The Pac-12 Conference men's basketball tournament, otherwise known as the Pac-12 tournament, was the annual concluding tournament for the NCAA college basketball in the Pac-12, taking place in Las Vegas at the T-Mobile Arena. The first tournament was held in 1987 for the Pac-10 conference. It ended after four seasons. The conference did not have a conference tournament until it was started again in 2002.
For a time, the future of the Pac-12 Conference itself as with the tournament after the 2024 tournament was uncertain, since the conference only has two remaining members at the start of the 2024–25 academic year. Both the remaining Pac-12 schools joined the West Coast Conference as non-football affiliated members for all sports with the exception of baseball for at least the 2024–25 academic year and beyond.[1] However, in a span of less than three weeks in September 2024, the Pac-12 added six new members effective in 2026–27—Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, Gonzaga, San Diego State, and Utah State.[2][3][4] With eight confirmed members, the conference tournament is likely to resume in 2027.
History
The predecessor conference of the Pac-12, the Pacific Coast Conference, began playing basketball in the 1915–16 season. The PCC was split into North and South Divisions for basketball beginning with the 1922–23 season. The winners of the two divisions would play a best of three series of games to determine the PCC basketball champion. If two division teams tied, they would have a one-game playoff to produce the division representative. Starting with the first edition of the event now known as the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament in 1939, the winner of the PCC divisional playoff was given the automatic berth in the NCAA tournament. Oregon, the 1939 PCC champion, won the championship game in the 1939 NCAA basketball tournament.
The last divisional playoff was in the 1954–55 season. After that, there was no divisional play and all teams played each other in a round robin competition. From the 1955–56 season through the 1985–86 season, the regular season conference champion was awarded the NCAA tournament berth from the PCC, later AAWU, Pac-8 and Pac-10.
Beginning with the 1975 NCAA tournament, the league (known as the Pac-8 until becoming the Pac-10 with the 1978 arrival of Arizona and Arizona State) would usually place at least one other at-large team in the tournament. Following the end of UCLA's dominance in the 1970s, the Pac-10 would struggle to get out of the early rounds of the NCAA tournament.
By the 1985–86 season, the Pac-10 was one of three remaining conferences that gave their automatic NCAA tournament bid to the regular season round-robin champion. The other two conferences were the Ivy League and the Big Ten Conference.
1987–1990
The modern tournament format began in 1987 as the Pacific-10 Men's basketball Tournament.[5] The first incarnation of the tournament ran from 1987 to 1990, hosted at different school sites. UCLA was awarded the inaugural tournament, which was won by the Bruins. The Arizona Wildcats hosted the 1988 tournament and won. The Wildcats also won the 1989 and 1990 tournaments. Citing academic concerns, it was dropped after 1990 upon opposition from coaches, poor revenue, and poor attendance.[6][7][8] The Pac-10 went back to having the regular season champion get awarded the automatic NCAA tournament bid for the 1990–2001 seasons. The Pac-10 also was viewed as weaker than East coast conferences that placed many teams in the NCAA tournament.[9] The tournament was seen as more damaging to the conference than helpful.[9] The NCAA selection show occurred during or immediately following the Sunday final.[10] This meant the selection committee had to make a decision to have a placeholder for a potential team that depended upon the final result.
2002 to the present
In 1998, the Big Ten began to hold a conference tournament, leaving the Pac-10 and Ivy League the lone conferences without postseason tournaments. (The Ivy League would not begin holding its tournament until 2017.) The Pac-10 tournament was restarted by an 8–2 vote of the athletic directors of the conference in 2000 after determining that a tournament would help increase exposure of the conference and help the seeding of the schools in the NCAA tournament.[11]Stanford University and the University of Arizona opposed the tournament, while UCLA's and USC's votes, considered the deciding votes, were swayed by permanently hosting the tournament at Staples Center.[12][13] Los Angeles is the second largest media market in the United States. The championship game has been broadcast nationally by CBS Sports. The championship game was scheduled for Saturday before selection Sunday, as opposed to the previous iteration of the tournament holding the championship on Sunday after the selection committee had completed their work.
