| 2021 Pac-12 Conference men's basketball tournament | |
|---|---|
| Classification | Division I |
| Season | 2020–21 |
| Teams | 11 |
| Site | T-Mobile Arena Paradise, Nevada |
| Champions | Oregon State Beavers (1st title) |
| Winning coach | Wayne Tinkle (1st title) |
| MVP | Warith Alatishe (Oregon State) |
| Top scorer | Alonzo Verge Jr. (Arizona State) (54 points) |
| Television | Pac-12 Network ESPN |
| Pac-12 Conference men's basketball tournaments← 20202022 → | |
| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Team | W | L | PCT | W | L | PCT | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 17 Oregon | 14 | – | 4 | .778 | 21 | – | 7 | .750 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 9 USC | 15 | – | 5 | .750 | 25 | – | 8 | .758 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 23 Colorado | 14 | – | 6 | .700 | 23 | – | 9 | .719 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 7 UCLA | 13 | – | 6 | .684 | 22 | – | 10 | .688 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Arizona* | 11 | – | 9 | .550 | 17 | – | 9 | .654 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 20 Oregon State † | 10 | – | 10 | .500 | 20 | – | 13 | .606 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Stanford | 10 | – | 10 | .500 | 14 | – | 13 | .519 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Utah | 8 | – | 11 | .421 | 12 | – | 13 | .480 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Arizona State | 7 | – | 10 | .412 | 11 | – | 14 | .440 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Washington State | 7 | – | 12 | .368 | 14 | – | 13 | .519 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Washington | 4 | – | 16 | .200 | 5 | – | 21 | .192 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| California | 3 | – | 17 | .150 | 9 | – | 20 | .310 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| *Ineligible for the conference and NCAA tournaments due to self-imposed postseason ban. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| † Conference tournament winner Rankings from AP poll | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The 2021 Pac-12 Conference men's basketball tournament was a postseason men's basketball tournament for the Pac-12 Conference, which was played March 10–13, 2021, at T-Mobile Arena on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. The winner was Oregon State, which was the first for the Beavers in the history of the tournament. They received the conference's automatic bid to the 2021 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament. The 2020 Tournament had been cancelled after the first round due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The 2021 tournament was played, but with only family of student-athletes as spectators in attendance.
Seeds
Eleven of the 12 Pac-12 teams competed in the tournament. The Arizona Wildcats did not compete in the tournament; the university self-imposed a postseason ban for the 2020-21 season due to ongoing NCAA investigations into corruption within the program. Teams were seeded by record within the conference, with tiebreakers in place to seed teams with identical conference records. The top five teams received a bye to the quarterfinals.
| Seed | School | Conference | Overall | Tiebreak 1 | Tiebreak 2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oregon†# | 14–4 | 19–5 | ||
| 2 | USC# | 15–5 | 21–6 | ||
| 3 | Colorado# | 14–6 | 20–7 | ||
| 4 | UCLA# | 13–6 | 17–8 | ||
| 5 | Oregon State# | 10–10 | 14–12 | 1–1 vs. Stanford | 1–1 vs. Oregon |
| 6 | Stanford | 10–10 | 14–12 | 1–1 vs. Oregon State | 0–2 vs. Oregon |
| 7 | Utah | 8–11 | 11–12 | ||
| 8 | Arizona State | 7–10 | 10–13 | ||
| 9 | Washington State | 7–12 | 14–12 | ||
| 10 | Washington | 4–16 | 5–20 | ||
| 11 | California | 3–17 | 8–19 | ||
| † – Pac-12 Conference regular season champions # – Received a first round bye in the conference tournament. | |||||
Schedule
| Game | Time | Matchup | Score | Television | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First round – Wednesday, March 10 | |||||
| 1 | 1:00 pm | No. 8 Arizona State vs. No. 9 Washington State | 64–59 | Pac-12 Network | N/A^ |
| 2 | 4:00 pm | No. 7 Utah vs. No. 10 Washington | 98–95 | ||
| 3 | 7:00 pm | No. 6 Stanford vs. No. 11 California | 58–76 | ||
| Quarterfinals – Thursday, March 11 | |||||
| 4 | 11:30 am | No. 1 Oregon vs. No. 8 Arizona State | 91–73 | Pac-12 Network | N/A |
| 5 | 2:30 pm | No. 4 UCLA vs. No. 5 Oregon State | 79–83 | ||
| 6 | 5:30 pm | No. 2 USC vs. No. 7 Utah | 91–85 | N/A | |
| 7 | 8:30 pm | No. 3 Colorado vs. No. 11 California | 61–58 | ESPN | |
| Semifinals – Friday, March 12 | |||||
| 8 | 5:30 pm | No. 1 Oregon vs. No. 5 Oregon State | 64–75 | Pac-12 Network | N/A |
| 9 | 8:30 pm | No. 2 USC vs. No. 3 Colorado | 70–72 | ESPN | |
| Championship – Saturday, March 13 | |||||
| 10 | 7:30 pm | No. 3 Colorado vs. No. 5 Oregon State | 68–70 | ESPN | N/A |
| Game times in PT. Rankings denote tournament seed. | |||||
^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.
