At first glance, the West Coast Conference appears to be a two-bid conference this season when it comes to the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament. When the conference tournament begins, paired teams will be ranked. top 25: Gonzaga University, which checks in as the 19th team in the national rankings, and St. Mary’s, which is ranked 23rd but will be the top seed in the WCC tournament thanks to their performance. meeting records. Gonzaga University will enter the tournament as the second seed.
But the good thing about March is that there are a few teams lurking that could pop the bubble with a strong showing in Las Vegas next week.
Let’s start with Gonzaga. Gonzaga enters the conference tournament with a 24-6 record, including quality wins such as the season finale win over St. Mary’s and a win over Kentucky on Feb. 10 in Lexington. I will come. They played a pair of potential No. 1 seeds and lost to Purdue (by 10 points on Nov. 20) and Connecticut (by 13 points on Dec. 15). The Zags are led by two big men, Graham Icke and Anton Watson, who are averaging 16.9 ppg and 14.2 ppg, respectively.
The Gaels, who finished with an overall record of 24-7, were one game away from an unblemished conference record heading into the final game of the regular season, but a loss to Gonzaga dropped their conference record to 15-1. Ta. The Gaels are led by two guards in Augustus Marsiulionis and Aidan Mahaney. Mahaney is averaging 13.7 points and shooting 35 percent from three-point range this season, while Marciulinis is averaging 12.4 points and shooting 35 percent from deep.
If there’s a team lurking, it could very well be San Francisco. The Dons are the No. 3 seed in the WCC Tournament. San Francisco has lost three of its last four games, including losses to both Saint Mary’s and Gonzaga, but has a quality win over Minnesota on its resume and Ken Pomeroy’s adjusted efficiency. He enters the tournament ranked 71st in margin.
2024 Men’s West Coast Conference Tournament Bracket
The complete WCC bracket can be found here: Conference Tournament Website.Full odds are available below draftkings sportsbook.
2023 Men’s West Coast Conference Tournament Schedule
March 7th Round 1
game 1: No. 8 Pepperdine vs. No. 9 Pacific, 5:30 p.m. ET; ESPN+
March 8th Round 2
game 2: No. 5 San Diego vs. Game 1 winner, 9 p.m. ET; ESPN+
Game 3: No. 6 Portland vs. No. 7 LMU, 11:30 p.m. ET; ESPN+
March 9th Quarterfinals
Game 4: No. 4 Santa Clara vs. Game 2 Winner, 10 p.m. ET; ESPN2
Game 5: No. 3 San Francisco vs. Game 3 winner, 12:30 a.m. ET; ESPN2
March 11th Semi-finals
Game 6: No. 1 St. Mary’s vs. Game 4 winner, 9 p.m. ET; ESPN
Game 7: No. 2 Gonzaga vs. Game 5 winner, 11:30 p.m. ET; ESPN2
March 12th Championship
Game 8: Winner of Game 6 vs. Winner of Game 7, 9pm ET; ESPN
