BYU Basketball: Should the Cougars want Gonzaga to leave the WCC?

LAS VEGAS, NV - MARCH 06: Head coach Dave Rose of the Brigham Young Cougars yells to his players during the championship game of the West Coast Conference basketball tournament against the Gonzaga Bulldogs at the Orleans Arena on March 6, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Bulldogs won 74-54. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) /

Gonzaga has a big decision to make regarding the WCC that will have big ramifications. How should BYU fans feel about this?

Once the Final Four and the national championship concludes, the next big college basketball story will involve Gonzaga and whether they stay in the WCC or leave to the Mountain West.

Reports have indicated that a decision is likely coming in a week or two, and it’s up in the air as to what will happen. The West Coast Conference has come up with some new scheduling and format changes to the tournament that seems to be an olive branch to keep the Zags around.

Gonzaga has options about where they can go but the others in the league don’t. And that includes BYU.

It’s not that the Cougars aren’t a viable program for any conference to add, as they have a national fan base that travels well and does wonders for ratings. But because of their situation with football independence (and their toxic history with the Mountain West), the WCC is likely their only home for them for the time being.

So what should BYU fans be rooting for when it comes to Gonzaga?

Why should BYU want Gonzaga to leave?

The reality is Gonzaga has reached a level that no one else in the WCC can match in an 18 game schedule. With the Bulldogs gone that make BYU the favorites to win the WCC Tournament and make the NCAA Tournament. Considering how hard it is to make it as a mid-major at-large team, the auto-bid might be BYU’s best path.

The name of the game is being a part of March Madness. As long as the Zags are around, Dave Rose and the team’s path is that much harder. It might mean two fewer quality games, but the odds of going dancing go up exponentially.

Why should BYU want Gonzaga to stay?

Once the Bulldogs leave the WCC becomes automatically a one-bid league. Saint Mary’s is rebuilding after losing all their best players, and it remains to be seen as to whether the other seven teams can become legit players in the conference.

It creates two problems for BYU. One, they lose way too many games to non-Gonzaga/BYU teams each year to think that’s going to change, so it’s doubtful they’ll ever be an at-large contender without the 2-3 Zags games.

The other issue is that even if BYU makes the NCAA Tournament, they’ll end up at best as a 12-13 seed. And while Loyola-Chicago has made it to the Final Four as an 11 seed, 95% of the time lower-seed teams don’t even make it to the Sweet Sixteen. It essentially limits BYU Basketball and could harm future recruiting.

The Cougars could end up like New Mexico State, who wins the WAC each year to get a 13-15 seed and gets bounced early.

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If BYU fans want to simply make the NCAA Tournament and nothing else, then they should want Gonzaga gone. But for those who want the Cougars to be a top-50 program nationally and be on TV, then they’ll need the Bulldogs to push them each year.

Looks like once again conference realignment will be impacting BYU, this time from the basketball side.