West Coast Conference men's basketball tournament

Last updated
West Coast Conference men's basketball tournament
Conference basketball championship
Sport College basketball
Conference West Coast Conference
Number of teams10
Format Single-elimination tournament
Current stadium Orleans Arena
Current location Paradise, Nevada
Played1987–present
Last contest 2024
Current champion Saint Mary's Gaels
Most championships Gonzaga Bulldogs (21)
TV partner(s) ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPN+
Official website WCCsports.com

The West Coast Conference men's basketball tournament is the annual concluding tournament for the NCAA college basketball in the West Coast Conference (WCC). The winner of the tournament each year is guaranteed a place in the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament for that season. Through 2008, the tournament was played on a rotating basis at the home courts of member teams. The 2009 edition was the first played at a neutral site, namely Orleans Arena in Paradise, Nevada, just outside Las Vegas. The semifinals are broadcast nationally on ESPN2 and the championship is broadcast nationally on ESPN.

Contents

The tournament has used several formats in its history, though seeding in all formats has been based strictly on conference record (with tiebreakers used as needed). When the tournament began in 1987, when the conference had eight members, it used a standard single-elimination bracket that was reseeded after the first round so that the highest and lowest remaining seeds played one another in the semifinals. Beginning in 2003, the bottom four seeds played first-round games (5 vs. 8, 6 vs. 7), with the 3 and 4 seeds receiving byes to the quarterfinals and the top two seeds receiving byes to the semifinals. For the 2012 tournament, the first after the 2011 arrival of BYU in the WCC, this format was adjusted so that the 8 and 9 seeds played in the first round, with the winner joining the 5 through 7 seeds in the second round, and the top four seeds continuing to receive byes into the quarterfinals (3 and 4) or semifinals (1 and 2). In addition, reseeding was abolished, with the top seed automatically playing the winner of the quarterfinal game featuring the 4 seed and the 2 seed automatically playing the winner of the quarterfinal game featuring the 3 seed.

Beginning in 2014, the WCC adopted a new format to incorporate a tenth team (Pacific). The new format is a traditional 10-team tournament. Seeds 1-6 received a bye into the quarterfinals while 7 played 10 and 8 played 9 in the first round. The second round featured the winner of the 7/10 match playing the 2-seed while the winner of the 8/9 match played the 1 seed. The 3 seed played the 6 seed and the 4 seed played the 5 seed. In 2014, the first-round games aired on BYUtv Sports. The afternoon quarterfinal games aired on BYUtv, and the evening quarterfinals were on ESPN2. One semifinal aired on ESPN and the other on ESPN2, and the championship game was carried by ESPN.

For 2019 and beyond, the tournament returned to a format similar to that used from 2003–2011, with slight changes to the terminology used for the rounds prior to the semifinals. The 7 through 10 seeds play in what is now called the "opening round", the 5 and 6 seeds start play in the "second round", and the 3 and 4 seeds start in the "third round". The top two seeds receive byes into the semifinals. [1] According to media reports, the major impetus for this and other changes to WCC basketball was the potential loss of Gonzaga to the Mountain West Conference after the 2017–18 season, which in the end did not happen. [2]

