The first month of the 2021-22 college basketball season is in the books. There have been plenty of thrilling moments, surprise results and unforgettable finishes taking place all across the country. From the AAC to the Horizon League, it has been an amazing start to the season for hoops fans. Those residing on the east coast might not be fully aware of the high-quality basketball being played out in the Pacific Time Zone. The West Coast Conference has been put on the national map in recent years thanks to perennial powerhouse, Gonzaga. While the Bulldogs are once again among the projected national title contenders, the league runs much deeper than just Gonzaga this season. Through the first month of the season, numerous WCC basketball programs have found success in nonconference play.
The following article provides an update on all things West Coast Conference hoops. Read on for the latest notable WCC basketball headlines, updated conference standings and a list of marquee games to watch involving WCC teams in the week ahead.
WCC Basketball Weekly Headlines
The past week in WCC basketball was certainly filled with action. The ten teams combined to earn several impressive wins while also suffering a few disappointing nonconference defeats. Here are the top headlines from around the West Coast Conference to get you up to speed as the first month of the season comes to a close.
Gonzaga Basketball, BYU Basketball Slide in AP Top 25 After Losses
Despite both of the ranked WCC teams suffering losses this past week, they each remain in this week’s AP Top 25. Of course, it comes as no surprise that both dropped a bit relative to their standing from a week ago. Gonzaga suffered its second defeat of the season last Saturday night to Alabama. The highly-anticipated “Battle in Seattle” marked the debut of college hoops in the brand new Climate Pledge Arena, home of the NHL’s Seattle Kraken. Gonzaga took on a ranked Alabama team out of the SEC in front of a sold-out crowd.
Despite getting double-double efforts from both Drew Timme (23 points, 10 rebounds) and Chet Holmgren (10 points, 11 rebounds), the Bulldogs could not climb all the way back from what was a 16-point halftime deficit. Alabama road a spectacular 28-point performance by Jaden Shackleford to a 91-82 upset win. The loss resulted in Gonzaga basketball dropping from No. 3 to No. 5 in this week’s AP Poll. Mark Few’s team is the highest-ranked two-loss team in the country.
BYU Upset in Overtime
The other ranked WCC basketball program, BYU, also suffered a narrow defeat last week. Unlike Gonzaga’s loss which came to another highly-regarded opponent, the Cougars’ loss came in upset fashion. A 17-point, 11-rebound double-double by Alex Barcello was not enough as BYU was outscored 17-10 in overtime by WAC opponent Utah Valley resulting in a stunning 72-65 loss. If anything, it just points to how difficult it can be for even the top-tier college basketball programs to go and win on the road. Ecstatic Wolverines fans stormed the court following UVU’s upset. BYU basketball was able to rebound on Saturday with a solid road win over Missouri State.
The loss dropped the Cougars 12 spots in this week’s AP Poll from No. 12 down to No. 24. Nonetheless, Mark Pope’s squad was able to maintain their ranking heading into a massive in-state rivalry game this week against Utah State.
Jamaree Bouyea Earns WCC Basketball Player of the Week Honors
San Francisco basketball played its first game since Black Friday this past weekend against Mountain West Conference foe, UNLV. Although this year’s Runnin’ Rebels team is not quite as strong as the program’s glory days, they are still a tough opponent to face. The Dons found themselves in a tight three-point game at the half of Saturday’s matchup. That script changed in a big way following the break, and senior guard Jamaree Bouyea led the charge.
San Francisco outscored UNLV 43-25 after halftime to come away with a convincing 21-point win. Bouyea continued his terrific start to the season by dropping 30 points to help the Dons pull away. It marked the fourth time in the last five games that Bouyea eclipsed 20 points scored. However, it comes as no surprise that the 30-point performance marked his highest scoring total of the season. Bouyea was recognized as the WCC basketball Player of the Week for his stellar individual effort.
The victory over UNLV was the ninth of the season for the unbeaten Dons. Despite remaining outside of the AP Top 25, San Francisco basketball did receive 10 votes in this week’s poll.
Clean Sweep for WCC Basketball Programs to Begin the Week
While most people still consider Gonzaga basketball the epitome of WCC success, the rest of the league continues to post solid results during the nonconference portion of the schedule. Of course, BYU remains ranked and San Francisco is still undefeated. In addition, even the “back end” of the conference has notably been picking up wins of late.
San Diego basketball started off what the WCC hopes will be a strong week overall with a thrilling one-point win over Cal Poly on Sunday. The Toreros were paced by Wayne McKinney III, who scored a career-high 17 points off the bench in the win. USD evened their record at 5-5 on the season.
The following night, Pepperdine basketball carried the flag for the WCC as the only team in action. It has been a struggle to begin the season for the Waves after losing Kessler Edwards to the NBA. Nonetheless, Pepperdine managed to snap a six-game losing streak on Monday night with a double-digit win over San Jose State. The Waves jumped out to an 18-point halftime advantage and never looked back. Keith Fisher III led the effort with a season-high 21 points on 9-11 shooting from the floor. In total, five Pepperdine players scored in double figures.
Eli Scott Leads Loyola Marymount Past AAC Foe Tulsa
The WCC basketball success carried over to Tuesday night as well. Both Loyola Marymount and Santa Clara decided to join in on the winning fun in their respective non-conference matchups. Eli Scott carried the Lions past Tulsa with a 19-point, 11-rebound double-double. LMU earned a hard-fought 60-55 road win as a result.
Meanwhile, Santa Clara guard Jalen Williams shot 8-11 from the field on his way to 22 points in a double-digit home win over Mount St. Mary’s. The win was much-needed for the Broncos as they came into Tuesday’s game having lost three of four following a 5-0 start to the season.
Updated WCC Basketball Standings
The following table contains the updated WCC standings after the first month of the season. Note that the West Coast is among the conferences that are yet to play league games this season. In fact, WCC basketball conference play will not begin until the new year.
| Team | Conference Record | Overall Record |
|---|---|---|
| Gonzaga | 5-0 | 16-3 |
| Saint Mary's | 5-0 | 16-4 |
| BYU | 4-2 | 14-7 |
| Santa Clara | 3-2 | 15-5 |
| Pacific | 3-2 | 10-10 |
| Loyola Marymount | 3-3 | 13-7 |
| San Diego | 2-4 | 9-11 |
| Portland | 1-4 | 9-11 |
| San Francisco | 1-5 | 12-9 |
| Pepperdine | 0-5 | 7-12 |
Upcoming WCC Basketball Games to Note
While we may still be a few weeks away from the start of head-to-head matchups within the conference, the WCC basketball nonconference schedule remains jam-packed throughout the coming week. All ten teams have made it a point to test their mettle against high-quality opponents. This trend will continue in the days ahead. Among the notable action is a showdown that just might vault San Francisco into next week’s college basketball top 25 rankings.
Utah State at BYU
Date: Wednesday, 12/8
Time: 9 p.m. EST
National TV Coverage: N/A
Fresno State at San Francisco
Date: Wednesday, 12/8
Time: 10 p.m. EST
National TV Coverage: WCC Network on Stadium
BYU vs Creighton
Date: Saturday, 12/11
Time: 12 p.m. EST
National TV Coverage: FS1
UC Santa Barbara at Saint Mary’s
Date: Saturday, 12/11
Time: 6 p.m. EST
National TV Coverage: WCC Network on Stadium
Santa Clara at California
Date: Saturday, 12/11
Time: 9 p.m. EST
National TV Coverage: PAC12 Network
Washington at Gonzaga
Date: Sunday, 12/12
Time: 5 p.m. EST
National TV Coverage: ESPN
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