The NCAA Tournament is finally upon us.
The West Coast Conference champion Gonzaga Bulldogs are the No. 3 seed in the West region and will play the No. 14 Kennesaw State Owls out of Conference USA at the Moda Center in Portland, Oregon, on Thursday, March 19, at 7 p.m. PT on TBS. The Owls won their conference tournament with three straight wins in three days.
Per FanDuel Sportsbook, Gonzaga is a 20.5 favorite over Kennesaw State. The Zags’ moneyline is -4500, +1600 for the Owls. The over/under is set at 158.5.
A potential second-round matchup with the No. 6 BYU Cougars brings up old memories when the Cougars were in the West Coast Conference from 2011 to 2023. Don’t want to look too far ahead, but former Gonzaga assistant coach Tommy Lloyd and the No. 1-seeded Arizona Wildcats in the Elite Eight at the SAP Center in San Jose, California?
As for the other current members of the West Coast Conference, the Santa Clara Broncos are the No. 10 seed in the Midwest region and will be going up against the No. 7 Kentucky Wildcats from the Southeastern Conference at the Enterprise Center in Saint Louis, Missouri, on Friday, March 20, at 9:15 a.m. PT on CBS. This is the first time that Santa Clara has made the Big Dance since 1996.
The Saint Mary’s Gaels make their fifth-straight appearance in March Madness, receiving the No. 7 seed in the South region, and have to prepare for the No. 10 Texas A&M Aggies, also out of the Southeastern Conference. The matchup is set for the Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, on Thursday, March 19, at 4:35 p.m. PT on truTV.
No better feeling than watching the three-bid West Coast Conference come into fruition, and there’s a real possibility that all three teams move past the first round.
Arden Cravalho is a Gonzaga University graduate from the Bay Area… Follow him on X @a_cravalho