With the 2011 championship game attracting only 12,074 paid attendees, less than two-thirds the capacity of Staples Center, commissioner Larry Scott reopened bids from other cities to host the Pac-12 Tournament. Other models including a round-robin model and hosting the tournament at conference sites have also been considered.[14] Ultimately, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Salt Lake City, and Seattle submitted bids for consideration.[15]
On March 13, 2012, the Pac-12 Tournament was officially moved to the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, for a three-year term.[16] The tournament moved to T-Mobile Arena once it opened during the 2016–17 basketball season; the hosting contract between the Pac-12 and the arena ran through 2020.[17] In October 2019, the contract was extended through 2021-2022.[18]
The 2020 tournament began on March 11, and teams played the first round. It was cancelled on March 12 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with no further games played.[19] The 2021 tournament was played, but with only family of student-athletes & members of the individual athletic departments as spectators in attendance.[20][21]
Television coverage
Effective with the 2012–13 season, as part of the new television contract signed with Fox Sports and ESPN, one quarterfinal game, one semifinal game, and the championship game will rotate between Fox Sports and ESPN, with ESPN obtaining odd year tournaments and Fox Sports even numbered tournaments. All other games are broadcast on the Pac-12 Network.[citation needed] On September 29, 2021, the Conference announced the Pac-12 Network, FOX & FS1 would be the telecast providers for the 2022 Pac-12 tournament. Eight games would be featured on the Pac-12 Network, two games would be featured on FS1 & the Pac-12 Tournament Title game would be featured on FOX.[22]
Format
From 1987 to 1990 and 2006 to 2011, all ten teams participated in the tournament, with the top six teams receiving a bye in the opening round. Between 2002 and 2005, only the top eight teams in the conference participated in the tournament. Of the Pac-12 schools, only Washington State has never played in the championship game. In 2010 with USC on probation, only nine teams participated. Since 2012, all 12 teams have participated with the top four teams getting byes into the quarterfinals.
notes: † Arizona vacated 2017, 2018 titles due to NCAA penalty
^According to the Pac-12, family members were allowed to attend, but the general public was not allowed. As a result, the Pac-12 has not released official attendance numbers.
† Arizona vacated all tournament wins and 2017, 2018 titles due to NCAA penalty (Arizona's revised all-time tournament record - 35-15) *USC vacated its win vs. ASU in the 2009 Pac-10 Tournament.[23] Washington State has yet to make an appearance in a Pac-12 Men's Basketball Championship Game.
†Arizona had Co-MVP winners for the 1990 tournament.[23]
*Arizona & California are the only schools to have a tournament MVP from teams that did not win the Conference Title Game. Arizona State, Utah & Washington State have yet to have a player win tournament MVP.
