WCC Basketball nearly had a team win the NCAA Tournament last season, as the Gonzaga Bulldogs were just a win away from completing an unbeaten season. But the conference had success outside of the juggernaut program, as BYU, Pepperdine and others had their fair share of good results as well.
After a busy transfer portal and extenuation of collegiate careers due to COVID, the WCC is the strongest it’s been in the modern era of college basketball. The conference is slotted as the best mid-major conference this season according to preseason KenPom ratings. Five teams are in the analytics system’s top 70 rankings, which alludes to the notion that the perennial top teams of the WCC can’t expect easy games sprinkled throughout the schedule.
Gonzaga is the top-ranked team in the country and will be a shoo-in for a bid to the NCAA tournament. The question is if this will be a year that sees the conference reach three or more bids, which they’ve only done twice in the last 10 years. But unlike those other seasons, the top half of the conference has a legitimate shot at making the tournament.
Gonzaga and BYU look to continue their success from last season with both teams somehow improving their roster depth. Saint Mary’s continues to develop their brand of basketball with plenty of experience and cohesion. LMU, Santa Clara, and San Francisco all found solutions for their pressing roster needs in the offseason. Here is how we see the season shaking out.