Great Northwest Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Tournament
The Great Northwest Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Tournament is the annual conference basketball championship tournament for the Great Northwest Athletic Conference. The tournament has been held annually since 2011. It is a single-elimination tournament and seeding is based on regular season records.[1]
| Great Northwest Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Tournament | |
|---|---|
| Conference Basketball Championship | |
| Sport | Basketball |
| Conference | Great Northwest Athletic Conference |
| Number of teams | 6 |
| Format | Single-elimination tournament |
| Current stadium | Sam Carver Gymnasium |
| Current location | Bellingham, Washington |
| Played | 2011–present |
| Current champion | Western Washington (2nd) |
| Most championships | Seattle Pacific (4) |
| Official website | GNAC men's basketball |
| Host stadiums | |
| Royal Brougham Pavilion (2020) Sam Carver Gymnasium (2019) Alaska Airlines Center(2018) Marcus Pavilion (2012–2017) | |
| Host locations | |
| Seattle, Washington (2020) Bellingham, Washington (2019) Anchorage, AK (2018) Lacey, WA (2012–2017) | |
The winner, declared conference champion, receives the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Men's Division II Basketball Championship.
Tournament format
Since its establishment in 2011, the GNAC tournament began as an 8-team tournament but has since decreased in size to six teams. The eight-team tournament, played during 2011 and 2012, featured all teams contesting the initial quarterfinal. Meanwhile, the six-team tournament, played since 2013, gave the two top-seeded teams a bye into the semifinals while the remaining teams played in the preliminary quarterfinal round.
Aside from the inaugural tournament in 2011 which was played only on team campuses, the remaining tournaments have been played at Marcus Pavilion on the campus of Saint Martin's University in Lacey, Washington.
Results
| Year | Champions | Score | Runner-Up | MVP | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Central Washington | 83–71 | Alaska Anchorage | Jamar Berry, Central Washington | Nicholson Pavilion (Ellensburg, WA) |
| 2012 | Montana State Billings | 74–70 | Alaska Anchorage | Robert Mayes, Montana State Billings | Marcus Pavilion (Lacey, WA) |
| 2013 | Seattle Pacific | 72–70 | Western Washington | David Downs, Seattle Pacific | Marcus Pavilion (Lacey, WA) |
| 2014 | Seattle Pacific | 65–62 | Western Washington | David Downs (2), Seattle Pacific | Marcus Pavilion (Lacey, WA) |
| 2015 | Seattle Pacific | 81–68 | Western Washington | Cory Hutsen, Seattle Pacific | Alterowitz Gymnasium (Billings, MT) |
| 2016 | Western Oregon | 78–71 | Alaska | Devon Alexander, Western Oregon | Marcus Pavilion (Lacey, WA) |
| 2017 | Western Washington | 71–69 | Western Oregon | Taylor Stafford, Western Washington | Marcus Pavilion (Lacey, WA) |
| 2018 | Western Oregon | 65–55 | Saint Martin's | Vince Boumann, Western Oregon | Alaska Airlines Center (Anchorage, AK) |
| 2019 | Seattle Pacific | 78-66 | Western Oregon | Coleman Wooten, Seattle Pacific | Sam Carver Gymnasium (Bellingham, Washington) |
| 2020 | Western Washington | 81–78 | Alaska Anchorage | Trevor Jasinsky, Western Washington | Royal Brougham Pavilion (Seattle, Washington) |
Championship records
| School | Finals Record | Finals Appearances | Years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seattle Pacific | 4–0 | 4 | 2013, 2014, 2015, 2019 |
| Western Oregon | 2–2 | 4 | 2016, 2018 |
| Western Washington | 2–3 | 5 | 2017, 2020 |
| Montana State Billings | 1–0 | 1 | 2012 |
| Central Washington | 1–0 | 1 | 2011 |
| Alaska Anchorage | 0–3 | 3 | |
| Alaska | 0–1 | 1 | |
| Saint Martin's | 0–1 | 1 |
- Concordia (OR), Northwest Nazarene, and Simon Fraser have not yet qualified for the finals of the tournament.
References
- "GNAC Men's Basketball Tournament History" (PDF). Year-by-year records. GNAC. 2016. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 4, 2016. Retrieved February 22, 2016.