[3] For the second time in school history, Grand Canyon was the winner of the 2023 WAC Tournament.[4] Grand Canyon was again the conference favorite going into the 2023–24 season.[5]
Seeds
Eight of the eleven members are invited to the tournament.[6] The field for the WAC tournament has varied from six to last year's twelve qualifiers.[7] While Tarleton and Utah Tech are ineligible for the NCAA tournament, they are eligible for the WAC tournament.[8] If a team that is not eligible for the NCAA Tournament wins the WAC Tournament, the conference's automatic bid will go to the highest seeded tournament-eligible team.[9] As was the case for the 2023 tournament, teams will be seeded based on the WAC Resume Seeding System.[10] While seeding is determined by the WAC Resume Seeding System, the eight teams invited to the tournament will be determined by composite WAC standings.[11]
| Seed | School | Conference record | WAC Resume Seeding points (final) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Grand Canyon | 17–3 | |
| 2 | Tarleton | 16-4 | |
| 3 | UT Arlington | 13-7 | |
| 4 | Seattle | 11-9 | |
| 5 | Utah Valley | 11-9 | |
| 6 | Stephen F. Austin | 10-10 | |
| 7 | Abilene Christian | 10-10 | |
| 8 | California Baptist | 8-12 | |
| DNQ | Utah Tech | 7–13 | |
| DNQ | Southern Utah | 5–15 | |
| DNQ | UT Rio Grande Valley | 2–18 |
WAC Resume seedings throughout season
| Seed | Dec. 4 | Dec. 12 | Dec. 19 | Dec. 27 | Jan. 3 | Jan. 9 | Jan. 16 | Jan. 23 | Jan. 31 | Feb. 6 | Feb. 14 | Feb. 20 | Feb. 26 | Mar. 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GCU | GCU | GCU | GCU | GCU | GCU | GCU | GCU | GCU | GCU | GCU | GCU | GCU | GCU |
| 2 | TAR | TAR | TAR | TAR | TAR | TAR | TAR | TAR | TAR | TAR | TAR | TAR | TAR | TAR |
| 3 | CBU | UVU | UTA | SU | SU | SU | SFA | SFA | SU | SU | SU | SU | SU | SU |
| 4 | SFA | CBU | CBU | UTA | SFA | UVU | SU | SU | SFA | SFA | SFA | UTA | UTA | UTA |
| 5 | UT | SU | UVU | UVU | UTA | SFA | UTA | UTA | CBU | UTA | UTA | SFA | UVU | SFA |
| 6 | UVU | UTA | SFA | CBU | UVU | UTA | UVU | UVU | UTA | CBU | CBU | UVU | SFA | UVU |
| 7 | SU | SFA | SU | SFA | CBU | UT | UT | CBU | UVU | UVU | UVU | CBU | CBU | ACU |
| 8 | UTA | UT | UT | UT | UT | CBU | CBU | UT | SUU | SUU | UT | ACU | ACU | CBU |
| 9 | ACU | ACU | ACU | ACU | ACU | ACU | ACU | ACU | ACU | (T) ACU | SUU | UT | UT | UT |
| 10 | SUU | SUU | SUU | SUU | SUU | SUU | SUU | SUU | UT | (T) UT | ACU | SUU | SUU | SUU |
| 11 | UTRGV | UTRGV | UTRGV | UTRGV | UTRGV | UTRGV | UTRGV | UTRGV | UTRGV | UTRGV | UTRGV | UTRGV | UTRGV | UTRGV |
Schedule
| Session | Game | Time* | Matchup# | Score | Television | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First round – Wednesday, March 13, 2024 – Orleans Arena | ||||||
| 1 | 1 | 6:00pm | No. 5 Utah Valley vs. No. 8 California Baptist | ESPN+ | ||
| 2 | 8:30pm | No. 6 Stephen F. Austin vs. No. 7 Abilene Christian | ||||
| Quarterfinals – Thursday, March 14, 2024 – Orleans Arena | ||||||
| 2 | 3 | 6:00pm | Game 1 Winner vs. No. 4 Seattle | ESPN+ | ||
| 4 | 8:30pm | Game 2 Winner vs. No. 3 UT Arlington | ||||
| Semifinals – Friday, March 15, 2024 – Orleans Arena | ||||||
| 3 | 5 | 6:00pm | Game 3 Winner vs. No. 1 Grand Canyon | ESPN+ | ||
| 6 | 8:30pm | Game 4 Winner vs. No. 2 Tarleton | ESPN2/ESPNU | |||
| Championship – Saturday, March 16, 2024 – Orleans Arena | ||||||
| 4 | 7 | 8:30pm | Game 5 Winner vs. Game 6 Winner | ESPN2 | ||
| *Game times in PT. #-Rankings denote tournament seeding. | ||||||
Bracket
| First round Wednesday, March 13 | Quarterfinals Thursday, March 14 | Semifinals Friday, March 15 | Championship Saturday, March 16 | |||||||||||||||
| 1 | Grand Canyon | |||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Seattle | |||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Utah Valley | |||||||||||||||||
| 8 | California Baptist | |||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Tarleton | |||||||||||||||||
| 3 | UT Arlington | Third place | ||||||||||||||||
| 6 | Stephen F. Austin | |||||||||||||||||
| 7 | Abilene Christian | |||||||||||||||||
* denotes overtime period
Awards
| Award | Player | Team |
|---|---|---|
| Most Outstanding Player | ||
| All-Tournament Team | ||
See also
References
- ^ "WAC Bracket 2023 & WAC Tournament Predictions". www.teamrankings.com. Retrieved December 28, 2022.
- ^ "Orleans Arena, Las Vegas Event Production | OrleansArena.com". January 22, 2008. Archived from the original on January 22, 2008. Retrieved November 17, 2023.
- ^ Evans, Jace. "2023 men's NCAA Tournament automatic bids: Who has secured spots in March Madness?". USA TODAY. Retrieved November 17, 2023.
- ^ Sports, Arizona (March 12, 2023). "GCU hoops wins WAC Tournament final, punches ticket to Big Dance". Arizona Sports. Retrieved November 17, 2023.
- ^ Montgomery, Austin (November 4, 2023). "WAC Preview: Is GCU the new dominating force in the WAC?". Mid-Major Madness. Retrieved November 17, 2023.
- ^ "Championship Format And Dates For 2024 Hercules Tires WAC Basketball Tournament Set". wacsports.com. November 4, 2023. Retrieved November 17, 2023.
- ^ "WAC Tournament format, dates set". Grand Canyon University Athletics. November 9, 2023. Retrieved November 17, 2023.
- ^ "WAC approves Conference Championship eligibility for Tarleton in recent board meeting". Tarleton State University Athletics. Retrieved December 28, 2022.
- ^ "2023 WAC Tournament". Hoops HD. Retrieved March 20, 2023.
- ^ "Western Athletic Conference, Hercules Tires Renew Title Sponsorship Of The WAC Basketball Tournament". wacsports.com. November 4, 2023. Retrieved November 17, 2023.
- ^ "2023 24 WAC MBB Release 2 14 (PDF) - Western Athletic Conference" (PDF). wacsports.com. Retrieved February 17, 2024.
