Game Info 2/28

6:00 PM PST
San Francisco Dons at San Diego Toreros
Jenny Craig Pavilion, San Diego, California.
San Francisco is 13-15 on the season, 6-9 in WCC play and currently on a two game winning streak.
San Diego is 13-16 on the season, 6-8 in WCC play and currently on a four game losing streak.
TV: Fox Sports San Diego and Comcast SportsNet Plus.
Radio: 1090 AM in San Diego.
Online: Live audio from 1090 AM and USF Athletics.

8:00 PM PST
#2 Gonzaga Bulldogs at Brigham Young Cougars
Marriott Center, Provo, Utah.
Brigham Young is 20-9 on the season, 9-5 in WCC play and currently on a one game losing streak.
Gonzaga is 27-2 on the season, 14-0 in WCC play and currently on a ten game winning streak.

TV: ESPN2.

Radio: BYU radio network: KSL 1160 AM & 102.7 FM along the Wasatch Front, KMGR 95.9 FM in Manti, KSUB 590 AM in Cedar City, KDXU 890 AM in St. George and KTHK 105.5 FM in Idaho Falls. Gonzaga radio network: KGA 1510 AM and KEYF 101.1 FM in Spokane, KTEL 1490 AM in Walla Walla, KALE 960 AM in the Tri-Cities, KKRT 900 AM in Wenatchee, KWIQ 1020 AM in Moses Lake and KMAS 1030 AM in the Puget Sound region. 

Satellite Radio: BYU Radio Sirius XM 143.
Online: Live audio from KSL and KGA. Live video from ESPN3.

Loyola Marymount Lions at Santa Clara Broncos
Leavey Center, Santa Clara, California.
Loyola Marymount is 8-19 on the season, 1-13 in WCC play and currently on a 12 game losing streak.
Santa Clara is 20-9 on the season, 8-6 in WCC play and currently on a one game winning streak.
TV: Comcast SportsNet Bay Area and ROOT Sports Rocky Mountain and Northwest.
Radio: KXLU 88.9 FM in Los Angeles and KDOW 1220 AM in the Bay Area.
Online: Live audio from KXLU and KDOW.

WCC Wednesday 2/27

8:00 PM PST

#23 Saint Mary's Gaels at Pepperdine Waves

Firestone Fieldhouse, Malibu, California.

Saint Mary's is 24-5 on the season, 12-2 in WCC play and currently on a three game winning streak.

Pepperdine is 12-15 on the season, 4-10 in WCC play and currently on a two game losing streak.

TV: ESPNU and ESPN Pacific Rim.

Online: Live video from ESPN3, live audio from Pepperdine Athletics.

Gonzaga's Historic Ranking

For the first time in program history the Gonzaga Bulldogs are the #2 team in the AP Top 25. The Zags are the third WCC team to reach this height. They join the exceptional Dons' teams of the mid-century and a blip on the historic radar (funny to say that about a team that hit #2) Broncos squad from 1968-69. This is historic not just for the program or the conference, but the college hoops landscape on the whole.

In the history of the AP Poll only 24 other mid-major teams have earned a ranking of two or higher. For this article I considered any team that is not currently in a power-six conference to be a mid-major. Some teams got shafted with this definition (DePaul, you shouldn't have sold out), some teams got rewarded (Temple, good thing the move to the Big East isn't until next season).

The Top-25 of Mid-Majors in the Top-25's top-2. Click image for full size view.

Game Info 2/23

WCC Game of the Week

2:00 PM PST

Santa Clara Broncos at Portland Pilots

Chiles Center, Portland, Oregon.

Santa Clara is 19-9 on the season, 7-6 in WCC play and currently on a one game losing streak.

Portland is 11-18 on the season, 4-10 in WCC play and currently on a one game winning streak.

TV: Time Warner Cable SportsNet, Comcast SportsNet California and ROOT Sports Northwest/Rocky Mountain.

Radio: KPDQ 800 AM in Portland and KDOW 1220 AM in the Bay Area.

Online: Live audio from KPDQ and KDOW.

ESPN BracketBusters

3:00 PM PST

Creighton Bluejays at Saint Mary's Gaels

McKeon Pavilion, Moraga, California.

Creighton hails from the Missouri Valley Conference, is 22-6 on the season, 11-5 in conference play and currently on a two game winning streak. The Bluejays are 6-4 on the road this season.

Saint Mary's is 23-5 on the season, 12-2 in WCC play and currently on a two game winning streak. The Gaels are 14-1 at home this season.

TV: ESPN

Radio: KXSP 590 AM in Omaha, Nebraska.

Online: Live audio from KXSP.

