For the last two decades, one team has dominated the West Coast Conference and that is Gonzaga. There have been times when it looked like St. Mary's may upstage the Bulldogs, including this year, but at the end of the season Gonzaga usually is on top. This dominance does not just extend to the WCC; Gonzaga has earned #1 seeds in the NCAA Tournament twice in the last five years and made a run to the National Championship game last year. While Gonzaga is down this year compared to last, they will still be a force to be reckoned with in the tournament.
The West Coast Conference has all ten teams in a four round tournament. The top six seeds received a bye to the quarterfinals. The entire tournament will be held in Orleans Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
First Round-Friday, March 2nd
#9 Portland vs. #8 Loyola-Marymount
#10 Pepperdine vs. #7 Santa Clara
Quarterfinals-Saturday, March 3rd
#9 Portland vs. #1 Gonzaga
#5 Pacific vs. #4 San Francisco
#7 Santa Clara vs. #2 St. Mary's
#6 San Diego vs. #3 BYU
Semifinals-Sunday, March 4th
#4 San Francisco vs. #1 Gonzaga
#3 BYU vs. #2 St. Mary's
Final-Monday, March 5th
The West Coast Conference is top heavy, with Gonzaga, St. Mary's, and BYU all finishing 1, 2, or 3 for a very long time. It doesn't appear that the other teams of the conference will be able to upstage, leaving the conference final the same as it has been for the last three years prior to this. With the same result as well.
St. Mary's 68, Gonzaga 74
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