The 2019 West Coast Conference Tournament will take place March 7-12 at Orleans Arena in Las Vegas. Gonzaga will be the top seed, followed by a logjam of Saint Mary’s, BYU and San Francisco. The conference’s hopes of earning two NCAA Tournament bids likely hinge on a team other than Gonzaga winning the WCC crown. The Bulldogs have locked down an at-large berth regardless of how they perform in Las Vegas, but the Gaels, Cougars and Dons would likely need the automatic invitation that comes with claiming the WCC Tournament. MORE: March Madness 2019 bracket projections It seems unlikely, however, that Gonzaga will fall short its dominance in regular-season conference play. The Bulldogs have won every WCC game this year by double-digits, a mark that includes victories at San Francisco, at Saint Mary's and at BYU. Gonzaga, led by Rui Hachimura, Brandon Clarke and Zach Norvell Jr., has won six straight WCC Tournaments. BYU has never won it, and San Francisco hasn’t done so since 1998. Here is the complete schedule and TV info for the 2019 WCC men's basketball tournament (all times Eastern). Visit Sporting News' scoreboard page for live stats and updates from WCC tournament games in progress. CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT BRACKETS: AAC | ACC | Big 12 | Big East | Big Ten | Pac-12 | SEC 2019 WCC Tournament bracket, schedule (All times Eastern) First round: Thursday, March 7 Second round: Friday, March 8 Third round: Saturday, March 9 Semifinals: Monday, March 11 WCC championship: Tuesday, March 12 How to watch the WCC Tournament live The first and second rounds of the competition can be viewed online using TheW.tv. After that, all games will be broadcast nationally on ESPN and ESPN2. The semifinals and finals are also available for streaming on WatchESPN.<doc-sep>We have used your information to see if you have a subscription with us, but did not find one. Please use the button below to verify an existing account or to purchase a new subscription.<doc-sep>A GRIP ON SPORTS • If you decided not to worry about the West Coast Conference tournament until it was Gonzaga’s turn to play, you’ve missed a lot. How much? How about the two semifinalists not getting byes turning out to be the seventh and eighth seeds? Read on. •••••••••• • Top-seeded Gonzaga received a double-bye to the WCC semifinals. So did second-seeded Saint Mary’s. Their opponents? For the Zags, that would be Pepperdine, who has played three games in the tournament already and won them all. Lorenzo Romar’s first team in his second stint in Malibu started slowly. Its 7-7 nonconference record included losses to Northern Colorado, Cal State Northridge, Southern Utah and UC Riverside. The Waves won just two road games all season. And they were 2-6 down the stretch in WCC play. Then they arrived at Las Vegas. The first game Thursday night was a rematch with Pacific, a school that had defeated Pepperdine in Malibu five days before. Not this time. The Waves won 61-53. Next up was rival Loyola Marymount, which had won the final regular season meeting between the schools. Not this time. The Waves won 68-65. Last night, San Francisco came in as the prohibitive favorite, owning two wins over Romar’s team already. Not this time. The Waves won in a rout, 89-72. Three nights. Three upsets. And now the No. 1 team in the nation. My guess is Romar is a bit sad to have the Sunday break. Momentum and all that. The school for which the WCC takes today off, BYU, isn’t involved in the tournament anymore either. The third-seeded Cougars didn’t show up late last night against San Diego. At least their offense didn’t. The Toreros led 46-18 at the half and rolled to an 80-57 upset. BYU, which has lived and died by the 3-pointer as much as anyone all year, killed itself from beyond the arc, hitting just 1-of-17 attempts. And San Diego, like Pepperdine, won its third game in as many nights. Let’s hope you didn’t miss it. • You may not want to miss the Pac-12 tournament either. As last night’s results showed, anyone could win it. Heck, top-seed Washington, which won the conference regular-season title by three games, finished by losing three of its final eight games. Included in that total is a loss at last-place California and an eight-point loss at home to Oregon last night. That’s not what you would call riding a wave of momentum heading into Las Vegas. But who is hot? The Ducks might qualify in that regard. They have won four consecutive games and have held each of their opponents in that stretch under their season scoring average. Dana Altman’s scrambling defense is finally showing up. Oregon will open late Wednesday night against the Cougars in a rematch of last Wednesday’s game in Pullman. The Ducks won that won, 72-61. ••• Gonzaga: No, there are no games to cover. Not yet. But that doesn’t mean we don’t have a whole heck of a lot of stories to pass along. S-R editor Rob Curley is in Las Vegas and he was at Adam Morrison’s induction ceremony