Chalk held firm throughout last year’s WCC basketball tournament as top-seeded and then-unbeaten Gonzaga rolled to the championship. The Bulldogs’ run of dominance continued in 2022 as they are again the 1-seed in this year’s WCC Tournament bracket. However, the road figures to be much tougher, even with a triple-bye to the Semifinals in hand. The West Coast Conference was deeper this season than it has been in a very long time. Regardless of tournament results, most college basketball analysts are projecting at least three WCC basketball teams to qualify for March Madness. Of course, each school can remove all doubt by clinching the conference’s automatic bid. The following contains the WCC Tournament bracket and schedule, as well as a preview of what we can expect to see.
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WCC Basketball Standings
| Team | Conf. Record | Overall Record | Seed |
| Gonzaga | 13-1 | 24-3 | 1 seed |
| Saint Mary’s | 12-3 | 24-6 | 2 seed |
| Santa Clara | 10-5 | 20-10 | 3 seed |
| San Francisco | 10-6 | 23-8 | 4 seed |
| BYU | 9-6 | 21-9 | 5 seed |
| Portland | 7-7 | 17-13 | 6 seed |
| San Diego | 7-9 | 14-15 | 7 seed |
| Loyola Marymount | 3-12 | 10-17 | 8 seed |
| Pacific | 3-11 | 8-21 | 9 seed |
| Pepperdine | 1-15 | 7-24 | 10 seed |
WCC Tournament Schedule
Dates: March 3-5, 7-8
TV Schedule: WCC Network/BYU TV (First and Second Rounds); ESPN2 (Quarterfinals, Second Semifinal); ESPN (First Semifinal, Championship Game)
Venue: Orleans Arena — Las Vegas, NV
Byes: Top 6 receive single bye to Second Round; Top 4 receive double-bye to Third Round; Top 2 receive triple-bye to Semifinals
Defending Champion: Gonzaga
WCC Tournament Bracket
First Round
- (7) San Diego 74, (10) Pepperdine 67
- (8) Loyola Marymount 86, (9) Pacific 66
Second Round
- (5) BYU 85, (8) Loyola Marymount 60
- (6) Portland 73, (7) San Diego 55
Third Round
- (3) Santa Clara 91, (6) Portland 67
- (4) San Francisco 75, (5) BYU 63
Semifinals
- (1) Gonzaga 81, (4) San Francisco 71
- (2) Saint Mary’s 75, (3) Santa Clara 72
Championship
- (1) Gonzaga 82, (2) Saint Mary’s 69
Gonzaga advances to NCAA Tournament
WCC Conference Breakdown
Although Gonzaga is still seeking its first NCAA National Championship in program history, the Bulldogs have been the class of the West Coast Conference since the turn of the century. Dating back to 1999, Gonzaga has won a whopping 18 of the 22 WCC basketball tournaments that have been contested. This includes winning in each of the last two years and eight of the last nine overall. The only other school to sneak in with a WCC Tournament title in the last nine seasons was Saint Mary’s back in 2019.
Considering the pedigree of success that both programs have established, it’s no surprise to see Gonzaga and Saint Mary’s as the top two seeds again in this year’s bracket. The Bulldogs are the top-ranked team in both the College Basketball NET and KenPom’s adjusted efficiency power ratings. Meanwhile, the Gaels also check in with top-20 rankings in both metrics. The real difference between WCC basketball this year and in seasons prior is the depth of the league beyond the top two teams. Both 4-seed San Francisco and 5-seed BYU come into the WCC Tournament bracket clinging to the March Madness bubble. 3-seed Santa Clara also boasts a top-75 NET ranking and a high-powered offense that has them capable of going on a run in Las Vegas.
It comes as no surprise that the WCC basketball media voters correctly tabbed Gonzaga to win the conference in the preseason poll. Perhaps the bigger surprise was that BYU actually received one of the 10 available first-place votes! The Cougars actually were one of the conference’s biggest underachievers with their fifth-place finish in the WCC basketball standings. Both Pepperdine and Loyola Marymount fared worse than expected as well. Meanwhile, Santa Clara and Portland finished three and four spots higher respectively than they were predicted to.