Bracket
| First round Wednesday, March 10 | Quarterfinals Thursday, March 11 | Semifinals Friday, March 12 | Championship Saturday, March 13 | ||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Oregon | 91 | |||||||||||||||||
| 8 | Arizona State | 73 | |||||||||||||||||
| 8 | Arizona State | 64 | |||||||||||||||||
| 9 | Washington State | 59 | |||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Oregon | 64 | |||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Oregon State | 75 | |||||||||||||||||
| 4 | UCLA | 79 | |||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Oregon State | 83* | |||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Oregon State | 70 | |||||||||||||||||
| 3 | #23 Colorado | 68 | |||||||||||||||||
| 2 | #24 USC | 91** | |||||||||||||||||
| 7 | Utah | 85 | |||||||||||||||||
| 7 | Utah | 98 | |||||||||||||||||
| 10 | Washington | 95 | |||||||||||||||||
| 2 | #24 USC | 70 | |||||||||||||||||
| 3 | #23 Colorado | 72 | |||||||||||||||||
| 3 | #23 Colorado | 61 | |||||||||||||||||
| 11 | California | 58 | |||||||||||||||||
| 6 | Stanford | 58 | |||||||||||||||||
| 11 | California | 76 | |||||||||||||||||
* denotes overtime period ** denotes double overtime period
Game statistics
First round
| Pac-12 Network |
| March 10 1:00 pm PST |
| No. 8 Arizona State 64, No. 9 Washington State 59 | ||
| Scoring by half: 25-24, 39-35 | ||
| Pts: Verge Jr., 26 Rebs: 3 tied, 6 Asts: House, 6 |
Pts: Bonton, 19 Rebs: Kunc, 9 Asts: 2 tied, 4 | |
| T-Mobile Arena Paradise, NV Referees: Chris Rastatter, Deldre Carr, Greg Nixon |
| Pac-12 Network |
| March 10 4:00 pm PST |
| No. 7 Utah 98, No. 10 Washington 95 | ||
| Scoring by half: 47-35, 51-60 | ||
| Pts: Allen, 24 Rebs: Allen, 11 Asts: 2 tied, 4 |
Pts: Green, 31 Rebs: 2 tied, 6 Asts: Green, 7 | |
| T-Mobile Arena Paradise, NV Referees: Tony Padilla, Michael Irving, Michael Greenstein |
| Pac-12 Network |
| March 10 7:00 pm PST |
| No. 6 Stanford 58, No. 11 California 76 | ||
| Scoring by half: 29-35, 29-41 | ||
| Pts: Delaire, 14 Rebs: Kisunas, 7 Asts: O'Connell, 3 |
Pts: Bradley, 19 Rebs: Kelly, 9 Asts: Bradley, 6 | |
| T-Mobile Arena Paradise, NV Referees: Randy McCall, Verne Harris, Mike Reed |
Quarterfinals
| Pac-12 Network |
| March 11 11:30 am PST |
| No. 1 Oregon 91, No. 8 Arizona State 73 | ||
| Scoring by half: 35-27, 56-46 | ||
| Pts: Verge Jr., 28 Rebs: Verge Jr., 8 Asts: Martin, 5 |
Pts: Figueroa, 21 Rebs: Richardson, 7 Asts: Richardson, 9 | |
| T-Mobile Arena Paradise, NV Referees: Mike Reed, Michael Irving, Kevin Brill |
| Pac-12 Network |
| March 11 2:30 pm PST |
| No. 4 UCLA 79, No. 5 Oregon State 83 (OT) | ||
| Scoring by half: 34-24, 36-46 Overtime: 9-13 | ||
| Pts: Bernard, 19 Rebs: Bernard, 10 Asts: Campbell, 5 |
Pts: Alatishe, 22 Rebs: 2 tied, 10 Asts: Hunt, 5 | |
| T-Mobile Arena Paradise, NV Referees: Randy McCall, Michael Greenstein, Mike Scyphers |
| Pac-12 Network |
| March 11 5:30 pm PST |
| No. 2 USC 91, No. 7 Utah 85 (OT) | ||
| Scoring by half: 34-29, 37-42 Overtime: 20-14 | ||
| Pts: E. Mobley, 26 Rebs: E. Mobley, 9 Asts: 2 tied, 3 |
Pts: Allen, 20 Rebs: Allen, 13 Asts: Allen, 3 | |
| T-Mobile Arena Paradise, NV Referees: Chris Rastatter, Verne Harris, Frank Harvey III |
| ESPN |
| March 11 8:30 pm PST |
| No. 3 Colorado 61, No. 11 California 58 | ||
| Scoring by half: 24-20, 37-38 | ||
