1997 West Coast Conference men's basketball tournament

1997 West Coast Conference men's basketball tournament
ClassificationDivision I
Season1996–97
Teams8
SiteGersten Pavilion
Los Angeles, California
ChampionsSaint Mary's (1st title)
Winning coachErnie Kent (1st title)
MVPBrad Millard (Saint Mary's)
← 1996
1998 →
1996–97 West Coast Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Santa Clara 10 – 4   .714 16 – 11   .593
Saint Mary's † 10 – 4   .714 23 – 8   .742
San Francisco 9 – 5   .643 16 – 13   .552
San Diego 8 – 6   .571 17 – 11   .607
Gonzaga 8 – 6   .571 15 – 12   .556
Portland 4 – 10   .286 9 – 18   .333
Pepperdine 4 – 10   .286 6 – 21   .222
Loyola Marymount 3 – 11   .214 7 – 21   .250
† 1997 WCC tournament winner
Rankings from AP poll

The 1997 West Coast Conference men's basketball tournament took place on March 1–3, 1997. All rounds were held in Los Angeles, California at the Gersten Pavilion.

The Saint Mary's Gaels won the WCC Tournament title[1] and an automatic bid to the 1997 NCAA tournament. Brad Millard of Saint Mary's was named Tournament MVP.

Also of note is that through the 2023 edition, this was the last WCC men's tournament in which Gonzaga did not make the final.

Format

With eight teams participating, all eight teams were placed into the first round, with teams seeded and paired based on regular-season records. After the first round, teams were re-seeded so the highest-remaining team was paired with the lowest-remaining time in one semifinal with the other two teams slotted into the other semifinal.

Bracket

Quarterfinals
Saturday, March 1 		Semifinals
Sunday, March 2 		Finals
Monday, March 3
         
1 Santa Clara 61
8 Loyola Marymount 70
3 San Francisco 64
5 San Diego 61
4 Gonzaga 59
5 San Diego 64
3 San Francisco 59
(Pairings are reseeded after the first round)
2 Saint Mary's 66
3 San Francisco 78
6 Portland 66
8 Loyola Marymount 62
2 Saint Mary's 80
2 Saint Mary's 85
7 Pepperdine 69

References

  1. ^ "1996-97 West Coast Conference Season Summary". Sports Reference. Retrieved February 13, 2022.