Gonzaga men, women to open WCC tourney play Saturday
SAN BRUNO, Calif. - The West Coast Conference has announced the brackets and game times for the 2013 WCC basketball championships at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas.
The tournament will begin with a women's first round match-up at 3 p.m. PST on Wednesday, and continue through the men's championship game on Monday, March 11.
Gonzaga's men and women will make their tournament debuts on Saturday in semifinal games. Both title games are set for next Monday.
Ranked No. 2 nationally, Gonzaga won its 12th WCC men's regular season title in the last 13 years, becoming the first West Coast Conference team to post a perfect 16-0 conference mark.
The Bulldogs and the second seed Saint Mary's Gaels earn byes into the conference semifinals on Saturday. BYU, the third seed, and No. 4 Santa Clara each earn a bye to the quarterfinals and will take the floor on Friday night. San Francisco and San Diego finished with identical conference marks, split the head-to-head series, and had the exact same record against each WCC opponent. The Dons have earned the five seed due to the RPI tiebreaker, making San Diego the six. Pepperdine (seven), Portland (eight), and Loyola Marymount (nine) wrap up the men's bracket.
LMU and Portland play on Wednesday, with the winner playing USF on Thursday, with that winner playing Santa Clara on Friday and that winner playing Gonzaga on Saturday at 6 p.m.
On the women's side, Gonzaga posted a 15-1 conference mark, capturing its ninth straight WCC regular season crown. The Bulldogs will occupy the top seed. With a 12-4 WCC record, San Diego finished in second place, and will also open play in Saturday's semifinals. Saint Mary's and BYU are seeded third and fourth respectively, opening in Friday's quarterfinal round.
Loyola Marymount earned the fifth seed, with Santa Clara in the sixth spot. Portland (seven), San Francisco (eight), and Pepperdine (nine) round out the women's bracket.
USF and Pepperdine will play on Wednesday, with that winner playing Loyola Marymount on Thursday, with that winner playing BYU on Friday, with that winner playing Gonzaga on Saturday at noon.
For the first time, all 16 games from the 2013 West Coast Conference Championships will be nationally televised. Wednesday's opening round and Thursday's second round men's and women's action will be televised live on BYUtv. Available in well over 60 million homes nationwide via cable and satellite, BYUtv will also televise the women's quarterfinals and semifinals. BYUtv is also available in HD via live streaming and video on-demand, smart phone apps, and Roku or Google TV devices.
The men's quarterfinals will be once again televised on ESPNU, with the men's semis airing nationally on ESPN2. On Monday, the women's championship game will be shown nationwide at 1 p.m. on ESPNU. Later that evening, at 6 p.m., the West Coast Conference men's championship game will air live on ESPN.
The men's and women's winners of the conference tournament will each receive an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
Times PST
At Orleans Arena
Las Vegas
First Round
Wednesday, March 6
Portland vs. Loyola Marymount, 6 p.m.
Second Round
Thursday, March 7
San Francisco vs. Portland-Loyola Marymount winner, 6 p.m.
San Diego vs. Pepperdine, 8:30 p.m.
Third Round
Friday, March 8
Santa Clara vs. San Francisco_Portland-Loyola Marymount winner, 6 p.m.
BYU vs. San Diego-Pepperdine winner, 8:30 p.m.
Semifinals
Saturday, March 9
Gonzaga vs. Santa Clara_San Francisco_Portland-Loyola Marymount winner, 6 p.m.
Saint Mary's vs. BYU_San Diego-Pepperdine winner, 8:30 p.m.
Championship
Monday, March 11
Semifinal winners, 6 p.m.
At Orleans Arena
Las Vegas
First Round
Wednesday, March 6
San Francisco vs. Pepperdine, 3 p.m.
Second Round
Thursday, March 7
Loyola Marymount vs. San Francisco-Pepperdine winner, noon
Santa Clara vs. Portland, 2:30 p.m.
Third Round
Friday, March 8
BYU vs. Loyola Marymount_San Francisco-Pepperdine winner, noon
Saint Mary's vs. Santa Clara-Portland winner, 2:30 p.m.
Semifinals
Saturday, March 9
Gonzaga vs. BYU_Loyola Marymount_San Francisco-Pepperdine winner, noon
San Diego vs. Saint Mary's_Santa Clara-Portland winner, 2:30 p.m.
Championship
Monday, March 11
Semifinal winners, 1 p.m.