The Gonzaga Conference stopped being the Gonzaga Conference a few years back when Saint Mary’s emerged as a legit threat to the WCC dominators.  Then, the conference welcomed BYU to even add to the challenge for the Zags.  But, Coach Few’s team just continues to get it done, winning yet another WCC championship and should be on their way to another NCAA Tournament bid (though, they are not yet assured of at-large status, so they might want to do what they always do and win this tournament).

Obviously, the most popular championship pick is the Zags garnering 16 of the 25 championship picks.  #2 BYU has 5 people behind them, while the sleeper at #3 San Francisco has 4 supporters.  Maybe in a reaction to getting trampled by Gonzaga on Saturday, no one picked Saint Mary’s to win this title, despite having some serious talent.  Loyola Marymount pulled off several upset in this tournament a year ago, and they have one entry that has them doing it again.  A couple people think #6 San Diego can reach the finals.  Interestingly, this conference has 6 different outright winners over 6 years.  That is bad news for GrossSr, who is trying to repeat.

CHAMPIONSHIP (March 11th – 48 points)

#1 Gonzaga vs #2 BYU
The WCC showdown that we were all hoping for headlines the Tuesday night docket.  Gonzaga, who was lucky to survive their quarterfinal with Santa Clara, beat Saint Mary’s convincingly in the semis and probably locked themselves up an at-large bid.  Though, they would rather not take the chance and win tonight.  BYU is in a much trickier position, from an at-large perspective, as they are smack-dab on the bubble and could REALLY use this win.  They kept their chances alive by surviving an OT scare Tuesday night against USF.  It will be interesting to see if that late-night overtime ending affects the Cougars today at this 6pm local start time.

This is a pretty big CTC game, as 21 people have a horse in this race (Gersh, Lynch, PapaCim, and Stumpf have already lost this game with USF) with major points at stake here.  5 people (Bry, Caleb, J, Lazarow, Lohse) have BYU taking this championship.  The other 16 people all have the Zags here.  A Gonzaga win here would complete a perfect WCC bracket (and 224 points) for GrossSr.  Bry would take this crown (also with 224 points) if BYU were to pull off the upset.

Gonzaga 75 – BYU 64

SEMIFINALS (March 10th – 32 points each)

#1 Gonzaga vs #4 Saint Mary’s
It was all-chalk in the WCC quarterfinals, setting up a great semifinal double-header on Monday night in Vegas.  The first game pits a Gonzaga team that got REALLY lucky to survive Santa Clara in the quarters against a Saint Mary’s team that cruised past Pepperdine in an 11-point win that wasn’t really that close.  These two teams have developed a VERY heated rivalry over the past couple of years, so it’s good to see them meeting up again with so much at stake.  But, this isn’t a vintage St. Mary’s team, and the Zags destroyed them 75-47 just last Saturday to end the regular season.  It should be interesting to see if the Gaels can muster something knowing that they have zero at-large hopes to fall back on – not that I think Gonzaga is competely safe, though.

J and Stumpf are the only two with a big Saint Mary’s upset pick here, though neither of them have the Gaels winning the whole thing.  The 23 others all have the Zags, including 16 who have them winning the tournament.

Gonzaga 70 – Saint Mary’s 54
And, the Gaels go down with relative ease in this rivarly that may die down if StM goes backwards as a program.  The Zags jumped out early and never looked back, as they advance to yet another WCC title game.  David Stockton was fantastic in this one, scoring 21 points, grabbing 6 boards, and dishing out 4 assists.

J and Stumpf miss on the upset pick here.  16 people keep alive their champ.

#2 BYU vs #3 San Francisco
The nightcap should be really good, as a strong BYU team needs this win for any shot at an at-large bid takes on a USF team that is in perfect position to a program-building couple of nights, if they can pull this off.  This game features to elite scorers in BYU’s Tyler Haws and USF’s Cole Dickerson.  Whichever team can keep the opposing star in relative check should be in good shape to head to the finals.

