Countdown 10/11

28 days remain...

The end of the 2012 WCC Championship game. The end of Gonzaga's streak of winning, in some form, the WCC crown.

New Day in the WCC

This year the West Coast Conference regular season champion are the Gaels of Saint Mary's. For the first time since 2000 a team other than Gonzaga is in this position. The NCAA record for consecutive regular season conference titles is 13 set by UCLA from 1966/67-78/79. Gonzaga's streak of 11 straight is the second best. UNLV's 10 ranks third. It's a western record that's for sure. Kansas' 8 is now the best active streak, and heck they're even west of the Mississippi.
The Zags could easily win the WCC for years to come, but this year the conference goes to Saint Mary's. The WCC is finally more than a one horse race. Now that Gonzaga has lost their stranglehold on first place they have had the past decade, the conference is better off.
The Zags brought the attention to the WCC needed to grow the conference. The other teams have stepped up and have now beaten Gonzaga for dominance. I started off as a Zag fan, with a disdain for the other WCC teams. I still am a Zag fan first, but right now I am pretty happy for the other 8 teams.
Now that one streak is over I hope the Zags can work on another, the consecutive NCAA tournament appearances record. Gonzaga is going for a 14th straight NCAA tournament appearance. Only Michigan State, Duke and Kansas have longer active streaks than Gonzaga. 27 is the record, set by North Carolina from 1975-2001. Hopefully there will be a lot of fun to be had watching the Zags from now until 2029 and beyond.

History to be Made at War Memorial

Gonzaga just wrapped up a tough 65-57 win in San Diego. Bill Grier's Toreros tried to end the streak he helped create in his years as an assistant at Gonzaga but came up short in the last minute. So now it comes down to Saint Mary's at San Francisco. Last week BYU narrowly escaped at War Memorial Gymnasium with a 1 point win then Gonzaga fell by 1 point two days later with San Francisco taking the lead on their last possession. Can the Dons continue their impressive play against the top dogs of the conference?
I wouldn't be surprised if the Dons upset the Gaels tonight. Angelo Caloiaro leads the team in points and Perris Blackwell leads in rebounding, it's their last game at War Memorial. Since they won't have to deal with Stephen Holt who is out with a knee injury sustained during the LMU game they could very well have a fantastic senior night on the hilltop.
The game starts at 8 PM Pacific, so by about 10 PM we'll know if the second longest consecutive regular season conference titles in NCAA men's basketball history will be 11 or 12 straight. Saint Mary's is guaranteed a share of the title regardless of the outcome. UCLA holds the record with 13 straight from 1966/67-78/79.

Wild Wild West Coast Conference

Before the Zags' magical elite 8 run in 1999 the WCC was an automatic-bid only conference. About as important as the Big South or Metro Atlantic in the grand scheme of college hoops. There were a few times where the WCC was notable though. San Francisco won a couple national championships in the 50s (I figure it's seeing those banners hanging in War Memorial Gymnasium that has caused the Zags' inability to win there lately) and was a decent program mid century. Loyola Marymount, led by Hank Gathers and Bo Kimble, would put up 100 points a night and played a couple spirited seasons in the late '80s including an elite 8 loss to the eventual champion Runnin' Rebels from UNLV. For the past decade plus the WCC has just been Gonzaga and everybody else. Gonzaga brought a national spotlight on the conference with their play anybody, anywhere, anytime style of scheduling and 13 straight appearances in the big dance.

Saint Mary's has clawed their way up from the bottom and a regular season championship finally seems to be within reach. The past few years the battle between the conference behemoth Zags and upstart challenger Gaels brought attention to conference play months before the "Gonzaga gets the WCC's auto bid" remarks on Selection Sunday.

This year it's different, Gonzaga and Saint Mary's are once again battling for the title but, two other teams have played themselves into the hunt.

Update: The Streak is in Jeopardy, Again.

Until I get the wrap up written for today's WCC action I've got this much to say. San Francisco beats Gonzaga by 1, they just lost to BYU by 1, and they are about to host Saint Mary's. For the love of records, please Dons, beat the Gaels. War Memorial Gymnasium is not friendly to the Zags.

WCC Thursday Primer: 2/16/11

Today's Games: all times Pacific
Portland at San Diego 5:30 PM
Brigham Young at San Francisco 7 PM ESPN U
Pepperdine at Seattle 7:10 PM (non-WCC game)
#24 Gonzaga at Santa Clara 8 PM ESPN 2

The Big Game: Brigham Young 21-6 (9-3 WCC) at San Francisco 17-10 (7-6)
BYU fell into 4th place due to Loyola Marymount's win on Wednesday, but only because LMU has played more games than BYU. A win here would once again switch the two teams, a loss will make it official.

The Same as Always: LMU Defeats Saint Mary's, Gonzaga's Streak Survives

Loyola Marymount went to Moraga tonight and left with a 15 point, 75-60, win over the #21 Gaels of Saint Mary's. Right now the only thing keeping Gonzaga out of first place is the number of games played. Saint Mary's has played 14 WCC games, going 12-2, while Gonzaga has only played 12, going 10-2. After the Zags Bay Area (but not including Saint Mary's) road trip Thursday-Saturday things should be dead locked at the top.

LMU is once again in 3rd place, and a similar situation exists between the Lions and Cougars as Gaels and Zags. LMU has played 14 games, going 10-4 to BYU's 12 in which they're 9-3. A BYU win tomorrow at San Francisco and the Cougars will pull ahead, a loss and the Lions will hold their lead over the Cougars. This is the first season the Lions have won 10 conference games since their 100+ point scoring teams in 1990.

Tonight was pretty much all LMU from the get go, which is how they do on the road. This is their sixth win in seven road games in WCC play.