West Coast Conference men's basketball tournament | |
---|---|
Conference basketball championship | |
Sport | College basketball |
Conference | West Coast Conference |
Number of teams | 10 |
Format | Single-elimination tournament |
Current stadium | Orleans Arena |
Current location | Paradise, Nevada |
Played | 1987–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.
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]
School | Wins | Losses | Games | Win pct | Last title | Last game |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Gonzaga | 21 | 9 | 30 | .700 | 2023 | 2024 |
Saint Mary's | 5 | 11 | 16 | .313 | 2024 | 2024 |
Pepperdine | 3 | 4 | 7 | .429 | 1994 | 2002 |
Santa Clara | 2 | 5 | 7 | .286 | 1993 | 2007 |
San Diego | 2 | 1 | 3 | .667 | 2008 | 2008 |
Loyola Marymount | 2 | 1 | 3 | .667 | 1989 | 2006 |
San Francisco | 1 | 1 | 2 | .500 | 1998 | 1998 |
Portland | 1 | 1 | 2 | .500 | 1996 | 1996 |
BYU | 0 | 4 | 4 | .000 | 2021 | |
Pacific | 0 | 0 | 0 | – |
School | Games | Wins | Losses | Win Pct | Avg. Seed | Years |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Gonzaga | 83 | 66 | 17 | .795 | 2.08 | 38 (1987–2024) |
Saint Mary's | 72 | 39 | 33 | .542 | 3.42 | 38 (1987–2024) |
Pepperdine | 71 | 37 | 34 | .521 | 5.11 | 38 (1987–2024) |
Santa Clara | 69 | 33 | 36 | .478 | 4.55 | 38 (1987–2024) |
San Diego | 66 | 31 | 35 | .470 | 5.47 | 38 (1987–2024) |
San Francisco | 62 | 25 | 37 | .403 | 4.89 | 38 (1987–2024) |
Loyola Marymount | 59 | 24 | 35 | .407 | 6.26 | 38 (1987–2024) |
Portland | 51 | 15 | 36 | .294 | 6.74 | 38 (1987–2024) |
BYU | 25 | 13 | 12 | .520 | 3 | 12 (2012–2023) |
Pacific | 12 | 2 | 10 | .167 | 2.5 | 10 (2014–2015; 2017–2024) |
As of March 12, 2024.
BYU | Gonzaga | LMU | Pacific | Pepperdine | Portland | Saint Mary's | San Diego | San Francisco | Santa Clara | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
vs. BYU | – | 6–0 | 0–4 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 |
vs. Gonzaga | 0–6 | – | 2–7 | 0–1 | 3–5 | 1–4 | 4–18 | 5–9 | 1–7 | 1–9 |
vs. LMU | 4–0 | 7–2 | – | 0–1 | 5–3 | 3–7 | 3–1 | 3–2 | 6–3 | 4–5 |
vs. Pacific | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | – | 2–2 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 4–0 | 2–0 |
vs. Pepperdine | 1–0 | 5–3 | 3–5 | 2–2 | – | 2–5 | 7–4 | 9–5 | 1–8 | 4–5 |
vs. Portland | 2–0 | 4–1 | 7–3 | 0–0 | 5–2 | – | 5–1 | 3–5 | 4–1 | 6–2 |
vs. Saint Mary's | 1–3 | 18–4 | 1–3 | 0–0 | 4–7 | 1–5 | – | 1–5 | 1–4 | 6–8 |
vs. San Diego | 2–2 | 9–5 | 2–3 | 0–0 | 5–9 | 5–3 | 5–1 | – | 4–6 | 3–2 |
vs. San Francisco | 1–1 | 7–1 | 3–6 | 0–4 | 8–1 | 1–4 | 4–1 | 6–4 | – | 7–3 |
vs. Santa Clara | 2–0 | 9–1 | 5–4 | 0–2 | 5–4 | 2–6 | 8–6 | 2–3 | 3–7 | – |
Total | 13–12 | 66–17 | 24–35 | 2–10 | 37–34 | 15–36 | 39–33 | 31–35 | 25–37 | 33–36 |
BYU | Gonzaga | LMU | Pacific | Pepperdine | Portland | Saint Mary's | San Diego | San Francisco | Santa Clara | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
vs. BYU | – | 4–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 |
vs. Gonzaga | 0–4 | – | 0–1 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 4–10 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 0–3 |
vs. LMU | 0–0 | 1–0 | – | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–2 |
vs. Pacific | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | – | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 |
vs. Pepperdine | 0–0 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | – | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 2–0 |
vs. Portland | 0–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | – | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 |
