WCC Basketball Fans

(2) Gonzaga 75, (1) Saint Mary’s 63
There is only one sheriff in the West Coast Conference and its name is Gonzaga.
Despite a mid-season struggle which saw the ten-time defending conference champions lose three straight games and see their dominance of conference brethren seemingly come to an end, the Bulldogs from Spokane found the gumption needed to revive their season and finish with a bang.
After fighting back to claim a share of the WCC regular season title with rival Saint Mary’s, Gonzaga put a capstone on the tremendous season-long comeback …

(2) Gonzaga 71, (3) San Francisco 67
It was as if neither Gonzaga or San Francisco wanted to punch a ticket to the West Coast Conference Tournament final. One of these squads was the 10-time defending conference champion. If anything, the Bulldogs should be poised and undeterred in a tense situation like the one they faced on Sunday night. Yet, they looked anything but. The other was a Don squad looking to make its first WCC final in 13 years. San Francisco looked every bit the inexperienced ballclub unready for …

(1) Saint Mary’s 73, (4) Santa Clara 64
It’s an old tournament adage: “Win and advance.” The Saint Mary’s Gaels will most likely look back at their West Coast Conference semifinal matchup with the Santa Clara Broncos and think that very thing. The top-seeded Gaels, playing in their most important game of the season, were less than impressive on Sunday night from the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. How is it that a team which never trailed in the second half of a contested tournament game could be seen as …

The West Coast Conference Tournament resumed on Saturday evening from Orleans Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, with second-round competition. If the first day of the tournament proved that an upset could be had and that things might not turn out the way the experts predicted, the second day was its polar opposite. Both of the high seeds in action, San Francisco and Santa Clara – two teams that were fresh as a result of their opening-round byes – won without too much drama to set up a pair of compelling …

The West Coast Conference Tournament kicked off on Friday evening from Orleans Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The first day of competition had a little of everything – a bracket buster here and a piece of chalk over there. In the nightcap, the sixth-seeded Pepperdine Waves beat the seventh-seeded San Diego Toreros for the third time this season, advancing to face the San Francisco Dons on Saturday evening in the second round. Meanwhile, the night’s first game saw the eighth-seeded Loyola Marymount Lions upset the fifth-seeded Portland Pilots to gain …

As much as the West Coast Conference changes, it continues to remain the same. Despite trailing conference foe Saint Mary’s in the standings for a vast majority of the season, the Gonzaga Bulldogs fought their way to yet another WCC regular season title. The Bulldogs shared the title with Saint Mary’s, with both teams finishing 12-2 in the conference and splitting their head-to-head contests. Gonzaga head coach Mark Few’s club has now won 11 consecutive regular season titles and 12 in the past 13 seasons. St. Mary’s stumbled down the …

When the Gonzaga Bulldogs won their tenth regular season WCC conference championship in a row last week, there wasn’t much doubt that they would go on to win the WCC conference tournament as well.  That all changed Monday night in Las Vegas when they met the Gaels of St Mary’s.
In what was a very sloppy, yet high paced first half on Monday night where both teams shot just over 30% from the floor, St Mary’s if anything proved they could play with the No. 14 Bulldogs.  As the game progressed, …

(2) Saint Mary’s 69, (3) Portland 55
Just like last year, the Saint Mary’s Gaels faced a must-win game in the second semifinal of the West Coast Conference Tournament. Unlike last year, the men from Moraga, Calif., hope that after coming through against the Portland Pilots, they’ll be able to land an NCAA Tournament at-large bid.
Yes, coach Randy Bennett will want to dethrone Gonzaga in Monday night’s WCC final. Yes, Saint Mary’s would love to bump off its rival and nemesis to remove all doubt about its postseason destination. Yet, with …

(1) Gonzaga 77, (5) Loyola Marymount 62
For 28 minutes, the Gonzaga Bulldogs received virtually no resistance from the Loyola Marymount Lions. Then, for a few minutes, a relentless underdog showed signs of pulling off a significant upset with NCAA Tournament implications across the entire nation.
Fortunately for the many residents of the NCAA bubble, the West Coast Conference’s supreme power managed to restore order before its situation became even more scary.
The night at Orleans Arena in Las Vegas seemed routine and relaxing for Gonzaga. Coach Mark Few’s formidable squad …