notes: * Arizona vacated 2017, 2018 titles due to NCAA penalty [23]
Coaches by all-time winning %
(.875) – Tommy Lloyd (Arizona), (7−1)
(.750) – Walt Hazzard (UCLA), (3−1)
(.727) – Lute Olson (Arizona), (16−6)
(.735) – Dana Altman (Oregon), (25−9)
(.720) – Sean Miller (Arizona), (18−7*)
(.667) – Tim Floyd (USC), (6−3)
(.667) – Bill Frieder (ASU), (2−1)
(.636) – Steve Alford (UCLA), (7−4)
(.606) – Tad Boyle (Colorado), (20−13)
(.600) – Jim Harrick (UCLA), (3−2)
(.579) – Ben Howland (UCLA), (11−8)
(.577) – Lorenzo Romar (Washington), (15−11)
(.571) – Henry Bibby (USC), (4−3)
(.571) – Cuonzo Martin (California), (4−3)
(.556) – Mick Cronin (UCLA), (5−4)
(.500) – Ernie Kent (Oregon/Washington St.), (11−11)
(.500) – Ben Braun (California), (7−7)
(.500) – Kyle Smith (Washington State), (4−4)
(.500) – Tony Bennett (Washington St.), (3−3)
(.500) – Steve Lavin (UCLA), (3−3)
(.500) – Ralph Miller (Oregon St.), (3−3)
(.500) – Andy Russo (Washington), (3−3)
(.500) – Murry Bartow (UCLA), (1−1)
(.471) – Andy Enfield (USC), (8−9)
(.455) – Mike Montgomery (Stanford/California), (10−12)
(.429) – Johnny Dawkins (Stanford), (6−8)
(.429) – Wayne Tinkle (OSU), (6−8)
(.412) – Larry Krystkowiak (Utah), (7−10)
(.400) – Mark Fox (California), (2−3)
(.400) – Kevin O'Neill (Arizona/USC), (2−3)
(.400) – Kelvin Sampson (Washington St.), (2−3)
(.385) – Bobby Hurley (ASU), (5−8)
(.333) – Jerod Haase (Stanford), (4−8)
(.333) – Craig Robinson (Oregon St.), (3−6)
(.333) – Lou Campanelli (Cal), (2−4)
(.333) – Jay John (OSU), (2−4)
(.333) – Don Monson (Oregon), (2−4)
(.333) – George Ravelling (USC), (2−4)
(.250) – Craig Smith (Utah), (1−3)
(.300) – Mike Hopkins (Washington), (3−7)
(.250) – Herb Sendek (ASU), (3−9)
(.000) – Mark Madsen (California), (0−1) Note:* Miller's six wins and tournament titles in 2017 & 2018 vacated due to NCAA penalty (Miller's revised tournament record - 12-7, .632)
Coaches with at least one win are listed here. Current coaches are in bold.
Coaches by tournament wins
25 – Dana Altman (Oregon), (25−9)
20 – Tad Boyle (Colorado), (20−13)
18 – Sean Miller (Arizona), (18−7*)
16 – Lute Olson (Arizona), (16−6)
15 – Lorenzo Romar (Washington), (15−11)
11 – Ben Howland (UCLA), (11−8)
11 – Ernie Kent (Oregon/Washington State), (11−11)
10 – Mike Montgomery (Stan/Cal), (10−12)
8 – Andy Enfield (USC), (8−9)
7 – Tommy Lloyd (Arizona), (7−1)
7 – Ben Braun (Cal), (7−8)
7 – Larry Krystkowiak (Utah), (7−10)
6 – Steve Alford (UCLA), (6−3)
6 – Tim Floyd (USC), (6−3)
6 – Wayne Tinkle (OSU), (6−8)
6 – Johnny Dawkins (Stanford), (6−8)
5 – Bobby Hurley (ASU), (5−8)
5 – Mick Cronin (UCLA), (5−4)
4 – Henry Bibby (USC), (4−3)
4 – Cuonzo Martin (California), (4−3)
4 – Kyle Smith (Washington State), (4−4)
4 – Jerod Haase (Stanford), (4−8)
3 – Walt Hazzard (UCLA), (3−1)
3 – Jim Harrick (UCLA), (3−2)
3 – Steve Lavin (UCLA), (3−3)
3 – Andy Russo (Washington), (3−3)
3 – Mike Hopkins (Washington), (3−7)
3 – Craig Robinson (OSU), (3−6)
3 – Herb Sendek (ASU), (3−9)
2 – Bill Frieder (ASU), (2−1)
2 – Mark Fox (California), (2−3)
2 – Kelvin Sampson (WSU), (2−3)
2 – Lou Campanelli (Cal), (2−4)
2 – Jay John (OSU), (2−4)
2 – Don Monson (Oregon), (2−4)
1 – Murray Bartow (UCLA), (1−1)
1 – Craig Smith (Utah), (1−3)
0 – Mark Madsen (California), (0−1) Note:* Miller's six wins and tournament titles in 2017 & 2018 vacated due to NCAA penalty (Miller's revised tournament record - 12-7, .632)
Only coaches with 1 or more wins listed here.
