WCC Basketball power rankings: Gonzaga dominates heading into conference play

WCC Basketball power rankings: Gonzaga top dog heading into conference play

LAS VEGAS, NV - MARCH 06: A logo for the West Coast Conference basketball tournament is shown on the court before the championship game between the Brigham Young Cougars and 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) /

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LAS VEGAS, NV – MARCH 06: Gonzaga Bulldogs fans hold up a sign before the championship game of the West Coast Conference basketball tournament between the Bulldogs and the Brigham Young Cougars at the Orleans Arena on March 6, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Bulldogs won 74-54. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) /

WCC Basketball play begins on Thursday. Where do the 10 teams rank after their non-conference performances?

Gonzaga has dominated the West Coast Conference for nearly 25 years, aside from a few seasons they got some challenges from BYU and Saint Mary’s. As we head towards conference play, the conference may be its deepest in years, with more teams positioned to give the Bulldogs more pushback than they have faced in the last quarter century.

With the calendar turning to 2019 and the non-conference part of the schedule in the books, it is time to turn our attention to the all-important conference play. The WCC begins conference play on Thursday and the conference may be as deep as any time in recent memory. Eight of the conference’s ten teams had a winning record during the season’s first two months and five of those teams have at least 10 wins.

The conference could be headed toward an unprecedented season with over half the teams having an eye towards post-season play. In addition to the national acclaimed Bulldogs and the usual suspects, Saint Mary’s and BYU, although the latter two are off to slower starts than they are used to, teams like San Francisco, Loyola Marymount, and San Diego are all off to strong starts.

The WCC may not be a power conference that hogs all the headlines during the season but it is deep and should be competitive all year with so many teams off to good starts. Here is a look at how I would rank the ten teams in the conference heading into league play, from worst to first.