Adam Zagoria covers basketball at all levels. He is the author of two books and an award-winning journalist whose articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sheridan Hoops, Sports Illustrated, Basketball Times and in newspapers nationwide.
The bracket for the 2021 Pac-12 Men’s Basketball Tournament presented by New York Life is set with regular-season champion OREGON claiming the No. 1 seed. The 24th edition is slated to tip off this Wednesday, March 10 for its fifth year at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
🚨 UPDATE 🚨: The 2021 Men's #Pac12Hoops Tournament bracket is SET!!!
OREGON claimed its second consecutive regular-season title by virtue of finishing with the Conference’s best winning percentage (14-4, .778). The Ducks have now earned at least a share of four the last six league regular-season titles, including their third No. 1 seed in that span.
USC (15-5, .750) finished as runner-up and will be the No. 2 seed, with No. 3 seed COLORADO (14-6, .700), No. 4 seed UCLA (13-6, .684) and No. 5 seed OREGON STATE (10-10, .500) also earning first-round byes. The Beavers edged STANFORD (10-10, .500) for the final bye by virtue of their prior victory over the top-seeded Ducks.
With 11 teams eligible to participate in the 2021 tournament, the event format has been adjusted to 10 total games featuring three First Round contests on Wednesday, March 10 followed by four Quarterfinal games on Thursday, March 11, a pair of Semifinals on Friday, March 12, and the Championship on Saturday, March 13.
The top five seeds will receive First Round byes in the updated bracket, with the No. 4 and No. 5 seeds slated to meet in Thursday’s second Quarterfinal.
Additionally, tip-off times have been adjusted to allow for improved testing protocols and adequate sanitization between games.
In the event that one or more teams are unable to compete in the Tournament, the Tournament bracket will be modified and teams will be reseeded. All changes to the bracket and reseeding must be made no later than 11:30 a.m. PT on Tuesday, March 9. If a team must withdraw from the Tournament after 11:30 a.m. PT on Tuesday, March 9, the bracket will not be modified, and the opponent of the team will receive a bye into the next round of the Tournament.
2021 Pac-12 Men’s Basketball Tournament presented by New York Life T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, Nev.
Wednesday, March 10 Game 1: No. 8 ARIZONA STATE vs. No. 9 WASHINGTON STATE, 1:00 p.m. PT – PAC12 Game 2: No. 7 UTAH vs. No. 10 WASHINGTON, 4:00 p.m. PT* – PAC12 Game 3: No. 6 STANFORD vs. No. 11 CALIFORNIA, 7:00 p.m. PT* – PAC12
Thursday, March 11 Game 4: No. 1 OREGON vs. Game 1 winner, 11:30 a.m. PT – PAC12 Game 5: No. 4 UCLA vs. No. 5 OREGON STATE, 2:30 p.m. PT* – PAC12 Game 6: No. 2 USC vs. Game 2 winner, 5:30 p.m. PT* – PAC12 Game 7: No. 3 COLORADO vs. Game 3 winner, 8:30 p.m. PT* – ESPN
Friday, March 12 Game 8: Semifinal 1, 5:30 p.m. PT – PAC12 Game 9: Semifinal 2, 8:30 p.m. PT* – ESPN
Saturday, March 13 Game 10: Championship, 7:30 p.m. PT – ESPN
Adam Zagoria is a Basketball Insider who covers basketball at all levels. A contributor to The New York Times and SportsNet New York (SNY), he is also the author of two books and is an award-winning journalist and filmmaker. His articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sheridan Hoops, Basketball Times and in newspapers nationwide. He also won an Emmy award for his work on the SNY mini-documentary on Syracuse guard Tyus Battle.
A veteran Ultimate Frisbee player, he has competed in numerous National and World Championships and, perhaps more importantly, his teams won the Westchester Summer League (WSL) championships in 2011 and 2013.
He lives in Manhattan with his wife and children.