As of March 16, 2024
All-time records by seed
As of March 16, 2024
Seed
Record
Winning Pct
Championships
1
51–16*
(.761)
10
2
39–20*
(.661)
6
3
29–22
(.569)
3
4
26–25**
(.510)
1
5
23–24
(.489)
2
6
25–24
(.510)
3
7
20–27
(.426)
0
8
16–26
(.381)
0
9
11–23
(.324)
0
10
7–21
(.250)
0
11
2–12
(.143)
0
12
1–12
(.077)
0
*Arizona vacated all wins & titles from 2017, 2018 due to NCAA penalty
**USC vacated its win vs. ASU in the 2009 Pac-10 Tournament.[23]
Pac-12 Tournament records
Pac-12 Tournament team records
Margin of victory: 33 pts., Oregon (vs. Washington State), (84–51), Mar. 13, 2019 & Utah (vs. Arizona State), (90–57), Mar. 13, 2024
Most points per game: 103 USC, (vs. Stanford) (78), Mar. 7, 2002
Fewest points per game: 39 Utah vs. Arizona, Mar. 13, 2014
Most points per half: 59 ARIZ vs. OSU (21), Mar. 12, 2008 (1st); 59 ORE vs. COLO (48), Mar. 12, 2015
Fewest points per half: 13 UTAH vs. ARIZ (34), Mar. 13, 2014
Most points per tournament: 278 Arizona, (3 games) Mar. 1988
Most field goals per game
Team: 39 UCLA, (vs. ASU) (39-of-71), Mar. 6, 1987
Both Teams: 70, UCLA (39) vs. ASU (31), Mar. 6, 1987;
Both Teams: 70, Arizona (37) vs. OSU (33), Mar. 11, 1989
Most field goal attempts per game
Team: 88, Arizona (vs. UCLA), Mar. 13, 2003 (33-of-88) (OT)
Both Teams, Game: 157, UCLA (69) vs. ARIZ (88), Mar. 13, 2003 (OT)
Highest Field Goals % per game: 68.3%, CAL vs. USC, Mar. 10, 1988 (28-of-41)
Most Assists Per Game: 23, ARIZ vs. OSU, Mar. 11, 1989
Most Steals Per Game: 14, USC vs. CAL, Mar. 14, 2003; 14, ASU vs. USC, Mar. 13, 2008;
14, UCLA vs. USC, Mar. 13, 2009
Most blocked shots per game: 9, ORE vs. WASH, Mar. 7, 2002
Most personal fouls per game (one team): 42, Oregon 42 (vs. UCLA) (1990)
Highest field goal percentage per game: .683, CAL vs. USC, Mar. 10, 1988 (28-of-41)
Lowest field goal percentage per game: .255 Utah vs. Arizona, Mar. 13, 2014 (12-of-47)
Pac-12 Tournament individual records
Most total points scored in:
Half: 25, Klay Thompson, Washington State vs. Washington, Mar. 10, 2011 (2nd)
Game: 43, Klay Thompson, Washington State vs. Washington, Mar. 10, 2011
Game: 100%, Bryce Taylor, Oregon vs. USC, Mar. 10, 2007 (7-of-7)
Most total rebounds per :
Game: 20 Leon Powe, California vs. USC, Mar. 9, 2006
Tournament: 41 André Roberson, Colorado, 2012 (4 games);
Most steals per :
Game: 7 James Harden, Arizona State vs. USC, Mar. 13, 2008
Tournament: 10 Jordan McLaughlin, USC, 2018 (3 games)
Most blocks per:
Game: 6 Josh Huestis, Stanford vs. Arizona State, Mar. 13, 2013; Malik Dime, Washington vs. USC, Mar. 8, 2017; Francis Okoro, Oregon vs. Utah, March 14, 2019; Oumar Ballo, Arizona vs. UCLA, March 12, 2022
