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2022 West Coast Conference Men’s Basketball Tournament Basics

Dates

Thursday, March 3 (first round); Friday, March 4 (second round); Saturday, March 5 (quarterfinals); Monday, March 7 (semifinals); Tuesday, March 8 (championship)

Format

Stepladder bracket, which gives Gonzaga and Saint Mary’s a bye to Monday’s semifinals. Third-seeded Santa Clara and fourth-seeded San Francisco first take the floor in Saturday’s quarterfinals, with the Broncos’ seeding causing some manner of controversy after they backed out of makeup games. The Dons are right near the cut line, and their most likely quarterfinal opponent is fifth-seeded BYU, who will first play in Friday’s second round alongside sixth-seeded Portland.

The bottom four teams start in Thursday’s first round.

Site

The Orleans Arena is Las Vegas hosts, as it has since the 2009 event.

TV/Streaming Info

ESPN will carry Tuesday’s championship and Monday’s first semifinal. The second semifinal and Saturday’s quarterfinals are on ESPN2. The first two rounds will stream on both BYU TV and WCC Network. BYU TV and the WCC’s various cable TV partners will also air those games.

Participants

All 10 WCC teams will participate.

Downloadable Bracket

Schedule

First Round (Thurs., March 3)

Game 1: (9) Pacific (8-22, 3-11) 66, (8) Loyola Marymount 86
Game 2: (10) Pepperdine (7-25, 1-15) 67, (7) San Diego 74

Second Round (Fri., March 4)

Game 3: (8) Loyola Marymount (11-18, 3-12) 60, (5) BYU 85
Game 4: (7) San Diego (15-16, 7-9) 55, (6) Portland 73

Quarterfinals (Sat., March 5)

Game 5: (5) BYU (22-10, 9-6) 63, (4) San Francisco 75
Game 6: (6) Portland (18-14, 7-7) 67, (3) Santa Clara 91

Semifinals (Mon., March 7)

Game 7: (4) San Francisco (24-9, 10-6) 71, (1) Gonzaga 81
Game 8: (3) Santa Clara (21-11, 10-5) 72, (2) Saint Mary’s 75

Championship (Tues., March 8)

Game 9: (2) Saint Mary’s (25-7, 12-3) 69, (1) GONZAGA (26-3, 13-1) 82

Mayhem Potential

Data originally posted by Bob Vetrone Jr. on Twitter in 2020 with my own additions for 2021 and 2022.

No tournament is as dominated by the top two seeds than the WCC’s. Since moving to the Orleans Arena in 2009, the champion has been either the No. 1 or 2 seed. In fact, only Gonzaga and Saint Mary’s have won in that span. The Bulldogs have 10 titles since 2009, with the Gaels claiming the other three. In fact, the pair have dominated final appearances in that time as well. BYU is the only other team to reach the WCC final since 2009, and the Cougars have four losses to Gonzaga to show for it.

• 1 seed (8): 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2020, 2021
• 2 seed (3): 2011, 2016, 2019

NCAA Seeding Record Since 2011

Years with an NCAA win are in bold.

• 1 seed (4): 2013 (automatic), 2017 (automatic), 2019 (at-large), 2021 (automatic)
• 2 seed (1): 2015 (automatic)
• 4 seed (1): 2018
• 6 seed (1): 2021 (at-large)
• 7 seed (3): 2012 (automatic), 2012 (at-large), 2017 (at-large)
• 8 seed (1): 2014 (automatic)
• 10 seed (1): 2014 (at-large)
• 11 seed (5): 2011, 2013 (at-large, First Four), 2015 (at-large, First Four), 2016, 2019 (automatic)
• 14 seed (1): 2014 (at-large, First Four)

While Gonzaga regularly earns top 4 seeds at this point, the highest seed earned by another WCC team is the 6 BYU recorded in 2021. Saint Mary’s could threaten that this season.

Last NCAA Tournament Appearances

Gonzaga: 2021 (1 seed, automatic, National Runner-up)—2020 WCC Tournament Champion
BYU: 2021 (6 seed, at-large, 1st Round)
Saint Mary’s: 2019 (11 seed, automatic, 1st Round)
Pacific: 2013 (15 seed, Round of 64, Big West member)
San Diego: 2008 (13 seed, 2nd Round)
Pepperdine: 2002 (10 seed, 1st Round)
San Francisco: 1998 (14 seed, 1st Round)
Portland: 1996 (14 seed, automatic, 1st Round)
Santa Clara: 1996 (10 seed, at-large, 2nd Round)
Loyola Marymount: 1990 (11 seed, Elite Eight)

All 10 current WCC members have qualified for at least one NCAA Tournament, though four teams have to go back to the 20th century to recall their last trips.