vs. Saint Mary's | 0–0 | 10–4 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | – | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 |
vs. San Diego | 0–0 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | – | 0–0 | 0–0 |
vs. San Francisco | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | – | 0–0 |
vs. Santa Clara | 0–0 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | – |
Total | 0–4 | 21–9 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 3–4 | 1–1 | 5–11 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 2–5 |
Seed | Games | Wins | Losses | Win Pct |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 86 | 69 | 17 | .802 |
2 | 80 | 53 | 27 | .663 |
3 | 75 | 41 | 34 | .547 |
4 | 65 | 29 | 36 | .446 |
5 | 69 | 34 | 35 | .493 |
6 | 57 | 19 | 38 | .333 |
7 | 54 | 16 | 38 | .296 |
8 | 54 | 16 | 38 | .296 |
9 | 18 | 5 | 13 | .278 |
10 | 12 | 3 | 9 | .250 |
Seed | Games | Wins | Losses | Win pct | Last title | Last game |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 31 | 20 | 11 | .645 | 2024 | 2024 |
2 | 25 | 10 | 15 | .400 | 2023 | 2024 |
3 | 8 | 3 | 5 | .375 | 2008 | 2020 |
4 | 5 | 1 | 4 | .200 | 1995 | 1999 |
5 | 4 | 3 | 1 | .750 | 1998 | 1998 |
6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | ||
7 | 1 | 0 | 1 | .000 | 1987 | |
8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | ||
9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | ||
10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – |
Coach | School | Games | Wins | Losses | Win pct | Years |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Mark Few | Gonzaga | 58 | 52 | 6 | .897 | 25 (2000–2024) |
Randy Bennett | Saint Mary's | 48 | 29 | 19 | .604 | 23 (2002–2024) |
Herb Sendek | Santa Clara | 14 | 6 | 8 | .429 | 8 (2017–2024) |
Shantay Legans | Portland | 6 | 3 | 3 | .500 | 3 (2022–2024) |
Stan Johnson | Loyola Marymount | 6 | 2 | 4 | .333 | 4 (2021–2024) |
Chris Gerlufsen | San Francisco | 5 | 3 | 2 | .600 | 2 (2023–2024) |
Steve Lavin | San Diego | 3 | 1 | 2 | .333 | 3 (2023–2024) |
Wayne Tinkle | Oregon State | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | |
Dave Smart | Pacific | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | |
Ed Schilling | Pepperdine | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | |
David Riley | Washington State | 0 | 0 | 0 | – |
Coach | School | Games | Wins | Losses | Win pct | Years |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Tom Asbury | Pepperdine | 20 | 15 | 5 | .750 | 9 (1989–1994; 2009–2011) |
Dick Davey | Santa Clara | 28 | 14 | 14 | .500 | 15 (1993–2007) |
Brad Holland | San Diego | 25 | 13 | 12 | .520 | 13 (1995–2007) |
Dan Fitzgerald | Gonzaga | 19 | 9 | 10 | .474 | 11 (1987–1997) |
Dave Rose | BYU | 17 | 9 | 8 | .529 | 8 (2012–2019) |
Bill Grier | San Diego | 15 | 8 | 7 | .533 | 8 (2008–2015) |
Carroll Williams | Santa Clara | 13 | 8 | 5 | .615 | 6 (1987–1992) |
Lorenzo Romar | Pepperdine | 16 | 7 | 9 | .438 | 9 (1997–1999; 2019–2024) |
Max Good | Loyola Marymount | 13 | 7 | 6 | .538 | 6 (2009–2014) |
Paul Westhead | Loyola Marymount | 8 | 7 | 1 | .875 | 4 (1987–1990) |
Philip Mathews | San Francisco | 14 | 6 | 8 | .429 | 9 (1996–2004) |
Eric Reveno | Portland | 15 | 5 | 10 | .333 | 10 (2007–2016) |
Kerry Keating | Santa Clara | 14 | 5 | 9 | .357 | 9 (2008–2016) |
Rex Walters | San Francisco | 13 | 5 | 8 | .385 | 8 (2009–2016) |
Hank Egan | San Diego | 12 | 5 | 7 | .417 | 8 (1987–1994) |
Rob Chavez | Portland | 11 | 5 | 6 | .455 | 7 (1995–2001) |
Dan Monson | Gonzaga | 6 | 5 | 1 | .833 | 2 (1998–1999) |
Jim Brovelli | San Francisco | 13 | 4 | 9 | .308 | 9 (1987–1995) |
Marty Wilson | Pepperdine | 12 | 4 | 8 | .333 | 8 (1996; 2012–2018) |