BracketBusters 2013

Two WCC teams are participating in BracketBusters this season. Unfortunately this is the last season of BracketBusters. The event has been so helpful to the good but all too often overlooked mid-major teams across the country. In past seasons teams like George Mason and VCU have utilized resume-improving BracketBusters games to do quite literally what the name of the event implies. In 2006 and 2011 respectively, George Mason and VCU, busted a ton of brackets by running to the Final Four. Both squads received at large berths in those years, thanks in large part to their victory in their BracketBusters game.

For the two WCC teams involved in this years' edition, only one has any shot at busting any brackets. Fortunately, that team, Saint Mary's drew the only other team in the event that can help them earn an at-large bid, Creighton. The WCC's other team? Loyola Marymount. The participating schools are chosen by the conferences before the start of the season, and coming off a strong 21 win campaign last year the Lions weren't a bad choice for the WCC's second participant. They sure will look out of place now however, sitting at 8-18. They will play Cal Poly, a team which has done nothing other than beat UCLA early in the season.

WCC Thursday 2/21

We're three weeks into February. That means there is only one week left until March Madness. Though don't let the calendar fool you into thinking that this will be one final week of calm. It may not have the same alliterative ring but February madness is upon us.

7:00 PM PST

San Francisco Dons at Loyola Marymount Lions

Gersten Pavilion, Los Angeles, California.

San Francisco is 11-15 on the season, 4-9 in WCC play and currently on a two game losing streak.

Loyola Marymount is 8-18 on the season, 1-12 in WCC play and currently on a ten game losing streak.

Radio: KXLU 88.9 FM in Los Angeles.

Online: Live video from WCC Digital; Live audio from KXLU.

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San Diego Toreros at Portland Pilots

Chiles Center, Portland, Oregon.

San Diego is 13-14 on the season, 6-6 in WCC play and currently on a two game losing streak.

Portland is 10-18 on the season, 3-10 in WCC play and currently on a one game losing streak.

TV: ROOT Sports Northwest and Rocky Mountain.

Radio: KPDQ 800 AM in Portland and 1090 AM in San Diego.

Online: Live audio from KPDQ and 1090 AM.

8:00 PM PST

Brigham Young Cougars at Saint Mary's Gaels

McKeon Pavilion, Moraga, California.

Brigham Young is 20-8 on the season, 9-4 in WCC play and currently on a two game winning streak.

Saint Mary's is 22-5 on the season, 11-2 in WCC play and currently on a one game winning streak.

TV: ESPN2 and ESPN Pacific Rim.

Radio: KSL 1160 AM & 102.7 FM along the Wasatch Front.

Satellite Radio: BYU Radio Sirius XM 143.

Online: Live video from Watch ESPN;  live audio from KSL.

Learn about this image by clicking "Read more".

WCC Tournament Bracket. Click image for larger size.

WCC Wednesday 2/20

8:00 PM PST

Santa Clara Broncos at #3 Gonzaga Bulldogs

McCarthey Athletic Center, Spokane, Washington.

Santa Clara is 19-8 on the season, 7-5 in WCC play and currently on a two game winning streak.
Gonzaga is 25-2 on the season, 12-0 in WCC play and currently on an eight game winning streak.

TV: ESPNU

Radio: Santa Clara play-by-play: KDOW 1220 AM in the Bay Area, Gonzaga play-by-play: KGA 1510 AM and KEYF 101.1 FM in Spokane, KTEL 1490 AM in Walla Walla, KALE 960 AM in the Tri-Cities, KKRT 900 AM in Wenatchee, KWIQ 1020 AM in Moses Lake and KMAS 1030 AM in the Puget Sound region.

Online: Live video from WatchESPN. Live audio from KDOW and KGA.

The McCarthey Athletic Center will see it's last legitimate chance for an upset tonight when the Broncos take on the Zags. For the Zags it's just another game to win if they want to stay on track for a perfect WCC season and have a shot at a one seed in the NCAA tournament. For the Broncos it's another chance to put some distance between themselves and the San Diego Toreros for the fourth place spot in the WCC standings and earn a bye in the WCC tournament.

The Heart of College Hoops: BYU vs. Utah State

7:00 PM MST

Utah State Aggies at Brigham Young Cougars

Marriott Center, Provo, Utah.

Utah State hails from the Western Athletic Conference. They are 18-6 on the season, 9-5 in WAC play,    7-2 on the road and currently on a one game winning streak.

BYU is 19-8 on the season, 9-4 in WCC play, 14-2 at home and currently on a one game winning streak.

TV: BYUtv.

