The 1978 Pacific Coast Athletic Association men's basketball tournament (now known as the

Big West Conference men's basketball tournament The Big West men's basketball tournament (formerly the Pacific Coast Athletic Association men's basketball tournament) is the conference championship tournament in basketball for the Big West Conference. It is a single-elimination tournament and ...

) was held March 2–4 at the

Anaheim Convention Center The Anaheim Convention Center is a major convention center in Anaheim, California and is the largest exhibition facility on the West Coast of the United States. It is located across from the Disneyland Resort on Katella Avenue. The original com ...

Anaheim, California Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orange County, the 10th-most p ...

Cal State Fullerton California State University, Fullerton (CSUF or Cal State Fullerton) is a public university in Fullerton, California. With a total enrollment of more than 41,000, it has the largest student body of the 23-campus California State University (CSU) ...

topped defending champions in the championship game, 64–53, to win its first PCAA/Big West men's basketball tournament. The Titans, in turn, received a bid to the 1978 NCAA tournament, where they advanced to the Elite Eight. It was CSUF's first Division I tournament appearance.

Format

The tournament field expanded again, this time increasing from six to seven teams (

Fresno State California State University, Fresno (Fresno State) is a public university in Fresno, California. It is one of 23 campuses in the California State University system. The university had a fall 2020 enrollment of 25,341 students. It offers bachelo ...

participated in its first PCAA tournament). Seven of the eight total PCAA members (newcomer

UC Irvine UC may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''University Challenge'', a popular British quiz programme airing on BBC Two ** '' University Challenge (New Zealand)'', the New Zealand version of the British programme * Universal Century, one of the ti ...

was not invited) qualified for the event and were seeded based on regular season conference records. The top team earned a bye into the semifinal round while the remaining six teams entered into the preliminary first round.

Bracket

References

{{1978 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament navbox Big West Conference men's basketball tournament 1977–78 Pacific Coast Athletic Association men's basketball season Pacific Coast Athletic Association men's basketball tournament Pacific Coast Athletic Association men's basketball tournament