Ernie Kent | Saint Mary's | 9 | 4 | 5 | .444 | 6 (1992–1997) |
Paul Westphal | Pepperdine | 9 | 4 | 5 | .444 | 5 (2002–2006) |
Sam Scholl | San Diego | 8 | 4 | 4 | .500 | 4 (2019–2022) |
Mark Pope | BYU | 8 | 4 | 4 | .500 | 8 (2020–2023) |
Todd Golden | San Francisco | 7 | 4 | 3 | .571 | 3 (2020–2022) |
Mike Dunlap | Loyola Marymount | 9 | 3 | 6 | .333 | 6 (2015–2020) |
Lynn Nance | Saint Mary's | 6 | 3 | 3 | .500 | 3 (1987–1989) |
Jim Harrick | Pepperdine | 5 | 3 | 2 | .600 | 2 (1987–1988) |
Jan van Breda Kolff | Pepperdine | 5 | 3 | 2 | .600 | 2 (2000–2001) |
John Olive | Loyola Marymount | 7 | 2 | 5 | .286 | 5 (1993–1997) |
Steve Aggers | Loyola Marymount | 7 | 2 | 5 | .286 | 5 (2001–2005) |
Dave Fehte | Saint Mary's | 3 | 2 | 1 | .667 | 1 (1991) |
Larry Steele | Portland | 7 | 1 | 6 | .143 | 7 (1988–1994) |
Damon Stoudamire | Pacific | 6 | 1 | 5 | .167 | 5 (2017–2021) |
Dave Bollwinkel | Saint Mary's | 5 | 1 | 4 | .200 | 4 (1998–2001) |
Terry Porter | Portland | 5 | 1 | 4 | .200 | 4 (2017–2020) |
Jessie Evans | San Francisco | 4 | 1 | 3 | .250 | 3 (2005–2007) |
Rodney Tention | Loyola Marymount | 4 | 1 | 3 | .250 | 3 (2006–2008) |
Kyle Smith | San Francisco | 4 | 1 | 3 | .250 | 3 (2017–2019) |
Eric Bridgeland | Pepperdine | 2 | 1 | 1 | .500 | 1 (2008) |
Eddie Sutton | San Francisco | 2 | 1 | 1 | .500 | 1 (2008) |
Michael Holton | Portland | 5 | 0 | 5 | .000 | 5 (2002–2006) |
Charles Bradley | Loyola Marymount | 3 | 0 | 3 | .000 | 3 (1998–2000) |
Lamont Smith | San Diego | 3 | 0 | 3 | .000 | 3 (2016–2018) |
Jay Hillock | Loyola Marymount | 2 | 0 | 2 | .000 | 2 (1991–1992) |
Ron Verlin | Pacific | 2 | 0 | 2 | .000 | 2 (2014–2015) |
Jack Avina | Portland | 1 | 0 | 1 | .000 | 1 (1987) |
Paul Landreaux | Saint Mary's | 1 | 0 | 1 | .000 | 1 (1990) |
Tony Fuller | Pepperdine | 1 | 0 | 1 | .000 | 1 (1995) |
Vance Walberg | Pepperdine | 1 | 0 | 1 | .000 | 1 (2007) |
Ben Johnson | Portland | 1 | 0 | 1 | .000 | 1 (2021) |
Josh Newman | Pacific | 1 | 0 | 1 | .000 | 1 (2024) |
Coach | School | Games | Wins | Losses | Win Pct | Last title | Last Game |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Mark Few | Gonzaga | 25 | 19 | 6 | .760 | 2023 | 2024 |
Randy Bennett | Saint Mary's | 14 | 4 | 10 | .286 | 2024 | 2024 |
Coach | School | Games | Wins | Losses | Win Pct | Last title | Last Game |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Tom Asbury | Pepperdine | 4 | 3 | 1 | .750 | 1994 | 1994 |
Paul Westhead | Loyola Marymount | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1.000 | 1989 | 1989 |
Dick Davey | Santa Clara | 4 | 1 | 3 | .250 | 1993 | 2007 |
Dan Fitzgerald | Gonzaga | 3 | 1 | 2 | .333 | 1995 | 1996 |
Carroll Williams | Santa Clara | 3 | 1 | 2 | .333 | 1987 | 1989 |
Rob Chavez | Portland | 2 | 1 | 1 | .500 | 1996 | 1996 |
Philip Mathews | San Francisco | 2 | 1 | 1 | .500 | 1998 | 1998 |
Dan Monson | Gonzaga | 2 | 1 | 1 | .500 | 1999 | 1999 |
Ernie Kent | Saint Mary's | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | 1997 | 1997 |
Brad Holland | San Diego | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | 2003 | 2003 |
Bill Grier | San Diego | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | 2008 | 2008 |
Dave Rose | BYU | 3 | 0 | 3 | .000 | 2018 | |
Jim Harrick | Pepperdine | 1 | 0 | 1 | .000 | 1987 | |
Dave Fehte | Saint Mary's | 1 | 0 | 1 | .000 | 1991 | |
Hank Egan | San Diego | 1 | 0 | 1 | .000 | 1994 | |
Jan van Breda Kolff | Pepperdine | 1 | 0 | 1 | .000 | 2000 | |
Paul Westphal | Pepperdine | 1 | 0 | 1 | .000 | 2002 | |
Rodney Tention | Loyola Marymount | 1 | 0 | 1 | .000 | 2006 | |
Mark Pope | BYU | 1 | 0 | 1 | .000 | 2021 |
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.