Radio: KSL 1160 AM & 102.7 FM along the Wasatch Front.

Satellite Radio: BYU Radio Sirius XM 143.

Online: Live video from BYUtv Sports, live audio from KSL.

There's a very good reason this non-conference match-up is taking place just as we approach the home stretch of conference play. Utah State was going through it's last practice in Logan before heading south to Provo when forward Danny Berger collapsed on the court. Aggies' trainer Mike Williams quickly used a defibrillator on Berger, saving his life.

WCC Saturday 2/16

Today in brief:

Gonzaga looks to remain unbeaten in WCC play, remain on track for a two seed in the NCAA tournament and pick up their 25th win of the season (sixth straight year with 25+ wins if they win tonight). The Zags have lost three straight at San Francisco and no player on their roster has won a game there.

Saint Mary's will be looking to rebound after getting crushed (relative to how they play the Zags) by Gonzaga on Thursday. A trip to the worst team in the WCC should make that easy. 

BYU hosts a Portland team that should have no chance against what should be an angry Cougars squad. BYU is on a two game skid that includes a rare home loss to a (even rarer) sub .500 San Francisco team. 

Santa Clara will be looking to put some distance between themselves and San Diego in the standings. Raymond Cowels III is seven points away from becoming the Broncos' fourth active player to amass at least 1,000 points, he averages 10 points per game.

1:30 PM PST

West Coast Conference Game of the Week

#5/#3 Gonzaga Bulldogs at San Francisco Dons
War Memorial Gymnasium, San Francisco, California.

Gonzaga is 24-2 on the season, 11-0 in WCC play and currently on a seven game winning streak.

San Francisco is 11-14 on the season, 4-8 in WCC play and currently on a one game losing streak.

TV: Time Warner Cable SportsNet, Comcast SportsNet Bay Area, Root Sports NW and Rocky Mountain and KHQ TV.

Radio: KGA 1510 AM and KEYF 101.1 FM in Spokane, KTEL 1490 AM in Walla Walla, KALE 960 AM in the Tri-Cities, KKRT 900 AM in Wenatchee, KWIQ 1020 AM in Moses Lake and KMAS 1030 AM in the Puget Sound region.

Online: Live audio from KGA.

Game Recap: Lunch Break Edition

I haven't been writing many game recaps this season because of my work schedule, which involves getting up at 6:20 in the morning after watching games that don't get started until 10:00 at night. By the time I get home it's pretty much time, especially on Fridays, to start focusing on the next set of games. Last night featured a game that generated much to be said, so I'm squeezing a quick hitting recap into my lunch break at work.

Gonzaga Bulldogs 77 - Saint Mary's Gaels 60

McKeon Pavilion, Moraga, California.

Thursday, February 14, 2013.

Gonzaga has now won two straight games against Saint Mary's. For the past few years these two teams had been alternating between victory and defeat to the tune of a 4-4 record over the past eight games. Now, Gonzaga has ended that see-saw affair with a decisive season sweep of the Gaels. That really won't change anything as far as the rivalry goes. It may actually make it more intense from the perspective of Gaels fans, assuming these two squads meet in the WCC Tournament Championship Game in just under a months time. 

Good Ol' Valentine's Day Hatred

#5/#3 Gonzaga Bulldogs at Saint Mary's Gaels

McKeon Pavilion, Moraga, California.

Gonzaga is 23-2 on the season, 10-0 in WCC play and currently on a six game winning streak.

Saint Mary's is 21-4 on the season, 10-1 in WCC play and currently on a nine game winning streak.

TV: ESPN2 and ESPN Australia.

Radio: KGA 1510 AM in the greater Spokane area, KMAS 1030 AM in the Puget Sound area, KALE 930 AM in the Lower Columbia Basin and 1490 AM in the Walla Walla area.

Online: Live video from WatchESPN, Live audio from KGA.

Here we go again. Gonzaga vs. Saint Mary's for first place in the West Coast Conference. I'm not sure these two teams can play each other anymore without first place being on the line.

This year Gonzaga has risen to elite status, garnered talk of runs to the final four or beyond in the NCAA tournament, earned a top five ranking in both major polls, been called "Mark Few's best team ever" and so on and so on. Despite that it's still entirely possible that the Zags don't win the WCC regular season title outright. This year Saint Mary's got off to a rough start, lost a few games they really shouldn't have, won a couple they came within a second of losing and have had a seat reserved for them on the bubble since December. That said, they're still within 40 minutes of sitting alone atop the West Coast Conference.

