Pac-12 men's basketball tournament to feature top Las Vegas entertainment

This week’s Pac-12 Men’s Basketball Tournament Presented by New York Life will feature some of Las Vegas’ top entertainment acts, the Conference announced today. Included in the line-up are iconic performers from Las Vegas shows like Rock of Ages, Jersey Boys, Fantasy, and Zarkana by Cirque du Soleil.

The Pac-12 Men’s Basketball Tournament will be played Wednesday-Saturday, March 9-12, 2016, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. The tournament features 11 games over four intense days. Last year, Arizona captured the title in an exciting atmosphere as thousands of fans witnessed competitive games played by some of the best college basketball teams in the country. There are currently four Pac-12 teams ranked among the top-25 teams in the nation:  No. 8 Oregon, No. 12 Utah, No. 15 Arizona, and No. 24 California. 

A major benefit to playing the tournament in Las Vegas is access to first-rate entertainment. Throughout the tournament sessions, many of the most popular and acclaimed Las Vegas entertainment acts are scheduled to perform national anthems and halftime acts.

Zarkana by Cirque du Soleil will perform the national anthem of the Pac-12 Championship game on Saturday. Other acts making appearances throughout the tournament include Duo Resonance, Terry Fator, Sean and John Scott, Frankie Moreno, Jax and Rayvon Owen from American Idol, and the Australian Bee Gees. 

Entertainment highlights include (subject to change):

Wednesday, March 9

Session 1

Game 1 (Noon PT): Anne from Fantasy (National Anthem) and Flippin Out (Halftime)

Game 2 (2:30 p.m. PT): Australian Bee Gees (Halftime)

Session 2

Game 3 (6:00 p.m. PT): Graham Fenton from Jersey Boys (National Anthem) and Frankie Moreno (Halftime)

Game 4 (8:30 p.m. PT): Peter Rabbit (Halftime)

Thursday, March 10

Session 3 

Game 5 (Noon PT): Terry Fator from America’s Got Talent (National Anthem) and Jax from American Idol (Halftime)

Game 6 (2:30 p.m. PT): Sean and John Scott, Tap Dancing Twins (Halftime)

Session 4

Game 7 (6 p.m. PT): Rayvon Owen (National Anthem and Halftime)

Game 8 (8:30 p.m. PT): Sky Dunk (Halftime)

Friday, March 11 (Semifinals)

Session 5

Game 9 (6 p.m. PT): Becca Kotte from Rock of Ages (National Anthem) and Kelly Levesque (Halftime)

Game 10 (8:30 p.m. PT): Duo Resonance (Halftime)

Saturday, March 12 (Championship) 

Session 6 

Game 11 (7 p.m. PT): Zarkana by Cirque du Soleil (National Anthem) and Octavio and Russian Bar Trio (Halftime)