The West Coast Conference men’s basketball tournament gets underway in Las Vegas on March 2. Here’s your printable bracket so you can follow along.
The battle for the NCAA tournament bid gets underway in Las Vegas at the West Coast Conference Tournament as Gonzaga looks to return to the Big Dance after taking the runner-up spot in the 2017 National Championship Game.
The bracket is set and the men’s hoops action gets underway on Friday, March 2. You can find a printable WCC Tournament bracket here.
This year, the Zags enter the tourney at No 7, slipping slightly in the AP polls heading into the conference tournament. Gonzaga finished 27-4 this season and went 17-1 in conference, good for their sixth straight WCC title. That’s only slightly better than the St. Mary’s Gaels, who also finished 27-4 and went 16-2 in conference. That’s good enough for both teams to take the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds.
It’s the middle of the pack that is the most interesting this year. BYU sits at the No. 3 seed, but No. 4 San Francisco, No. 5 Pacific and No. 6 San Diego are all 9-9 in conference play. These three teams could find a way to upset the bracket and make it to the semifinals on Monday.
San Diego (18-12) is coming off its best season since had coach Lamont Smith took over three years ago. Smith will not appear at the tournament, though, after he was arrested on domestic violence charges the morning after USD’s win over USF on March 24. He has been placed on paid administrative leave pending an internal investigation, and assistant coach Sam Scholl (a USD alum who also played with Smith) will act as interim head coach.
It’s possible for St. Mary’s to upset the Zags to earn the WCC’s automatic berth to the NCAA tournament. With the Zags already in the Top-25 they’ve punched their ticket to the Big Dance. There’s no question that the West Coast Conference will be well-represented at the 2018 NIT.
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The WCC Tournament kicks off on Friday, March 2. The championship game takes place Tuesday, March 6 at 6pm PT on ESPN.