The West Coast Conference men’s basketball tournament starts Thursday night, with the first round matchups starting a five-day journey in Las Vegas.
Things have become a little more interesting than they were just a few days ago, with No. 23 Saint Mary’s taking down No. 1 Gonzaga in the final regular-season game, handing the Bulldogs their first conference loss.
Luckily for those two teams, the tournament format will lean heavily in their favor. In one of the most rare formats of any conference, both Gonzaga, the No. 1 seed, and Saint Mary’s, the No. 2 seed, will get three rounds off, as they automatically qualify for the semi-finals.
Both of those teams are in March Madness no matter their performance in this tournament. San Francisco, on the other hand, is right on the edge.
Led by Jamaree Bouyea and his 17 PPG, they might need to win their quarterfinal matchup in order to make the tournament. That opponent may be BYU, who could also fight their way into the tournament. The Cougars split the season series with the Dons, so this will be a hard-fought matchup if it happens, with a ticket to the Round of 64 on the line.
The sleeper team people seem to be forgetting in this tournament is Santa Clara. Now, a lot of people will be sleeping on everyone but Gonzaga, who has won the tournament eight of the last nine years.
Sitting at 10-5 in conference play, Santa Clara will be the 3 seed, and they have four players who average double-digit points per game, with Junior Jalen Williams leading the way, scoring over 15 points in each of their past three games.
Not many media outlets have mentioned them, but the Broncos already beat Saint Mary’s earlier in February, and if they are able to win one game, that’s who they’ll meet in the semifinals. This team has a good chance to make the finals and give Gonzaga a run for their money, but that might be as far as they can go.
Every year, I look at this tournament and think of a way that Gonzaga could possibly lose. They did in 2018 to Saint Mary’s, but other than that, they’ve been impossible to catch off guard or outplay. And honestly, Saint Mary’s win over Gonzaga almost makes me more confident in the Bulldogs.
A loss might be just what they needed heading into March, and if they meet Saint Mary’s in the finals, they’ll be looking for revenge.
Drew Timme had an off game in their loss to Saint Mary’s, but he has been on fire, scoring over 20 points in 3 of their last 5 games.
Freshman Chet Holmgren will be a big piece for their run in March, averaging 14.4 PPG and an important 9.7 RPG.
Gonzaga is No. 1 in the nation when it comes to scoring, averaging 88.3 PPG. They’re lethal from every spot on the court, and there’s no one in this conference that can beat the Bulldogs playing their best game. Saint Mary’s found a way to do it at home, where they were undefeated all season just like Gonzaga. Finding a way to do it at a neutral site is going to be tough, as they are only 6-4 on the road.
None of the team’s end goal is to beat Gonzaga though, they’re just trying to get far enough to see themselves on Selection Sunday. The question will be what team that is, and it could very well be San Francisco, BYU, Santa Clara, or maybe even none of them.
Watch the tournament from March 3-8 on the WCC Network for the first two rounds, and then ESPN 2 and ESPN for the quarterfinals and on.