WCC Basketball: Gonzaga heavy favorite, BYU a contender in tournament

WCC Basketball: Gonzaga heavy favorite, BYU a contender in 2019 tournament

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 05: Rui Hachimura #21 of the Gonzaga Bulldogs guards Jimbo Lull #5 of the San Francisco Dons during a semifinal game of the West Coast Conference basketball tournament at the Orleans Arena on March 5, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Bulldogs won 88-60. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) /

Teams to Watch

Team to Beat: Gonzaga

No surprise here. The Zags are the No. 1 team in the country and completely dominated the WCC this year. Mark Few’s team won all 16 conference games by double digits, hasn’t lost since mid-December and finished a full five games ahead of Saint Mary’s and BYU.

With a starting lineup full of players receiving recognition for national awards, the Bulldogs have once again asserted their dominance over the WCC. Considering the closest conference game for Gonzaga was a 12-point victory over San Diego, and with an 88.4% chance to secure the WCC’s auto-bid, the Zags are in great shape.

Biggest Threat: Saint Mary’s

Between the Gaels and the Cougars of BYU, this was quite a back-and-forth, but considering Randy Bennett’s team failed to reach the conference title last season, mixed with Saint Mary’s motivation to pull of something special as they sit on the outside of the bubble, leads me to believe they will be the team Gonzaga will have to watch for the most.

The Gaels are the No. 32 three-point-shooting team in the land and perhaps two hot games from deep will lead Saint Mary’s to their first WCC Tournament title since 2012. Likewise, the Gaels are the next most likely team to win the conference tournament, at 7.8%.

Team With Potential: San Francisco

San Francisco had arguably the best performance any WCC team had against Gonzaga this season, when they held steady with the Zags until the final minutes Jan. 12. With less than four minutes to play, the Dons had a two-point lead on the Bulldogs (and a 62.8% chance to win), until Gonzaga closed the game on a 17-2 run. San Francisco had been lingering around the bubble during this time, but a string of losses have depleted those hopes.

As the four seed in the tournament this season, the Dons would meet the Bulldogs in the semi-finals, and with Frankie Ferrari at the helm in his final season, USF just might be able to pull off an incredible upset. San Francisco swept BYU this season and split the two meetings with Saint Mary’s, so a WCC title isn’t totally out of the question.