1997 West Coast Conference men's basketball tournament

The 1997 West Coast Conference men's basketball tournament took place on March 1–3, 1997. All rounds were held in Los Angeles, California at the Gersten Pavilion.

1997 West Coast Conference men's basketball tournament
Classification	Division I
Season	1996–97
Teams	8
Site	Gersten Pavilion Los Angeles, California
Champions	Saint Mary's (1st title)
Winning coach	Ernie Kent (1st title)
MVP	Brad Millard (Saint Mary's)
West Coast Conference men's basketball tournaments

1996–97 West Coast Conference men's basketball standings

	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
Santa Clara	10	–	4		.714			16	–	11		.593
Saint Mary's †	10	–	4		.714			23	–	8		.742
San Francisco	9	–	5		.643			16	–	13		.552
San Diego	8	–	6		.571			17	–	11		.607
Gonzaga	8	–	6		.571			15	–	12		.556
Portland	4	–	10		.286			9	–	18		.333
Pepperdine	4	–	10		.286			6	–	21		.222
Loyola Marymount	3	–	11		.214			7	–	21		.250
† 1997 WCC tournament winner Rankings from AP poll

The Saint Mary's Gaels won the WCC Tournament title and an automatic bid to the 1997 NCAA tournament. Brad Millard of Saint Mary's was named Tournament MVP.

Also of note is that through the 2023 edition, this was the last WCC men's tournament in which Gonzaga did not make the final.

Format

With eight teams participating, all eight teams were placed into the first round, with teams seeded and paired based on regular-season records. After the first round, teams were re-seeded so the highest-remaining team was paired with the lowest-remaining time in one semifinal with the other two teams slotted into the other semifinal.

Bracket

	Quarterfinals Saturday, March 1					Semifinals Sunday, March 2					Finals Monday, March 3
	1	Santa Clara	61
	8	Loyola Marymount	70
						3	San Francisco	64
						5	San Diego	61
	4	Gonzaga	59
	5	San Diego	64
											3	San Francisco	59
	(Pairings are reseeded after the first round)
											2	Saint Mary's	66
	3	San Francisco	78
	6	Portland	66
						8	Loyola Marymount	62
						2	Saint Mary's	80
	2	Saint Mary's	85
	7	Pepperdine	69