The 2026 West Coast Conference Tournament will take place again at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, from March 5-10. Both Gonzaga Bulldogs programs will have seven days off before the West Coast Conference Tournament semifinals on March 9.
Despite falling at the Saint Mary’s Gaels (27-4, 16-2 WCC) in the regular-season finale on Feb. 28, 70-59, coach Mark Few’s men’s group (28-3, 16-2 WCC) still secured the No. 1 overall seed and will await most likely either the No. 4 Oregon State Beavers (16-15, 9-9 WCC) or the No. 5 San Francisco Dons (16-15, 8-10 WCC) coming out of the quarterfinals. The semifinals are set for Monday, March 9, at 6:00 pm. PT on ESPN. The championship would be the following day, Tuesday, March 10, at 6:00 p.m. PT on ESPN.
The Zags went down to the No. 4 seed line for the upcoming NCAA Tournament, but have the opportunity to move back up to No. 3 if they were to win the West Coast Conference Tournament over the Gaels.
After losing at the Portland Pilots (17-13, 11-7 WCC) on Feb. 28 in a nail-biter, 92-91, Coach Lisa Fortier’s women’s unit (22-9, 14-3 WCC) was given the No. 2 overall seed in the West Coast Conference Tournament at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The No. 1 overall seed is the Loyola Marymount Lions (21-8, 15-3 WCC), and the field is wide-open for anyone to take home the crown.
Gonzaga will open up their tournament run on Monday, March 9, at 2:30 p.m. PT on ESPN2, possibly against the No. 3 Santa Clara Broncos (23-8, 13-5 WCC) if they win their quarterfinal matchup. The championship is scheduled for Tuesday, March 10, at 1:00 p.m. PT on ESPN2.
The Zags would need to win the West Coast Conference Tournament to receive an automatic bid in the NCAA Tournament. An at-large bid is out of the question. Fortier’s unit is looking to win the West Coast Conference Tournament for the first time in four years and return to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in two years.
For those who are still interested, Gonzaga men’s slid three spots in the Associated Press poll to No. 12 with 752 total points. Saint Mary’s is now ranked No. 21 with 304 total points after being unranked the previous week.
Santa Clara (24-7, 15-3 WCC) received one vote and needs to reach the West Coast Conference Tournament title game, picking up another Quad 1 win against coach Randy Bennett’s team, in order to hear their name called on Selection Sunday.
In the NET rankings, the Zags are No. 6 with a 6-2 record in Quad 1 and a 5-0 record in Quad 2. Their KPI (Key Performance Indicator) is No. 19, and BPI (Basketball Power Index) is No. 77.
As for KenPom, the Bulldogs fell out of the top-10 to No. 12 with the No. 30-ranked offense and No. 10-ranked defense. EvanMiya and Bart Torvik have also kept the Zags away from the top-10.
Arden Cravalho is a Gonzaga University graduate from the Bay Area… Follow him on X @a_cravalho