It hasn't been a long lived rivalry. Over the past 10 years the Zags hold a 19-6 advantage over the Gaels in head to head match ups. Over the past five that advantage dwindles to just 8-4. Over the past eight games though, each team has won four. They've alternated victory and defeat for the past five. They've met in the past four WCC Tournament Finals.

That's the history. What about the now?

Happy Valentine's Day

Stop reading this right now and go tell someone you care about that you care about them.

Did you do that? Don't lie to your computer screen. Did you? Okay, now that we've gotten the holiday out of the way let's get right into the WCC action for today.

7:00 PM PST

Loyola Marymount Lions at Pepperdine Waves

Firestone Fieldhouse, Malibu, California.

LMU is 8-15 on the season, 1-10 in WCC play and currently on an eight game losing streak.

Pepperdine is 11-13 on the season, 3-8 in WCC play and currently on a one game winning streak.

Radio: KXLU 88.9 FM in the Los Angeles area.

Online: Live video from WCC Digital and live audio from KXLU.

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Portland Pilots at San Francisco Dons

War Memorial Gymnasium, San Francisco, California.

Portland is 9-17 on the season, 2-9 in WCC play and currently on a one game losing streak.

San Francisco is 11-13 on the season, 4-7 in WCC play and currently on a two game winning streak.

Radio: KPDQ 800 AM in the Portland area.

Online: Live video from WCC Digital and live audio from KPDQ.

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San Diego Toreros at Santa Clara Broncos

Leavey Center, Santa Clara, California.

San Diego is 13-13 on the season, 6-5 in WCC play and currently on a one game losing streak.

Santa Clara is 17-8 on the season, 5-5 in WCC play and currently on a two game losing streak.

Radio: KDOW 1220 AM in the Bay Area and XX 1090 AM in San Diego.

Online: Live video from WCC Digital, live audio from KDOW and 1090 AM.

8:00 PM PST

#5/#3 Gonzaga Bulldogs at Saint Mary's Gaels

McKeon Pavilion, Moraga, California.

Gonzaga is 23-2 on the season, 10-0 in WCC play and currently on a six game winning streak.

Saint Mary's is 21-4 on the season, 10-1 in WCC play and currently on a nine game winning streak.

TV: ESPN2 and ESPN Australia.

Radio: KGA 1510 AM in the greater Spokane area, KMAS 1030 AM in the Puget Sound area, KALE 930 AM in the Lower Columbia Basin and 1490 AM in the Walla Walla area.

Online: Live video from WatchESPN, Live audio from KGA.

Best Offense in the Land?

The Gonzaga Bulldogs moved into the top five of both major college basketball polls yesterday. They're fifth in the AP and third in the Coaches. In both polls the Zags received at least one first place vote. While they're not yet being recognized as the top team in the land by enough to earn them the top spot in either poll, they may well be the top team in the land. The top offense in the land anyways.

From the start of the season when the Zags put up 103 points on Southern Utah it was clear that this team was going to be one of the better offensive units in the nation. After that, the Zags would put up triple digits once more, score in the 90s twice, the 80s seven times and less than the 70s only six times. Points per game isn't a very important statistic when it comes to determining quality, but in this era of record low scoring, it's worth noting at the very least.

The Zags' offensive skill was shown not just through their penchant for high scoring output, but also through their ability to put up all those points from pretty much anywhere on the court.

From the time the Zags signed Przemek Karnowski they've been included in the discussion of "which team has the best front court in the nation?" That discussion pretty much evaporated in December when Kelly Olynyk's emergence made it as close as possible to being a fact that the Zags have the best front court. Through their first 14 games, all their games before Jan 1, Karnowski, Olynyk, Dower or Harris led the team in scoring ten times. Overall one those four have led the team in 20 of the 25 contests. Lately however, the Zags have been showing that they can beat teams from outside, too.

WCC Thursday 2/7

7:00 PM PST

Loyola Marymount Lions at Portland Pilots

Chiles Center, Portland, Oregon.

Loyola Marymount is 8-14 on the season, 1-8 in WCC play and currently on a six game losing streak.

Portland is 8-16 on the season, 1-8 in WCC play and currently on a six game losing streak.

TV: Comcast SportsNet Northwest and Bay Area.

Radio: KXLU 88.9 FM in L.A. and KPDQ 800 AM in Portland.

Online: Live audio from KXLU and KPDQ.

Brigham Young Cougars at San Diego Toreros

Jenny Craig Pavilion, San Diego, California.

BYU is 18-6 on the season, 8-2 in WCC play and currently on a three game winning streak.

San Diego is 12-12 on the season, 5-4 in WCC play and currently on a one game winning streak.

TV: BYUtv.

Radio: KSL 1160 AM & 102.7 FM along the Wasatch Front and 1090 AM in San Diego.