9 people (Alexi, Chris, Gersh, Lynch, Mac, PapaCim, Scoot, Stumpf, Teddy) have USF in this game, including Gersh, Lynch, PapaCim, and Stumpf, who have them winning this tournament.  Primm and WaTers had San Diego here, so they have already lost it.  The other 14 all have BYU, including Bry, Caleb, J, Lazarow, and Lohse, who have the Cougars winning this tournament.

BYU 79 – San Francisco 77 (OT)
Late into the night, BYU’s tournament hopes were kept alive with a thrilling overtime win over a Dons team that ends a very solid season.  BYU led most of the way here, but USF just kept fighting back and fighting back and feel just short of pulling off the upset.  WCC Player of the Year, Tyler Haws, who only shot 5-19 from the floor, scored 24 points thanks to 14-14 from the line.  Sensational senior Cole Dickerson played the last WCC game of his career, scoring 20 points and grabbing 10 rebounds.  BYU now moves on to a crucial game against Gonzaga where they can take the decision away from the Committee.

9 people missed this one with USF.  14 got it right with BYU, including 5 who have the Cougars taking the WCC title. 

QUARTERFINALS (March 8th – 16 points each)

#1 Gonzaga vs #9 Santa Clara
The Zags do it again…ho hum, another regular season title and probably another NCAA Tournament appearance even without the auto-bid (though, that is not a given this year, like most years).  The three guard rotation of Pangos, Bell, and Stockton is very good, particularly when Dower and Karnowski are the bigs.  Pangos can play with anyone offensively, and Bell can play with anyone defensively.  This doesn’t look the version of the Zags that will get Mark Few to his first Final Four, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they were still kicking on the second weekend.  They have to get there first and a quarterfinal loss would put them squarely on the bubble.  Santa Clara is dangerous, and they did hammer Pacific on Thursday night, so the Zags should come prepared.

All 25 people have the Zags here, with 23 picking them to reach the finals, and 16 picking them to cut down the WCC nets.

Gonzaga 77 – Santa Clara 75

#4 Saint Mary’s vs #5 Pepperdine
It has been a pretty disappointing year in Moraga.  The Gaels of Saint Mary’s still have talent, but they just didn’t put it together this year.  Waldow and Holt are solid, but there is no Dellavadova or Mills here to lead the way.  This is not a tournament team and, as evidenced by their 28-point beatdown at Gonzaga on Saturday, may not even be a threat to win this auto-bid.  The Waves of Pepperdine have had a pretty nice turnaround season – one that was sorely needed in Malibu, I’m sure.  They shouldn’t be overlooked here, as they did beat BYU and took this Saint Mary’s team to OT.  But, mainly, they feasted on the bottom of the conference to get their wins, so we may be heading for a St. Mary’s-Gonzaga bloodfeud in the semis.

Only 3 people (PapaCim, Primm, WaTers) have Pepperdine here.  Of the 23 people that have StM winning this game, only J and Stumpf have them beating Gonzaga in the semis and neither have the Gaels winning the whole thing.

Saint Mary’s 80 – Pepperdine 69

#2 BYU vs #10 Loyola Marymount
The Cougars have WAY too much talent to miss the NCAA Tournament, but is probably their fate if they don’t AT THE VERY LEAST make the finals of this tournament.  They just don’t have the at-large resume.  But, they have some superstars.  The backcourt running mates of Matt Carlino and Tyler Haws (maybe the best offensive player no one ever talks about) and the phenom freshman, Erik Meek, in the middle are all special.  This team can really get up and down the floor and would be a scary opponent to anyone in the country in the Dance.  But, they have to get there first.  And, they have to face the WCC’s upset specialists in Loyola Marymount, who pulled off yet another one on Thursday night when they beat Portland.

WaTers actually has LMU winning again here, which would be a HUGE upset pick.  Bry, Caleb, J, Lazarow, and Lohse all have BYU winning it all.  9 more (Becks, Colton, Dave, Doogan, GrossJr, GrossSr, RDoc, Stri, Stritts) have the Cougars reaching the finals.