Year | Network | Play-by-play | Analyst | Sideline |
---|---|---|---|---|
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 | ||
1990 | Canceled | |||
1989 | Roger Twibell | Dan Belluomini | ||
1988 | Ted Robinson |
The Gonzaga Bulldogs are an intercollegiate men's basketball program representing Gonzaga University. The school competes in the West Coast Conference in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The Gonzaga Bulldogs play home basketball games at the McCarthey Athletic Center in Spokane, Washington, on the university campus.
The West Coast Conference women's basketball tournament is the annual concluding tournament for the NCAA college basketball in the West Coast Conference. The winner receives an automatic berth into the NCAA Women's Basketball Championship. The championship is broadcast nationally on ESPNU.
Kelly Lee Graves is the current head women's basketball coach at the University of Oregon. Previously, Graves was the head women's basketball coach at St. Mary's from 1997 to 2000, as well as Gonzaga University from 2000 to 2014. He was formerly an assistant coach for the Portland Pilots (1994–1997) and St. Mary Gaels, where he later got his first head coaching stint with the Gaels from 1997 to 2000. From the 2004–2005 season to the 2013–2014 season, he guided Gonzaga to ten consecutive West Coast Conference regular season titles. The 2007 team went 13–1 in conference play, and later won the WCC conference tournament. The school also received its first ever NCAA tournament appearance. He was named WCC co-coach of the year for his accomplishments. In 2005, 2010, and 2011, Gonzaga went undefeated in WCC regular season play.
The Saint Mary's Gaels are the athletic teams that compete at Saint Mary's College of California in Moraga, California. The nickname applies to the college's intercollegiate NCAA Division I teams and to the school's club sports teams. Most varsity teams compete in the West Coast Conference.
The 2010–11 Gonzaga Bulldogs men's basketball team represented Gonzaga University in the 2010–11 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bulldogs are members of the West Coast Conference, and were led by head coach Mark Few. They played their home games at the McCarthey Athletic Center on the university campus in Spokane, Washington.
The 2012 West Coast Conference women's basketball tournament was held February 29 though March 5 at the Orleans Arena in the Las Vegas area community of Paradise, Nevada.
The 2013 West Coast Conference men's basketball tournament was held March 6–11, 2013 at the Orleans Arena in the Las Vegas-area community of Paradise, Nevada. Gonzaga, which entered the tournament as the top-ranked team in both major polls, claimed the school's 12th tournament title overall and 10th under current head coach Mark Few.
The 2014 West Coast Conference men's basketball tournament was held March 6–11, 2014 at the Orleans Arena in Paradise, Nevada. This was the sixth consecutive year the WCC Tournament took place in Vegas after the WCC and the Orleans reached a 3-year extension to keep the tournament in Vegas through 2016.
The 2012–13 Gonzaga Bulldogs men's basketball team represented Gonzaga University in the 2012–13 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team played their home games at the McCarthey Athletic Center, which has a capacity of 6,000. The Bulldogs, were in their 33rd season as a member of the West Coast Conference, and were led by head coach Mark Few, who was in his 14th season as head coach. In the previous season, the Zags gained a record of 26–7 and reached the third round of the 2012 NCAA tournament.
The 2014 West Coast Conference women's basketball tournament was held March 6–11, 2014, at Orleans Arena in the Las Vegas Valley community of Paradise, Nevada. This was the sixth consecutive year the WCC Tournament took place in Vegas after the WCC and the Orleans Hotel and Casino, which operates the arena, reached a 3-year extension to keep the tournament in Vegas through 2016.
The 2013–14 Gonzaga Bulldogs men's basketball team represented Gonzaga University in the 2013–14 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team played its home games at the McCarthey Athletic Center, which has a capacity of 6,000. The Bulldogs were in their 34th season as a member of the West Coast Conference, and were led by head coach Mark Few, who is in his 15th season as head coach. They finished the season 29–7, 15–3 in WCC play to be WCC regular season champions. They were also champions of the WCC tournament to earn an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. In the NCAA Tournament, they defeated Oklahoma State in the second round before losing in the third round to Arizona.