Team Stats | 2022 WCC Basketball Tournament
(1) Gonzaga Bulldogs
Net Ranking: 1 (No. 1 in WCC)
KenPom Overall Efficiency Ranking: 1 (No. 1 in WCC)
Adjusted Offensive Efficiency: 121.6 (No. 3)
Adjusted Defensive Efficiency: 88.8 (No. 6)
Strength of Schedule Rating: +2.62 (No. 181)
(2) Saint Mary’s Gaels
Net Ranking: 19 (No. 2 in WCC)
KenPom Overall Efficiency Ranking: 17 (No. 2 in WCC)
Adjusted Offensive Efficiency: 109.6 (No. 72)
Adjusted Defensive Efficiency: 89.6 (No. 7)
Strength of Schedule Rating: +5.97 (No. 68)
(3) Santa Clara Broncos
Net Ranking: 72 (No. 5 in WCC)
KenPom Overall Efficiency Ranking: 72 (No. 5 in WCC)
Adjusted Offensive Efficiency: 113.6 (No. 27)
Adjusted Defensive Efficiency: 102.6 (No. 149)
Strength of Schedule Rating: +2.37 (No. 114)
(4) San Francisco Dons
Net Ranking: 27 (No. 3 in WCC)
KenPom Overall Efficiency Ranking: 23 (No. 3 in WCC)
Adjusted Offensive Efficiency: 111.3 (No. 51)
Adjusted Defensive Efficiency: 93.6 (No. 20)
Strength of Schedule Rating: +4.63 (No. 87)
(5) BYU Cougars
Net Ranking: 52 (No. 4 in WCC)
KenPom Overall Efficiency Ranking: 50 (No. 4 in WCC)
Adjusted Offensive Efficiency: 111.1 (No. 54)
Adjusted Defensive Efficiency: 97.4 (No. 60)
Strength of Schedule Rating: +6.20 (No. 63)
(6) Portland Pilots
Net Ranking: 184 (No. 6 in WCC)
KenPom Overall Efficiency Ranking: 182 (No. 6 in WCC)
Adjusted Offensive Efficiency: 103.6 (No. 182)
Adjusted Defensive Efficiency: 104.4 (No. 191)
Strength of Schedule Rating: -1.14 (No. 180)
(7) San Diego Toreros
Net Ranking: 211 (No. 7 in WCC)
KenPom Overall Efficiency Ranking: 217 (No. 8 in WCC)
Adjusted Offensive Efficiency: 98.0 (No. 281)
Adjusted Defensive Efficiency: 101.7 (No. 135)
Strength of Schedule Rating: +2.74 (No. 108)
(8) Loyola Marymount Lions
Net Ranking: 212 (No. 8 in WCC)
KenPom Overall Efficiency Ranking: 203 (No. 7 in WCC)
Adjusted Offensive Efficiency: 107.0 (No. 112)
Adjusted Defensive Efficiency: 109.5 (No. 289)
Strength of Schedule Rating: +4.55 (No. 89)
(9) Pacific Tigers
Net Ranking: 291 (No. 10 in WCC)
KenPom Overall Efficiency Ranking: 283 (No. 10 in WCC)
Adjusted Offensive Efficiency: 96.1 (No. 308)
Adjusted Defensive Efficiency: 105.9 (No. 218)
Strength of Schedule Rating: +0.73 (No. 135)
(10) Pepperdine Waves
Net Ranking: 281 (No. 9 in WCC)
KenPom Overall Efficiency Ranking: 275 (No. 9 in WCC)
Adjusted Offensive Efficiency: 98.8 (No. 272)
Adjusted Defensive Efficiency: 107.8 (No. 260)
Strength of Schedule Rating: +4.76 (No. 84)
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