1988 Southwest Conference men's basketball tournament

The 1988 Southwest Conference men's basketball tournament was held March 11–13, 1988, at Reunion Arena in Dallas, Texas.^[1][2]

1988 Southwest Conference men's basketball tournament
Classification	Division I
Season	1987–88
Teams	8
Site	Reunion Arena Dallas, Texas
Champions	SMU (1st title)
Winning coach	Dave Bliss (1st title)
MVP	Micheal Williams (Baylor)
Southwest Conference men's basketball tournaments ← 1987 1989 →

1987–88 Southwest Conference men's basketball standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
SMU †	12	–	4		.750			28	–	7		.800
Arkansas	11	–	5		.688			21	–	9		.700
Baylor	11	–	5		.688			23	–	11		.676
Houston	10	–	6		.625			18	–	13		.581
Texas	10	–	6		.625			16	–	13		.552
Texas A&M	8	–	8		.500			16	–	15		.516
Texas Tech	4	–	12		.250			9	–	19		.321
TCU	3	–	13		.188			9	–	19		.321
Rice	3	–	13		.188			6	–	21		.222
† 1988 SWC tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll

Number 1 seed SMU defeated 2 seed Baylor 75-64 to win their 1st championship and receive the conference's automatic bid to the 1988 NCAA tournament.

Format and seeding

The tournament consisted of the top 8 teams playing in a single-elimination tournament. ^{[3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10]}

Place	Seed	Team	Conference			Overall
			W	L	%	W	L	%
1	1	SMU	12	4	.750	28	7	.800
2	2	Baylor	11	5	.688	23	11	.676
2	3	Arkansas	11	5	.688	21	9	.700
4	4	Texas	10	6	.625	16	13	.552
4	5	Houston	10	6	.625	18	13	.581
6	6	Texas A&M	8	8	.500	16	15	.516
7	7	Texas Tech	4	12	.250	9	19	.321
8	8	TCU	3	13	.188	9	19	.321
8	-	Rice	3	13	.188	6	21	.222

Tournament

	Quarterfinals Friday, March 11					Semifinals Saturday, March 12					Finals Sunday, March 13
	1	SMU	86
	8	TCU	84
						1	SMU	98
						5	Houston	76
	4	Texas	57
	5	Houston	72
											1	SMU	75
											2	Baylor	64
	3	Arkansas	76
	6	Texas A&M	64
						3	Arkansas	73
						2	Baylor	74
	2	Baylor	54
	7	Texas Tech	53