List of finals

YearChampionScoreOpponentVenueTournament MVPNotes
1987 Santa Clara 77–65 Pepperdine War Memorial Gymnasium
(San Francisco, California)
Jens Gordon , Santa Clara
1988 Loyola Marymount 104–96 Santa Clara Toso Pavilion
(Santa Clara, California)
Hank Gathers , Loyola Marymount
1989 Loyola Marymount 75–70 (OT) Santa Clara War Memorial Gymnasium
(San Francisco, California)
Hank Gathers , Loyola Marymount
1990 NoneNoneNone Gersten Pavilion, (Los Angeles, California)NoneTournament canceled due to the death of Hank Gathers. Having won the regular season title, Loyola Marymount was awarded the WCC's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. [3]
1991 Pepperdine 71–68 (OT) Saint Mary's Toso Pavilion
(Santa Clara, California)
Geoff Lear , Pepperdine
1992 Pepperdine 73–70 Gonzaga Chiles Center
(Portland, Oregon)
Doug Christie , Pepperdine
1993 Santa Clara 73–63 Pepperdine War Memorial Gymnasium (San Francisco, California) Steve Nash , Santa Clara
1994 Pepperdine 56–53 San Diego Toso Pavilion
(Santa Clara, California)
Dana Jones , Pepperdine
1995 Gonzaga 80–67 Portland John Rillie , Gonzaga
1996 Portland 76–68 Gonzaga Kweemada King , Portland
1997 Saint Mary's 66–59 San Francisco Gersten Pavilion,
(Los Angeles, California)
Brad Millard , Saint Mary's
1998 San Francisco 80–67 Gonzaga Toso Pavilion
(Santa Clara, California)
Hakeem Ward , San Francisco
1999 Gonzaga 91–62 Santa Clara Matt Santangelo , Gonzaga
2000 Gonzaga 69–65 (OT) Pepperdine Casey Calvary , Gonzaga
2001 Gonzaga 80–77 Santa Clara Jenny Craig Pavilion
(San Diego, California)
Dan Dickau , Gonzaga
2002 Gonzaga 96–90 Pepperdine Dan Dickau , Gonzaga [4]
2003 San Diego 72–63 Gonzaga Jason Keep , San Diego [5]
2004 Gonzaga 84–71 Saint Mary's Leavey Center
(Santa Clara, California)
Ronny Turiaf , Gonzaga [6]
2005 Gonzaga 80–67 Saint Mary's Adam Morrison , Gonzaga [7]
2006 Gonzaga 68–67 Loyola Marymount McCarthey Athletic Center
(Spokane, Washington)
Adam Morrison , Gonzaga [8]
2007 Gonzaga 77–68 Santa Clara Chiles Center
(Portland, Oregon)
Derek Raivio , Gonzaga [9]
2008 San Diego 69–62 Gonzaga Jenny Craig Pavilion (San Diego, California) Brandon Johnson , San Diego [10]
2009 Gonzaga 83–58 Saint Mary's Orleans Arena
(Paradise, Nevada) [11]
Micah Downs , Gonzaga [12]
2010 Saint Mary's 81–62 Gonzaga Mickey McConnell , Saint Mary's [13]
2011 Gonzaga 75–63 Saint Mary's Marquise Carter , Gonzaga [14]
2012 Saint Mary's 78–74 (OT) Gonzaga Matthew Dellavedova , Saint Mary's [15]
2013 Gonzaga 65–51 Saint Mary's Elias Harris , Gonzaga [16]
2014 Gonzaga 75–64 BYU Sam Dower , Gonzaga [17]
2015 Gonzaga 91–75 BYU Kyle Wiltjer , Gonzaga [18]
2016 Gonzaga 85–75 Saint Mary's Kyle Wiltjer , Gonzaga [19]
2017 Gonzaga 74–56 Saint Mary's Nigel Williams-Goss, Gonzaga
2018 Gonzaga 74–54 BYU Killian Tillie, Gonzaga
2019 Saint Mary's 60–47 Gonzaga Jordan Hunter, Saint Mary's
2020 Gonzaga 84–66 Saint Mary's Joël Ayayi, Gonzaga
2021 Gonzaga 88–78 BYU Jalen Suggs, Gonzaga [20]
2022 Gonzaga 82–69 Saint Mary's Andrew Nembhard, Gonzaga [21]
2023 Gonzaga 77–51 Saint Mary's Drew Timme, Gonzaga
2024 Saint Mary's 69–60 Gonzaga Augustas Marčiulionis, Saint Mary's

Results by team

As of March 12, 2024 [22] [23]

Championship game team wins

SchoolWinsLossesGamesWin pctLast titleLast game
Gonzaga 21930.70020232024
Saint Mary's 51116.31320242024
Pepperdine 347.42919942002
Santa Clara 257.28619932007
San Diego 213.66720082008
Loyola Marymount 213.66719892006
San Francisco 112.50019981998
Portland 112.50019961996
BYU 044.0002021
Pacific 000

