WCC Basketball Fans

Scores

Tuesday, January 3

San Francisco 87, Morgan State 74

Thursday, January 5

Saint Mary’s 78, San Diego 72

Gonzaga 73, Pepperdine 45

BYU 73, Loyola Marymount 65

Portland 84, Santa Clara 74

Saturday, January 7

BYU 81, San Francisco 56

Gonzaga 82, Santa Clara 60

Portland 53, Pepperdine 43

Loyola Marymount 79, San Diego 68

If the old West Coast Conference isn’t very different from the new West Coast Conference, you don’t need to rub your eyes or wonder if this is real life. Yes, the new order is really the old order, with Brigham Young merely joining the fray. It’s still a Gonzaga-and-Saint-Mary’s kind of league, with the new Mormon addition to this religiously-oriented collection of schools adding a new dimension to the conference.

This past week, the two longtime kings of the WCC held court and took care of business. Saint Mary’s went on the road and held off San Diego, keeping the Torreros at the bottom of the WCC. SMC wasn’t at its best, but it still managed to get a win away from home and survive on a night when San Diego was trying to make a season-long statement that would resound through the rest of the conference. Saint Mary’s and Gonzaga are both teams who play road games that feel like the Super Bowl for their foes. This is what makes the WCC grind more imposing for the Gaels and Bulldogs, but it’s also the very thing which makes SMC and GU so much more impressive. Saint Mary’s has become accustomed to receiving the hardest punches from its opponents, and this well-established resilience came in handy against San Diego, whose coach, Billy Grier, was as former assistant for current Gonzaga head coach Mark Few. The time clock is running out on Grier, but it’s still with SMC coach Randy Bennett, who resisted other offers and overtures to stay in Moraga, California.

Gonzaga also won this past week, waxing Pepperdine and Santa Clara to affirm its place at the top of the WCC. Pepperdine, Santa Clara, and San Diego all lost two games this past week while the familiar faces – Gonzaga and SMC – maintained control. Newcomer BYU also thumped San Francisco, giving more credence to the belief that what was a two-team league will now become a three-team tussle heading into March.

Matt Zemek
DFN Sports Senior Staff Writer