| Pts: Battey, 15 Rebs: Walker, 6 Asts: Wright IV, 3 |
Pts: Anticevich, 11 Rebs: Anticevich, 6 Asts: Brown, 4 | |
| T-Mobile Arena Paradise, NV Referees: Tony Padilla, Deldre Carr, Greg Nixon |
Semifinals
| Pac-12 Network |
| March 12 5:30 pm PST |
| No. 1 Oregon 64, No. 5 Oregon State 75 | ||
| Scoring by half: 28-38, 36-37 | ||
| Pts: Thompson, 16 Rebs: Alatishe, 12 Asts: 2 tied, 4 |
Pts: 3 tied, 14 Rebs: Richardson, 7 Asts: Richardson, 6 | |
| T-Mobile Arena Paradise, NV Referees: Verne Harris, Tony Padilla, Chris Rastatter |
| ESPN |
| March 12 8:30 pm PST |
| No. 2 USC 70, No. 3 Colorado 72 | ||
| Scoring by half: 30-39, 40-33 | ||
| Pts: E. Mobley, 26 Rebs: E. Mobley, 9 Asts: Eaddy, 5 |
Pts: Wright IV, 24 Rebs: Horne, 7 Asts: Wright IV, 4 | |
| T-Mobile Arena Paradise, NV Referees: Mike Reed, Deldre Carr, Michael Greenstein |
Championship
| ESPN |
| March 13 7:30 pm PST |
| No. 5 Oregon State 70, No. 3 Colorado 68 | ||
| Scoring by half: 33-28, 37-40 | ||
| Pts: Calloo, 15 Rebs: Alatishe, 7 Asts: Thompson, 4 |
Pts: Wright IV, 18 Rebs: Battey, 8 Asts: Wright IV, 7 | |
| T-Mobile Arena Paradise, NV Referees: Verne Harris, Tony Padilla, Chris Rastatter |
Awards and honors
Team and tournament leaders
| Team | Points | Rebounds | Assists | Steals | Blocks | Minutes | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arizona | — | ― | ― | ― | ― | ― | ― | ― | ― | ― | ― | ― |
| Arizona State | Verge Jr. | 54 | Verge Jr. | 14 | 2 tied | 7 | House | 6 | 3 tied | 1 | Martin | 72 |
| California | Bradley | 29 | 2 tied | 11 | Brown | 7 | 2 tied | 2 | Kelly | 2 | Bradley | 67 |
| Colorado | Wright IV | 52 | Battey | 19 | Wright IV | 14 | 5 tied | 2 | Walton | 2 | Wright IV | 103 |
| Oregon | Figueroa | 35 | Richardson | 14 | Richardson | 15 | Omoruyi | 7 | 2 tied | 2 | Richardson | 75 |
| Oregon State | 2 tied | 42 | Alatishe | 29 | Thompson | 11 | Thompson | 4 | 2 tied | 2 | Lucas | 104 |
| Stanford | Delaire | 14 | Kisunas | 7 | O'Connell | 3 | Wills | 3 | 2 tied | 1 | Wills | 32 |
| UCLA | Bernard | 19 | Bernard | 10 | Campbell | 5 | Singleton | 2 | Riley | 3 | Campbell | 43 |
| USC | E. Mobley | 52 | E. Mobley | 18 | Eaddy | 8 | Eaddy | 3 | E. Mobley | 10 | 2 tied | 78 |
| Utah | Allen | 44 | Allen | 24 | Allen | 7 | Allen | 3 | 2 tied | 2 | Allen | 87 |
| Washington | Green | 31 | 2 tied | 6 | Green | 7 | Bajema | 3 | 2 tied | 1 | 2 tied | 37 |
| Washington State | Bonton | 19 | Kunc | 9 | 2 tied | 4 | Bonton | 2 | 3 tied | 1 | Bonton | 39 |
All-Tournament Team
| Name | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Warith Alatishe | F | 6'7" | 220 | Jr. | Oregon State |
| Evan Mobley | F | 7'0" | 210 | Fr. | USC |
| Evan Battey | F | 6'8" | 260 | Jr. | Colorado |
| McKinley Wright IV | G | 6'0" | 200 | Sr. | Colorado |
| Jared Lucas | G | 6'3" | 205 | So. | Oregon State |
| Ethan Thompson | G | 6'5" | 195 | Sr. | Oregon State |
Tournament notes
- Five teams were extended invitations to the 2021 NCAA tournament: Colorado, Oregon, Oregon State, UCLA, and USC. The five bids marks the most for the Conference since securing a record seven in 2015-16. Oregon State was not expected to be invited to the tournament, and changed the number of predicted bids of the Pac-12 from four to five. The team first out originally predicted in the field was Louisville.