Team win–loss records

SchoolGamesWinsLossesWin PctAvg. SeedYears
Gonzaga 836617.7952.08 38 (1987–2024)
Saint Mary's 723933.5423.42 38 (1987–2024)
Pepperdine 713734.5215.11 38 (1987–2024)
Santa Clara 693336.4784.55 38 (1987–2024)
San Diego 663135.4705.47 38 (1987–2024)
San Francisco 622537.4034.89 38 (1987–2024)
Loyola Marymount 592435.4076.26 38 (1987–2024)
Portland 511536.2946.74 38 (1987–2024)
BYU 251312.5203 12 (2012–2023)
Pacific 12210.1672.5 10 (2014–2015; 2017–2024)

As of March 12, 2024.

Team head-to-head results

 BYUGonzagaLMUPacificPepperdinePortlandSaint Mary'sSan DiegoSan FranciscoSanta Clara
vs. BYU6–00–40–00–10–23–12–21–10–2
vs. Gonzaga0–62–70–13–51–44–185–91–71–9
vs. LMU4–07–20–15–33–73–13–26–34–5
vs. Pacific0–01–01–02–20–00–00–04–02–0
vs. Pepperdine1–05–33–52–22–57–49–51–84–5
vs. Portland2–04–17–30–05–25–13–54–16–2
vs. Saint Mary's1–318–41–30–04–71–51–51–46–8
vs. San Diego2–29–52–30–05–95–35–14–63–2
vs. San Francisco1–17–13–60–48–11–44–16–47–3
vs. Santa Clara2–09–15–40–25–42–68–62–33–7
Total13–1266–1724–352–1037–3415–3639–3331–3525–3733–36

Championship game team head-to-head results

 BYUGonzagaLMUPacificPepperdinePortlandSaint Mary'sSan DiegoSan FranciscoSanta Clara
vs. BYU4–00–00–00–00–00–00–00–00–0
vs. Gonzaga0–40–10–01–21–14–102–01–00–3
vs. LMU0–01–00–00–00–00–00–00–00–2
vs. Pacific0–00–00–00–00–00–00–00–00–0
vs. Pepperdine0–02–10–00–00–00–10–10–02–0
vs. Portland0–01–10–00–00–00–00–00–00–0
vs. Saint Mary's0–010–40–00–01–00–00–00–10–0
vs. San Diego0–00–20–00–01–00–00–00–00–0
vs. San Francisco0–00–10–00–00–00–01–00–00–0
vs. Santa Clara0–03–02–00–00–20–00–00–00–0
Total0–421–92–10–03–41–15–112–11–12–5

Results by seed

As of March 12, 2024 [22] [23]

Seed win–loss records

SeedGamesWinsLossesWin Pct
1866917.802
2805327.663
3754134.547
4652936.446
5693435.493
6571938.333
7541638.296
8541638.296
918513.278
101239.250

Championship game seed win–loss records

SeedGamesWinsLossesWin pctLast titleLast game
1312011.64520242024
2251015.40020232024
3835.37520082020
4514.20019951999
5431.75019981998
6000
7101.0001987
8000
9000
10000

Results by coach

As of March 12, 2024 [22] [23]

