Busting Brackets
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NCAA Basketball: 2018 Christmas wish list for top mid-major conferences

By Jacob Matteson

LAHAINA, HI - NOVEMBER 21: Josh Perkins #13 of the Gonzaga Bulldogs drives the baseline during the second half of the game against the Duke Blue Devils at the Lahaina Civic Center on November 21, 2018 in Lahaina, Hawaii. (Photo by Darryl Oumi/Getty Images)
LAHAINA, HI - NOVEMBER 21: Josh Perkins #13 of the Gonzaga Bulldogs drives the baseline during the second half of the game against the Duke Blue Devils at the Lahaina Civic Center on November 21, 2018 in Lahaina, Hawaii. (Photo by Darryl Oumi/Getty Images) /
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BOISE, ID – MARCH 17: Rui Hachimura #21 of the Gonzaga Bulldogs reacts during the first half against the Ohio State Buckeyes in the second round of the 2018 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Taco Bell Arena on March 17, 2018 in Boise, Idaho. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
BOISE, ID – MARCH 17: Rui Hachimura #21 of the Gonzaga Bulldogs reacts during the first half against the Ohio State Buckeyes in the second round of the 2018 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Taco Bell Arena on March 17, 2018 in Boise, Idaho. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) /

Wish for WCC: Reaffirming resume

With just one team under .500, Santa Clara at 4-6, the West Coast Conference has been on quite the run so far in the 2018-19 season.  Led by National Title favorite, Gonzaga, and solidified by the hot-start for the San Francisco Dons, the conference as a whole has performed well.

Should the WCC wish to be a multi-bid league, they will be leaning heavily on a few different teams.  While it’s a given that Gonzaga is in–a win over Duke is what the committee likely considers a “good win”–it’s yet to be seen how the rest of the league will fair.

The conference is home to five KenPom Top 100 teams with Gonzaga (6), San Francisco (52), Saint Mary’s (54), BYU (62) and San Diego (86.)  These five are the same amount as the American Athletic Conference.

While each team has at least one KenPom Top-100 win, it would behoove the conference to hope for more with non-conference play rapidly evaporating from the schedule.

light. Related Story. WCC Power Rankings

The biggest remaining games that the WCC would love to see swing in their favor would be San Francisco vs. Stanford (12/22), Saint Mary’s vs. LSU (12/15), Saint Mary’s at Western Kentucky (12/22), BYU at San Diego State (12/22), BYU at Mississippi State (12/29).  The projected KenPom record for these games would be 2-3 with the wins being the Gaels over WKU and San Francisco over Stanford.

This would give both programs two Kenpom Top-100 wins, same as San Diego.  From there, it’s up to the schedule to play out in their favor.  Maybe one team takes a win over Gonzaga for a marquee win or maybe the remaining non-conference match-ups are a clean sweep.

No matter how you cut it, if the West Coast Conference wants to prove they can send multiple teams to the Dance.  And to do so, they have to rely on the aforementioned teams to carry their weight late in the non-conference stretch and prove their worth.

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