Satellite Radio: BYU Radio Sirius XM 143.

Online: Live video from BYUtv Sports. Live audio from KSL and The Mighty 1090.

8:00 PM PST

Saint Mary's Gaels at Santa Clara Broncos

Leavey Center, Santa Clara, California.

Saint Mary's is 19-4 on the season, 8-1 in WCC play and currently on a seven game winning streak.

Santa Clara is 17-7 on the season, 5-4 in WCC play and currently on a one game losing streak.

TV: ESPN2 and ESPN Pacific Rim.

Radio: KDOW 1220 AM in the Bay Area.

Online: Live video from ESPN3, live audio from KDOW.

Pepperdine Waves at #6 Gonzaga Bulldogs

McCarthey Athletic Center, Spokane, Washington.

Pepperdine is 10-12 on the season, 2-7 in WCC play and currently on a three game losing streak.

Gonzaga is 21-2 on the season, 8-0 in WCC play and currently on a four game winning streak.

TV: ROOT Sports Northwest and Rocky Mountain and Comcast SportsNet California.

Radio: KGA 1510 AM in the Inland Northwest.

Online: Live audio from KGA.

A Better Than Regular Monday

7:00 PM PST

San Diego Toreros at Loyola Marymount Lions

Gersten Pavilion, Los Angeles, California.

San Diego is 11-12 on the season, 4-4 in WCC play and currently on a four game losing streak.

Loyola Marymount is 8-12 on the season, 1-7 in WCC play and currently on a five game losing streak.

TV: Time Warner Cable SportsNet, Comcast SportsNet Bay Area and ROOT Sports Northwest and Rocky Mountain.

Radio: KXLU 88.9 FM in Los Angeles and 1090 AM in San Diego.

Online: Live audio from KXLU and The Mighty 1090.

Both LMU and San Diego's last memory of a basketball game was a loss to Gonzaga. LMU was crushed by 45 points on Thursday and San Diego lost by only two on Saturday. 

This will be game two of four during a week span for the Toreros, who will face Brigham Young on Thursday then Saint Mary's on Saturday. The Toreros put up a good fight against the #6 (then #7) Zags on Saturday so this will be a nice break from high level competition, despite the fact that they're playing an odd Monday game, before returning to facing the top dogs of the WCC later this week. 

Loyola Marymount has been struggling pretty much all year. The Toreros had been struggling for the last few weeks. For the Lions this was, until seeing the near upset on Saturday, circled as the game that could help turn their season around. Unfortunately, the Toreros seem to have learned to apply the style of play they used to beat the lower level WCC teams (like LMU) earlier this season to the high level teams. That does not bode well for the Lions.

As always, this WCC game will feature two great guards. Both of these great guards are under six feet tall. Christopher Anderson for the Toreros is 5'7'' and Anthony Ireland for the Lions is 5'10''.

WCC Saturday 2/2

WCC Game of the Week

2:30 PM PST

San Francisco Dons at Pepperdine Waves

Firestone Fieldhouse, Malibu, California.

San Francisco is 9-13 on the season, 2-7 in WCC play and is currently on a two game losing streak.

Pepperdine is 10-11 on the season, 2-6 in WCC play and currently on a two game losing streak.

TV: Time Warner Cable SportsNet, Comcast SportsNet. Delayed until 9:00 PM PST on ROOT Sports Rocky Mountain and Northwest.

Radio: 95.7 FM in the Bay Area

Online: Live video from Pepperdine Sports.

Pepperdine and San Francisco are coming off of close defeats at the hands of BYU and Saint Mary's respectively. Both teams played very well in those games and managed to, especially Pepperdine, put a major scare in their much more powerful foe.

In this game the chance for a major upset is gone but not the opportunity to play very well. San Francisco has the highest three point percentage of any WCC team. Not only can they score from deep but they like doing so. San Francisco is second in the WCC, by a slight margin to Santa Clara, in percentage of total points coming from long range. 33.78% of the Dons' points come from deep. That long range savvy will come in handy against a Waves team that likes to run a slow and methodical offense. 

Pepperdine has the least possessions per forty minutes of any WCC team with 64.4. Against a Dons team that struggles mightily to defend, their slow pace and reliance on the two point shot should normally allow them to control the game and grind out a win. However, as I said earlier, the Dons can light it up from deep. If the Dons get going from downtown they will be able to burst past Pepperdine's slow,  two by two buildup of points.

Hey, there are two great guards playing in this game. It's a WCC game after all. Cody Doolin and Lorne Jackson are the experienced core of their young teams, and they're really good at basketball.