Coach win–loss records

Current WCC coaches
CoachSchoolGamesWinsLossesWin pctYears
Mark Few Gonzaga 58526.897 25 (2000–2024)
Randy Bennett Saint Mary's 482919.604 23 (2002–2024)
Herb Sendek Santa Clara 1468.429 8 (2017–2024)
Shantay Legans Portland 633.500 3 (2022–2024)
Stan Johnson Loyola Marymount 624.333 4 (2021–2024)
Chris Gerlufsen San Francisco 532.600 2 (2023–2024)
Steve Lavin San Diego 312.333 3 (2023–2024)
Wayne Tinkle Oregon State 000
Dave Smart Pacific 000
Ed Schilling Pepperdine 000
David Riley Washington State 000
Former WCC coaches
CoachSchoolGamesWinsLossesWin pctYears
Tom Asbury Pepperdine 20155.750 9 (1989–1994; 2009–2011)
Dick Davey Santa Clara 281414.500 15 (1993–2007)
Brad Holland San Diego 251312.520 13 (1995–2007)
Dan Fitzgerald Gonzaga 19910.474 11 (1987–1997)
Dave Rose BYU 1798.529 8 (2012–2019)
Bill Grier San Diego1587.533 8 (2008–2015)
Carroll WilliamsSanta Clara1385.615 6 (1987–1992)
Lorenzo Romar Pepperdine1679.438 9 (1997–1999; 2019–2024)
Max Good Loyola Marymount 1376.538 6 (2009–2014)
Paul Westhead Loyola Marymount871.875 4 (1987–1990)
Philip Mathews San Francisco 1468.429 9 (1996–2004)
Eric Reveno Portland 15510.333 10 (2007–2016)
Kerry Keating Santa Clara1459.357 9 (2008–2016)
Rex Walters San Francisco1358.385 8 (2009–2016)
Hank Egan San Diego1257.417 8 (1987–1994)
Rob ChavezPortland1156.455 7 (1995–2001)
Dan Monson Gonzaga651.833 2 (1998–1999)
Jim Brovelli San Francisco1349.308 9 (1987–1995)
Marty Wilson Pepperdine1248.333 8 (1996; 2012–2018)
Ernie Kent Saint Mary's945.444 6 (1992–1997)
Paul Westphal Pepperdine945.444 5 (2002–2006)
Sam Scholl San Diego844.500 4 (2019–2022)
Mark Pope BYU844.500 8 (2020–2023)
Todd Golden San Francisco743.571 3 (2020–2022)
Mike Dunlap Loyola Marymount936.333 6 (2015–2020)
Lynn Nance Saint Mary's633.500 3 (1987–1989)
Jim Harrick Pepperdine532.600 2 (1987–1988)
Jan van Breda Kolff Pepperdine532.600 2 (2000–2001)
John Olive Loyola Marymount725.286 5 (1993–1997)
Steve AggersLoyola Marymount725.286 5 (2001–2005)
Dave FehteSaint Mary's321.667 1 (1991)
Larry Steele Portland716.143 7 (1988–1994)
Damon Stoudamire Pacific 615.167 5 (2017–2021)
Dave BollwinkelSaint Mary's514.200 4 (1998–2001)
Terry Porter Portland514.200 4 (2017–2020)
Jessie Evans San Francisco413.250 3 (2005–2007)
Rodney Tention Loyola Marymount413.250 3 (2006–2008)
Kyle Smith San Francisco413.250 3 (2017–2019)
Eric Bridgeland Pepperdine211.500 1 (2008)
Eddie Sutton San Francisco211.500 1 (2008)
Michael Holton Portland505.000 5 (2002–2006)
Charles Bradley Loyola Marymount303.000 3 (1998–2000)
Lamont Smith San Diego303.000 3 (2016–2018)
Jay Hillock Loyola Marymount202.000 2 (1991–1992)
Ron Verlin Pacific202.000 2 (2014–2015)
Jack AvinaPortland101.000 1 (1987)
Paul LandreauxSaint Mary's101.000 1 (1990)
Tony Fuller Pepperdine101.000 1 (1995)
Vance Walberg Pepperdine101.000 1 (2007)
Ben Johnson Portland101.000 1 (2021)
Josh Newman Pacific101.000 1 (2024)

Championship game coach win–loss records

Current WCC Coaches
CoachSchoolGamesWinsLossesWin PctLast titleLast Game
Mark Few Gonzaga 25196.76020232024
Randy Bennett Saint Mary's 14410.28620242024
Former WCC Coaches
CoachSchoolGamesWinsLossesWin PctLast titleLast Game
Tom Asbury Pepperdine 431.75019941994
Paul Westhead Loyola Marymount 2201.00019891989
Dick Davey Santa Clara 413.25019932007
Dan Fitzgerald Gonzaga 312.33319951996
Carroll WilliamsSanta Clara312.33319871989
Rob Chavez Portland 211.50019961996
Philip Mathews San Francisco 211.50019981998
Dan Monson Gonzaga211.50019991999
Ernie Kent Saint Mary's 1101.00019971997
Brad Holland San Diego 1101.00020032003
Bill Grier San Diego1101.00020082008
Dave Rose BYU 303.0002018
Jim Harrick Pepperdine101.0001987
Dave FehteSaint Mary's101.0001991
Hank Egan San Diego101.0001994
Jan van Breda Kolff Pepperdine101.0002000
Paul Westphal Pepperdine101.0002002
Rodney Tention Loyola Marymount101.0002006
Mark Pope BYU101.0002021

