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WCC Basketball: 2020 Jerry Colangelo Classic major non-conference opportunity

By Tristan Freeman

SPOKANE, WASHINGTON - JANUARY 18: Drew Timme #2 of the Gonzaga Bulldogs battles for control of a loose ball against Zac Seljass #2 of the BYU Cougars in the first half at McCarthey Athletic Center on January 18, 2020 in Spokane, Washington. (Photo by William Mancebo/Getty Images)
SPOKANE, WASHINGTON - JANUARY 18: Drew Timme #2 of the Gonzaga Bulldogs battles for control of a loose ball against Zac Seljass #2 of the BYU Cougars in the first half at McCarthey Athletic Center on January 18, 2020 in Spokane, Washington. (Photo by William Mancebo/Getty Images) /
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Jerry Colangelo
PHOENIX, ARIZONA – DECEMBER 09: Zach Norvell Jr. #23 of the Gonzaga Bulldogs (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /

WCC Basketball is featured heavily in the 2020 Jerry Colangelo Classic. Can the teams from this league all win this NCAA Basketball Tournament?

As a mid-major conference, WCC Basketball and its teams have a ton of pressure to perform during the NCAA Basketball non-conference portion of the schedule. Typically, the league has been fighting to be a 1-2 bid league, with three (Gonzaga, BYU and Saint Mary’s) projected to would’ve made the 2020 NCAA Tournament, had one occurred.

For the upcoming season, the WCC is hoping to replicate that success. Individually, each of the 10 programs has multiple quality matchups and opportunities. But there’s one event that could be a huge boost for the conference overall, named the Jerry Colangelo Classic. It’s named after one of the most influential names in the sport of basketball and is hosted in Phoenix, Arizona.

This is the third year of the non-conference tournament. In its inception in 2018, Nevada took on Grand Canyon, while Gonzaga faced off against Tennessee in what ended up being one of the top matchups all of that season. The double-header last year featured Grand Canyon vs Liberty, along with Saint Mary’s against Dayton.

This time around, the Jerry Colangelo Classic features four matchups instead of two, including a potential matchup of top-10 teams. Once again, host Grand Canyon is part of the event, hoping to get their first win. Other local programs such as Northern Arizona and Arizona State are also participating. Texas Tech is from the Big 12 but could be the best team in the entire field.

Facing them will be a set of WCC Basketball programs hoping to go a combined 4-0 in this event. Who is most likely to get a victory in their own right? Here’s an early look at the four future matchups.