WCC Basketball: Preseason power rankings for 2023-24 season

By Tuck Clarry | Oct 25, 2023

March 7, 2023; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Gonzaga Bulldogs forward Anton Watson (22) shoots the basketball against Saint Mary's Gaels forward Josh Jefferson (5) during the first half in the finals of the WCC Basketball Championships at Orleans Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports /

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WCC Basketball Pacific Tigers guard Keylan Boone (20) and teammate guard Tyler Beard Stan Szeto-USA TODAY Sports /

8. Pacific Tigers

The Tigers sneakily were one of the biggest surprises last season, with Leonard Perry building up a team picked to finish last in the coaches’ preseason poll to a 7-9 record in conference play. He did so leaning heavily on do-everything guard Jordan Ivy-Curry and Keylan Boone, who left the program this offseason.

A three-guard backcourt will be tasked with a lot of the scoring. Junior Tyler Beard averaged 9.1 points and 2.6 assists per game last season on just 22 minutes. And sophomore Moe Odum showed potential as scorer in the last month of the season where he averaged 9.5 points per contest. Donovan Williams offers experience in his fourth collegiate season and is coming off of a junior campaign where he averaged 7.1 points per game.

The question is how will the Tigers frontcourt look this season, after having one of the worst interior defenses in the country the year prior. The Tigers gave up a 55% make rate on 2-pointers last season and had the 326th best effective field goal defense in college basketball (54%).

Perry brought in size this offseason, acquiring Boise State big Burke Smith in the portal. The 6-foot-11 center played limited minutes for the Broncos and would no doubt hinder Pacific’s pace after having the 61st-best-adjusted pace according to KenPom last season. The loss in established scoring and experience is enough to question Pacific cracking the middle of the pack in the WCC.

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