into the WCC’s Hall of Honor. … He also has two stories concerning the Zags’ travel arrangements and their use of chartered planes to get from here to there, wherever “there” may be. … Also, if you are in Vegas, we have this story on some things to do there. … In basketball news, both Rui Hachimura and Brandon Clarke are among the 15 finalists for the Wooden Award. Jim Meehan has that story. … Jim Allen recaps this regular season for the women and makes a case it was the best in school history. … Around the WCC, BYU’s defeat, and how bad it was, may have cost the Cougars any type of postseason – unless they want to pay for it. WSU: The Cougars said goodbye to Robert Franks yesterday and in a sadly typical fashion, it came in another loss, this one to Oregon State. Franks has improved as much as any Washington State player in recent memory and leaves Pullman following one of the most prolific scoring seasons ever. Theo Lawson was there and has this story. … Former Cougar baseball great John Olerud will be honored by the Pac-12 this week, entering its Hall of Honor. It’s about darn time. Olerud posted the best college baseball season ever in 1988, posting Babe Ruth-like numbers (15-0 on the mound with 23 home runs while hitting better than .400). … Around the Pac-12, the loss to Oregon spoiled Senior Night for Washington. The Huskies honored a group that turned the program around. … Utah is headed to Vegas with a lot of confidence. The Utes defeated UCLA at home. … Colorado is confident as well after handing USC another loss. … Arizona State swept Arizona this season, which isn’t all that typical. And the speech Sean Miller gave after the game to the Senior Night crowd in Tucson? It wasn’t typical either. … Yes, there is some football news from Utah, UCLA and USC. Quarterbacks figure prominently. … Just what is the “transfer portal” anyway? EWU: The Eagles finished the regular season with another win, holding off host Weber State 80-77. … Around the Big Sky, the tournament seeding is set, with Montana getting the top seed again. … Northern Colorado dropped is regular season finale at home to Northern Arizona. … Portland State held off Montana State. Idaho: The Vandals had a 16-point lead in the second half last night at Idaho State and somehow lost 70-68. … Even though the Vandal women lost at home last night to the Bengals, they still secured the top seed in the Big Sky tournament. Whitworth: The Pirates swept a baseball doubleheader at Pacific. Chiefs: Spokane picked up another win last night, defeating Victoria 6-1. Kevin Dudley was in the Arena and explains why the victory was twice as important. Mariners: The M’s officially announced who is going to pitch the opener in Japan and it isn’t Felix Hernandez. It’s Marco Gonzales.<doc-sep>Pepperdine pulled away late for an 89-72 win over San Francisco, and San Diego eliminated Brigham Young by coming out hot from the field in an 80-57 victory in a game that it led by 44 points in the second half. In the WCC tournament, no. 7 seed San Diego toppled no. 3 BYU by 23 points to advance to the semifinals. They will face Saint Mary's next. Pepperdine head coach Lorenzo Romar, right, speaks with guard Jade' Smith during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against Gonzaga in Spokane, Wash., Thursday, Feb. 21, 2019. (AP Photo/Young Kwak) Quarterfinal Saturday did not work out well for teams playing their first games in the West Coast Conference men’s basketball tournament at Orleans Arena. San Francisco and Brigham Young, which had byes into the round, suffered upset losses to teams playing their third game in three days. Pepperdine pulled away late for an 89-72 win over the Dons, and San Diego eliminated the Cougars by coming out hot from the field in an 80-57 victory in a game that it led by 44 points in the second half. BYU looked like a team that could have used a game or two to get settled into the tournament, as the Cougars fell behind immediately and never made the game competitive. Coach Dave Rose said he thinks the format might have something to do with the teams that played in the building the two previous days scoring upsets over the higher-seeded teams. “The fact you don’t shoot in the gym you’re playing in when it’s all on the line, the whole season what everyone wants to do is make the NCAA Tournament, and everyone’s got a chance, and you come to the arena you’re going to play in and you don’t shoot and then you’re playing in the second game and you have 20 minutes to warm up?” Rose said. “Someone’s got to re-evaluate this. There’s too much on the line.” Rose’s team missed its first six shots and fell behind 13-0. The Cougars finished 18 of 58 from the field and 1 of 17 from 3-point range. BYU reserve Luke Worthington said it was difficult to ignore that the game was slipping away. “You’re definitely aware of it,” he said. “The scoreboard is pretty big.” Isaiah Pineiro had 27 points and 12 rebounds for San Diego. Freshman