- No teams from the Pac-12 were invited to the 2021 National Invitation Tournament, which was reduced in size.
- In the NCAA tournament, UCLA won the 11 seed play-in game, and then all five teams advanced to the round of 32 on the opening weekend. Four teams advanced to round of sixteen. Three teams advanced to the round of eight: Oregon State, UCLA, and USC. USC and Oregon played each other for the final Elite 8 spot. UCLA reached the Final Four as a 11-seed First Four team.
- Each win in the NCAA tournament by a conference team gains a payout "unit" for the conference over six years. The Pac-12 team wins in the 2021 tournament gained a record 19 units, which will cause almost US$40 million to be paid to the conference by 2027.
See also
References
- "Pac-12 Men's Basketball releases reorganized inaugural 20-game 2020-21 league schedule". pac-12.com. Archived from the original on October 31, 2020. Retrieved January 6, 2021.
- Curtis, Jake - Oregon State Pulls Off Another Upset, Wins Pac-12 Tournament Title - SI.COM (Sports Illustrated), March 14, 2021 Beavers, picked to finish last in Pac-12, top Colorado in championship game to earn NCAA tournament berth
- Mickanen, Dylan - Oregon State wins the Pac-12 Tournament for the first time in program history. NBC Sports, March 13, 2021
- Dashel, Nick - Oregon State Beavers narrowly beat Colorado to win Pac-12 tournament, earn automatic bid to NCAA Tournament. Portland Oregonian, March 13, 2021
- Newman, Josh - The Pac-12 is pushing ahead with its conference basketball tournaments. Is this a good idea?. Salt Lake Tribune. February 8, 2021
- Pac-12 update on attendance policy for 2021 Men's & Women's Basketball Tournaments. Pac-12 Conference, February 24, 2021
- "Arizona self-imposes one year postseason ban due to NCAA investigation following FBI bribery probe". CBSSports.com. Retrieved January 6, 2021.
- "Men's Basketball Standings". pac-12.com. Archived from the original on August 1, 2015. Retrieved January 6, 2021.
- Wilner, Jon - NCAA tournament best bets: Pac-12 sends five teams into the Madness. How many survive the first weekend?. San Jose Mercury News, March 18, 2021
- Pac-12 Men’s Basketball to send five teams to 2021 NCAA Tournament. Pac-12 Conference Digital Newsroom, March 14, 2021, San Francisco, CA
- Mast, Shelby and Scott Gleeson - NCAA Tournament bracketology: Final March Madness projection on Selection Sunday USA Today, March 14, 2021
- Kercheval, Ben - NCAA Tournament 2021: Michigan State, UCLA among last four in, Louisville among first four replacement teams - CBS Sports, March 14, 2021
- Sweeney, Kevin - Bracket Watch: Time Running Out Heading Into Regular Season's Final Weekend - SI.COM (Sports Illustrated) March 5, 2021
- Wilner, Jon - Saturday Night One: Pac-12 unbeaten through first round, in range of record-breaking NCAA cash haul. East Bay Times, March 20, 2021
- Forde, pat - The Pac-12's Unexpected Dominance Highlights an Endearingly Weird Men’s Sweet 16. March 23, 2021. Sports Illustrated
- Odom, Joel - Pac-12 will have 3 teams among the Elite Eight at the men’s NCAA Tournament. Portland Oregonian, March 28, 2021
- UCLA reaches Final Four to continue Pac-12 Men's Basketball's historic 2021 NCAA Tournament run. Pac-12 conference, March 30, 2021
- ^ Wilner, Jon - The Pac-12’s killer cash haul: UCLA win caps the most lucrative NCAA Tournament in conference history, San Jose Mercury News, March 31, 2021
| Pac-12 Conference men's basketball tournament | |
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| 2021 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournaments | |
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| Conference | |
| Postseason | |