# 2012 WAC men's basketball tournament

The 2012 WAC men's basketball tournament, was held March 7–10, 2012 at the Orleans Arena in Paradise, Nevada, United States to crown a champion of the Western Athletic Conference. The winner of the tournament received an automatic bid to the 2012 NCAA tournament. The 2012 Championship game was televised on ESPN2 at 9:00 pm Pacific Time.

## Format

With the departure of Boise State to the Mountain West Conference, WAC Commissioner Karl Benson announced during the basketball preseason teleconferences that the league would change its postseason basketball tournament to a regular quarterfinal format, getting rid of the double-bye format used in 2011. This format was to be used for 2012 only; the format was to be re-evaluated for 2013 after new five new teams came in and three schools departed for a total of 10 participating institutions in 2012–13.

## Schedule

| Session | Game | Time* | Matchup$^#$ | Television | Attendance |
| Quarterfinals – Thursday, March 8 ||||||
| 1 | 1 | 12:00 PM | #3 Idaho vs. #6 Hawaiʻi | WAC.tv | N/A |
| 1 | 2 | 2:30 PM | #2 New Mexico State vs. #7 Fresno State | WAC.tv | 1,902 |
| 2 | 3 | 6:00 PM | #1 Nevada vs. #8 San Jose State | WAC.tv | N/A |
| 2 | 4 | 8:30 PM | #4 Utah State vs. #5 Louisiana Tech | WAC.tv | 1,823 |
| Semifinals – Friday, March 9 ||||||
| 3 | 5 | 6:00 PM | #6 Hawaiʻi vs. #2 New Mexico State | WSN | N/A |
| 3 | 6 | 8:30 PM | #1 Nevada vs. #5 Louisiana Tech | WSN | 2,352 |
| Championship Game – Saturday, March 10 ||||||
| 4 | 7 | 9:00 PM | #2 New Mexico State vs. #5 Louisiana Tech | ESPN2 | 1,405 |
| *Game Times in PT . #-Rankings denote tournament seeding. ||||||

## Bracket

| Quarterfinals Thursday, March 8 | Quarterfinals Thursday, March 8 | Quarterfinals Thursday, March 8 | Semifinals Friday, March 9 | Semifinals Friday, March 9 | Semifinals Friday, March 9 | Championship Game Saturday, March 10 | Championship Game Saturday, March 10 | Championship Game Saturday, March 10 |
| 3 | Idaho | 70 | | | | | | |
| 6 | Hawaiʻi | 72 | | | | | | |
| 6 | Hawaiʻi | 72 | 6 | Hawaiʻi | 81 | | | |
| | | | 2 | New Mexico State | 92 | | | |
| 2 | New Mexico State | 65 | 2 | New Mexico State | 92 | | | |
| 7 | Fresno State | 49 | | | | | | |
| 7 | Fresno State | 49 | | | | 2 | New Mexico State | 82 |
| | | | | | | 5 | Louisiana Tech | 57 |
| 1 | Nevada | 54 | | | | | | | 5 | Louisiana Tech | 57 |
| 8 | San Jose State | 44 | | | | | | |
| 8 | San Jose State | 44 | 1 | Nevada | 73 | | | |
| | | | 5 | Louisiana Tech | 78 | | | |
| 4 | Utah State | 70 | 5 | Louisiana Tech | 78 | | | |
| 5 | Louisiana Tech | 72 | | | | | | |

## Game summaries

* WAC.tv
* Mar 8 12:00 pm
* Recap
Idaho Vandals 70, Hawaiʻi Rainbow Warriors 72 :
| Scoring by half: 28–42, 35–37 |||
| Pts: Kyle Barone 19 Rebs: Djim Bandoumel 16 Asts: Landon Tatum 4 | Pts: Vander Joaquim 20 Rebs: Vander Joaquim 13 Asts: Jeremiah Ostrowski 9 |
* Orleans Arena Las Vegas, NV Attendance: N/A Referees: David Hall, Mike Giarratano, D.G. Nelson
* WAC.tv
* Mar 8 2:30 pm
* Recap
New Mexico State Aggies 65, Fresno State Bulldogs 49 :
| Scoring by half: 25–40, 30–40 |||
| Pts: Wendell McKines 15 Rebs: Wendell McKines 13 Asts: Hernst Laroche 3 | Pts: Kevin Foster 14 Rebs: Tyler Johnson 7 Asts: Steven Shepp 3 |
* Orleans Arena Las Vegas, NV Attendance: 1,902 Referees: Winston Stith, Doran Gotschall, Jimmy Casas
* WAC.tv
* Mar 8 6:00 pm
* Recap
Nevada Wolf Pack 54, San Jose State Spartans 44 :
| Scoring by half: 13–14, 41–30 |||
| Pts: Deonte Burton 16 Rebs: 2 tied with 8 Asts: 2 tied with 3 | Pts: Wil Carter 18 Rebs: 2 tied with 7 Asts: Keith Shamburger 5 |
* Orleans Arena Las Vegas, NV Attendance: N/A Referees: Rick Batsell, Bobby Vetkoetter, Duane Allen
* WAC.tv
* Mar 8 8:30 pm
* Recap
Utah State Aggies 70, Louisiana Tech Bulldogs 72 :
| Scoring by half: 32–35, 38–37 |||
| Pts: Danny Berger 17 Rebs: Ben Clifford 6 Asts: Preston Medlin 8 | Pts: 2 tied with 16 Rebs: 2 tied with 7 Asts: Trevor Gaskins 5 |
* Orleans Arena Las Vegas, NV Attendance: 1,823 Referees: Ronnie Hernandez, Ruben Ramos, Martin Cota
* WSN
* Mar 9 6:00 pm
* Recap
New Mexico State Aggies 92, Hawaiʻi Rainbow Warriors 81 :
| Scoring by half: 47–38, 45–43 |||
| Pts: Wendell McKines 22 Rebs: Daniel Mullings 10 Asts: 2 tied with 6 | Pts: Shaquille Stokes 21 Rebs: Vander Joaquim 5 Asts: Jeremiah Ostrowski 13 |
* Orleans Arena Las Vegas, NV Attendance: N/A Referees: Verne Harris, Bob Staffen, Rick Batsell
* WSN
* Mar 9 8:30 pm
* Recap
Nevada Wolf Pack 73, Louisiana Tech Bulldogs 78 :
| Scoring by half: 39–42, 34–36 |||
| Pts: Malik Story 21 Rebs: Dario Hunt 10 Asts: Deonte Burton 5 | Pts: Trevor Gaskins 21 Rebs: 2 tied with 5 Asts: Trevor Gaskins 4 |
* Orleans Arena Las Vegas, NV Attendance: 2,352 Referees: Randy McCall, Ronnie Hernandez, Doran Gotschall
* ESPN2
* Mar 10 9:00 pm
* Recap
New Mexico State Aggies 82, Louisiana Tech Bulldogs 57 :
| Scoring by half: 38–20, 44–37 |||
| Pts: Wendell McKines 27 Rebs: Wendell McKines 14 Asts: Hernst Laroache 6 | Pts: Trevor Gaskins 24 Rebs: Brandon Gibson 7 Asts: Kenneth Smith 2 |
* Orleans Arena Las Vegas, NV Attendance: 1,405 Referees: Scott Thornley, Mike Littlewood, Bob Staffen