1998 WAC men's basketball tournament

August 2023 1998 WAC I Men's 12 Thomas & Mack Center Paradise, NV 1997 men UNLV Rebels UNLV 1st Bill Bayno 1st 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.1997-98 Western Athletic Conference Season Summary sports-reference.com Sports Reference LLC 2016 https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/conferences/wac/1998.html April 16, 2016 Hosts 1997 men UNLV Rebels 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 30px P5 1997 men SMU Mustangs SMU 76 M4 1997 men Colorado State Rams Colorado State 71 P3 1997 men Tulsa Golden Hurricane Tulsa 59 M6 1997 men BYU Cougars BYU 56 M3 1997 men Wyoming Cowboys Wyoming 57 P6 1997 men San Diego State Aztecs San Diego State 60 P4 1996 men Hawaii Rainbow Warriors Hawaii 59 M5 1997 men UNLV Rebels UNLV 64 P1 1996 men TCU Horned Frogs #13 TCU 71 P5 SMU 69 M2 #20 New Mexico 60 P3 Tulsa 59 P2 1997 men Fresno State Bulldogs Fresno State 92 P6 San Diego State 57 M5 UNLV 54 M1 #5 Utah 51 P1 #13 TCU 73 M2 #20 New Mexico 80 P2 Fresno State 67 M5 UNLV 76 M2 #20 New Mexico 51 M5 UNLV 56 References Category:United Athletic Conference men's basketball tournament Tournament WAC men's basketball tournament WAC men's basketball tournament