WCC Tournament Rivalries

Gonzaga–Saint Mary's men's basketball rivalry

The Gonzaga–Saint Mary's men's basketball rivalry is an intra-West Coast Conference college basketball rivalry between the Saint Mary's Gaels men's basketball team of Saint Mary's College of California in Moraga, California and the Gonzaga Bulldogs men's basketball team of Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington. Many analysts and members of the media have touted the Gaels vs. Zags as one of the best, if not the best, college basketball rivalry on the West Coast, [24] [25] as both teams have been consistently two of the top three teams in the conference over the last 2 decades. Gonzaga and Saint Mary's have combined to win 26 out of the last 30 conference championship games, including each of the last 16. The two teams have met a total of 116 times dating back to 1955 and currently meet biannually as a part of WCC conference play, with the potential to play a third game in the WCC tournament and a fourth in the postseason. [26] [27] As of March 2022, they have met 20 times in the WCC Tournament but have never met in any postseason tournaments beyond the end of conference play. [26] Saint Mary's has upset a number 1 ranked Zags squad twice – once in the 2019 WCC final as an unranked team and once in 2022 as #23 in Moraga. And in 2024 took down the Zags in the WCC Championship game by the score 69-60.

Broadcasters

Television

YearNetworkPlay-by-playAnalystSideline
2024 ESPN Dave Flemming Sean Farnham
2023
2022 Molly McGrath
2021
2020 Bob Wischusen Dick Vitale Sean Farnham
2019
2018 Gene Wojciechowski
2017 Dave O'Brien Jeff Goodman
2016 [28] Brent Musburger Dick Vitale and Fran Fraschilla
2015 [29] Dave Pasch Sean Farnham Jeff Goodman
2014 [30] Dave Flemming
2013 [31]
2012 [32]
2011 [33]
2010 [34] Terry Gannon Stephen Bardo
2009 [35] ESPN2 Stephen Bardo and Steve Lavin
2008 [36] ESPN Stephen Bardo
2007 Dave O'Brien Rick Majerus
2006 Dave Pasch
2005 Terry Gannon Jimmy Dykes
2004
2003
2002 Chris Marlowe Ann Meyers
2001 Reggie Theus
2000
1999
1998
1997
1996
1995
1994
1993 Steve Physioc Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
1992
1991 Barry Tompkins Quinn Buckner
1990Canceled
1989 Roger Twibell Dan Belluomini
1988 Ted Robinson

Radio

YearNetworkPlay-by-playAnalyst
2022 Westwood One Ryan Radtke Doug Gottlieb
2022
2021 Dan Dickau
2020 Spero Dedes Austin Croshere
2019 Ryan Radtke Mike Montgomery
2018
2017
2016 [37] Kevin Calabro P. J. Carlesimo
2015 [38] Bill Frieder
2014 [39] Dave Ryan
2013 [40] Dial Global Sports Ted Robinson Steve Lappas
2012 [41] Kevin Calabro
2011 Westwood One Ted Robinson Steve Lappas
2010 P. J. Carlesimo
2009 Dave Sims

See also

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References

  1. "WCC Presidents' Council Approves Men's Basketball Schedule Changes" (Press release). West Coast Conference. March 26, 2018. Retrieved April 2, 2018.
  2. Meehan, Jim (April 2, 2018). "Gonzaga athletic director Mike Roth says Zags staying in WCC". The Spokesman-Review . Spokane, WA . Retrieved April 2, 2018.
  3. Hodges, Jim; Stewart, Larry (March 5, 1990). "Other Reactions: WCC Cancels Tournament; TV's Footage Is Dramatic". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on November 6, 2013.
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