Finn Sullivan went 5-for-6 on 3-pointers and finished with 17 points. “This is a lot of fun to be a part of just watching these guys play,” San Diego coach Sam Scholl said. “The determination they’re showing possession by possession, being the aggressors from the moment the ball is tipped. How they’re playing for each other is a really special thing to see.” Pepperdine continued its similar roll after knocking off Pacific and Loyola Marymount in the first two rounds. Coach Lorenzo Romar said he thinks his team is peaking at the right time. “For three days, our team has really come together and stayed together,” he said. “I think that’s made a huge difference in how we’ve been able to perform. A team that believes in one another at this time of year, you can see what’s going on. We still have a long way to go in this tournament, but when you talk about togetherness, it breeds resiliency and courage, and that’s what our guys have had. That’s why we’re sitting there right now with another victory.” The next one certainly won’t be easy. The Waves draw No. 1 Gonzaga, which had a bye into the semifinals, at 6 p.m. Monday. San Diego will meet Saint Mary’s at 8:30. The winners play at 6 p.m. Tuesday for the championship. “They (Gonzaga) have one of the best offenses in the country,” Pepperdine star guard Colbey Ross said of the Bulldogs after leading the Waves with 26 points and nine assists. “From Rui (Hachimura) to (Brandon) Clarke and (Josh) Perkins and then you add (Zach) Norvell, those are some really good players, and they know what it takes to win.” Romar thinks it’s the other side of the floor at which Gonzaga has taken the next step. “I think it’s the most versatile Gonzaga team ever,” he said. “They guard better than people might think, and a lot of that has to do with their bigs. Clarke, Rui, those guys are so versatile, they can switch onto guards.” Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com or 702-277-8028. Follow @AdamHillLVRJ on Twitter.<doc-sep>
The 2019 West Coast Conference women’s tournament begins on Thursday and Gonzaga is looking to repeat as champions for a third straight year. After a 16-2 regular season, the Bulldogs grabbed the top seed and will have a bye into the semi-finals. They beat every team this season by double digits, except for BYU, who they lost to both times. Storylines Will Gonzaga Get Revenge? Both Gonzaga-BYU games were decided by two points. In Provo, the Zags had a good look to tie the game at buzzer but could not finish. In Spokane, the Cougars hit 10 threes in the first half and hit two free throws with two seconds left to win. Gonzaga is hoping the old saying of “it’s hard to beat a team three times in a season” rings true. Winning the WCC Tournament will secure a top-four seed in the NCAA Tournament and the likelihood of hosting the first two rounds in the McCarthey Athletic Center. To do it, Gonzaga must get past (most likely) their two heated rivals – Saint Mary’s and BYU. Will BYU Even Make the Finals? BYU gets up to play Gonzaga. Head Coach Jeff Judkins always has something up his sleeve when he faces the Zags. The problem is that BYU doesn’t always get up for the other teams in the conference. Once they beat Gonzaga the first time in Provo, they proceeded to drop three straight games. They have also won several one or two possession games against bottom tier WCC teams. In the semi-finals, BYU will most likely be facing off with Pepperdine. In their last meeting, the Waves were able to run BYU’s three shooters off the three point line and beat the Cougars by 16 in Malibu. Pepperdine also has the WCC Player of the Year on their squad. Yasmine Robinson-Bacote averaged 19.5 points in their two contests and 20 points for the season. Another note: the number two seed has not made the championship game since 2014. Last year, BYU was upset by the 6 seed in the quarterfinals. The year before that, they were taken to overtime by the 7 seed and then fell to the 3 seed in the semi-finals. BYU is also playing for their NCAA Tournament lives. In the latest bracketology, BYU is a 9 seed. They should make the tournament even if they lose their semi-final game, but they shouldn’t leave it up to the committee. Everyone wants to see a Gonzaga-BYU final so hopefully both teams take care of business. Bracket Schedule Round One – Thursday March 7 Game 1: No. 8 Portland vs No. 9 San Francisco – 12 pm (theW.tv) Game 2: No. 7 Santa Clara vs No. 10 San Diego – 2 pm (theW.tv) Round Two – Friday March 8 Game 3: No. 5 Loyola Marymount vs Game 1 winner – 12 pm (theW.tv) Game 4: No. 6 Pacific vs Game 2 winner – 2 pm (theW.tv) Quarterfinals – Saturday March 9 Game 5: No. 4 Saint Mary’s vs Game 3 winner – 1 pm (theW.tv) Game 6: No. 3 Pepperdine vs Game 4 winner – 3 pm (theW.tv) Semi-Finals – Monday March 11 No. 1 Gonzaga vs Game 5 winner – 12 pm (theW.tv) No. 2 BYU vs Game 6 winner – 2 pm (theW.tv) Championship – Tuesday March 12 Women’s Championship Game – 1 pm (ESPNU)