WCC Basketball: Preseason power rankings for 2020-21 season

By Nick Raponi | Sep 17, 2020

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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SPOKANE, WASHINGTON – JANUARY 25: Head coach Damon Stoudamire of the Pacific Tigers (Photo by William Mancebo/Getty Images) /

9. Pacific Tigers

Last season: 23-10 (11-5) 4th Place

This is where the conference starts to get a little bit tighter. In my eyes, the Pacific Tigers could finish anywhere from sixth to ninth place, but the quality of talent they are losing in comparison to the teams around them in the bottom-mid tier of the conference is what has me projecting them to finish ninth.

While Damon Stoudamire is a fantastic coach that seems to get the best out of what he has, losing Jahlil Tripp and Gary Chivichyan are two losses that they don’t have the personnel to replace. In order to be competitive, the team will be relying on Justin Moore to take a massive leap forward in his progression and take control of the offense, most particularly in the scoring department.

If they do end up having more success than I project and finish higher than ninth place, it’ll be because of the previously mentioned Moore. However, it will be interesting to see how the team plays around him, including incoming transfers Nigel Shadd and Jalen Brown.