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 an ...

) 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 co ...

Anaheim, California Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, United States, part of the Greater Los Angeles area. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orang ...

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

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, United States. It is part of the California State University system. The university had a fall 2020 enrollment of 25,341 students. It offers 60 ba ...

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

UC Irvine UC may refer to: Education In the United States * University of California system * University of Charleston, West Virginia * University of Chicago, Illinois * University of Cincinnati, Ohio * Upsala College, East Orange, New Jersey (''defunct ...

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 1970s in Anaheim, California 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 College basketball tournaments in California Basketball competitions in Anaheim, California