Lisa Mispley Fortier is an American basketball coach, currently the head coach of the women's basketball team at Gonzaga University.
The 2015–16 Gonzaga Bulldogs men's basketball team represented Gonzaga University in the 2015–16 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team was led by head coach Mark Few, who was in his 17th season as head coach. The team played its home games at McCarthey Athletic Center, which had a capacity of 6,000. The Bulldogs played in their 36th season as a member of the West Coast Conference. They finished the season 28–8, 15–3 in WCC play to finish in a share for the WCC regular season championship. They defeated Portland, BYU, and Saint Mary's to be champions of the WCC tournament and earn the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. As a #11 seed, they defeated Seton Hall and Utah to advance to the Sweet Sixteen where they lost to Syracuse. The final AP Poll is the most recent poll in which Gonzaga was unranked until 2023–24, when they were unranked for 6 weeks.
The 2016 West Coast Conference men's basketball tournament was the postseason men's basketball tournament for the West Coast Conference and was held March 3–8, 2016 at the Orleans Arena in Paradise, Nevada. The winner of the tournament, Gonzaga, received the conference's automatic bid into the 2016 NCAA tournament.
The 2016–17 Gonzaga Bulldogs men's basketball team represented Gonzaga University in the 2016–17 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team was led by head coach Mark Few, who was in his 18th season as head coach. The team played its home games at McCarthey Athletic Center in Spokane, Washington. The Bulldogs played in their 37th season as a member of the West Coast Conference.
The 2017–18 Saint Mary's Gaels men's basketball team represented Saint Mary's College of California during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team was led by head coach Randy Bennett in his 17th season at Saint Mary's. The Gaels played their home games at the McKeon Pavilion in Moraga, California as members of the West Coast Conference. They finished the season 30–6, 16–2 in West Coast Conference play to finish in second place. As the No. 2 seed in the WCC tournament, they defeated Pepperdine in the quarterfinals before losing to BYU in the semifinals. They were one of the last four teams not selected for the NCAA tournament and as a result earned a No. 1 seed in the National Invitation Tournament where they defeated Southeastern Louisiana in the first round and Washington in the second round before losing to Utah in the quarterfinals.
The 2019 West Coast Conference men's basketball tournament was the postseason men's basketball tournament for the West Coast Conference during the 2018–19 NCAA Division I men's basketball season, held March 7–12 at the Orleans Arena in Paradise, Nevada. Saint Mary's upset top-ranked Gonzaga 60–47 in the championship game and received the conference's automatic bid to the 68-team NCAA tournament.
The 2020–21 West Coast Conference men's basketball season began with practices in September 2020 and ended with the 2021 West Coast Conference men's basketball tournament in March 2021. This was the 70th season for WCC men's basketball, and the 32nd under its current name of "West Coast Conference". The conference was founded in 1952 as the California Basketball Association, became the West Coast Athletic Conference in 1956, and dropped the word "Athletic" in 1989.
The 2022–23 Gonzaga Bulldogs men's basketball team represents Gonzaga University, located in Spokane, Washington, in the 2022–23 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team, also unofficially nicknamed the "Zags", is led by head coach Mark Few, in his 24th season as head coach, and played home games at the on-campus McCarthey Athletic Center as members of the West Coast Conference (WCC). The Zags finished the regular season 26–5, 14–2 in WCC play, to win a share of the regular season championship. They defeated San Francisco in the semifinals of the WCC tournament before defeating Saint Mary's to win the WCC championship. They received an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament where they defeated Grand Canyon, TCU, and UCLA to advance to the Elite Eight. There they lost to UConn to finish their season 31–6.
The 2023–24 Gonzaga Bulldogs men's basketball team represented Gonzaga University, located in Spokane, Washington, in the 2023–24 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team, also unofficially nicknamed the "Zags", was led by head coach Mark Few, in his 25th season as head coach, and played home games at the on-campus McCarthey Athletic Center as members of the West Coast Conference (WCC). They finished the season 27–8, 14–2 in WCC play to finish in second place, failing to win at least a share of the regular season title for the first time since 2012. As the No. 2 seed in the WCC Tournament, they defeated San Francisco in the semifinals, before losing to Saint Mary's in the championship. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament where as the No. 5 seed in the Midwest region, they defeated McNeese in the First Round and Kansas in the Second Round to reach their ninth consecutive Sweet Sixteen, where they lost to Purdue.