BYU 85 – Loyola Marymount 74

#3 San Francisco vs #6 San Diego
Rex Walters finally had a season he can look at as successful in San Fran.  After some unimpressive years, this Dons team really put it together and was relevant in the WCC race.  Next step?  Get to the Dance.  It won’t be easy this year (or any year) in the WCC, but they have a shot.  Then again, they split with St. Mary’s and were 0-4 against BYU and Gonzaga.  They were 12-0 against the bottom six teams in the league.  San Diego, who lost two games by a combined 9 points to USF made a late push, including a huge 69-66 win over Gonzaga on Feb 22, to avoid the first round and get a bye to the quarters.  The Terreros are young with marginal talent, but can rise up and beat you, if you give them room.

10 people (Bry, Caleb, Colton, Dave, Doogan, GrossJr, Lazarow, Primm, Stri, WaTers) went with the USD upset here.  Primm and WaTers went a step further and have the Terreros reaching the finals.  Gersh, Lynch, PapaCim, and Stumpf all have the Dons winning this entire tournament, so they have a lot to lose here.  5 more (Alexi, Chris, Mac, Scoot, Teddy) have the Dons reaching the finals.

San Francisco 69 – San Diego 60

OPENING ROUND (March 6th – 8 points each)

#7 Portland vs #10 Loyola Marymount
Portland blew a late lead against Pacific on Saturday and, consequently, gave away their first-round bye and are now relegated to an opening round matchup against one of the better last-place teams you will find.  LMU was supposed to be in the upper half of this league, but they fell apart late in the season and are limping into this tournament.  But, they do have talent and shouldn’t be overlooked.  In fact, it was just a year ago when LMU was 1-15 in the WCC before pulling off three straight upsets in the conference tournament before falling in the semis to Gonzaga.  The winner of this game will get #2 BYU in the quarters.

9 people (Bry, Colton, Gersh, GrossSr, J, Lynch, PapaCim, Scoot, WaTers) took a shot at an LMU upset in the opening round.  WaTers actually has them beating #2 BYU in the quarters.  Teddy is the only one of the 16 Portland picks that has them advancing to the semis, so he has the most to lose with the Pilots.

Loyola Marymount 67 – Portland 64
Here we go again.  If you don’t remember last year’s WCC tournament, LMU – who finished 1-15 in conference play – pulled off three straight crazy upsets before getting plastered by a Gonzaga team ranked #1 in the country at the time.  Well, the format has changed in the WCC, so there isn’t as much room for all these consecutive wins before facing a big boy, but they pulled off another one Thursday night, as they end the season of a decent Portland team right off the bat.  Next up for the upset-minded Lions is #2 BYU on Saturday.

9 people hit this upset, including WaTers, who picked the Lions to also beat BYU.  Teddy’s bracket took a hit here, as he had Portland in the semis.

#8 Pacific vs #9 Santa Clara
The newest WCC member, Pacific, actually acquitted themselves well after taking the big step up from the Big West.  The Tigers finished 15-14 overall and 6-12 in the conference, including a win over BYU.  They play their first ever WCC Tournament game here in the opening round against Santa Clara, a team that unsuccessfully tried to make up for a terribly disappointing 2012-13.  The Broncos clearly have some more rebuilding to do.  The winner will get the honor of losing to Gonzaga in the quarterfinals.

9th-seeded Santa Clara is actually the more popular pick here, as only 10 of the 25 entries (Becks, Caleb, Dave, Gersh, J, Lazarow, PapaCim, Scoot, Stumpf, WaTers) picked the favored Tigers.  No one has either of these teams beating Gonzaga in the quarters.

Santa Clara 81 – Pacific 64
The regular season is a different animal.  Pacific got indocturnated to the WCC this year and fared okay – finishing 8th, but rather competitive.  But, the conference tournament is a little different, and this ain’t the Big West any more.  Pacific got manhandled by Santa Clara in the nightcap of the WCC’s opening round, ending their inaugural WCC season.  Santa Clara now moves on to Saturday’s quarterfinal against #1 Gonzaga.

15 people got this right.  No one had Gonzaga losing to either of these teams, so this game is the only ramification from a CTC standpoint, though people that don’t have Gonzaga winning the tournament are probably okay with this result, as SC has a slightly higher chance of upsetting the Zags than Pacific would have.

CTC UPDATE

Championship Picks

• #1 Gonzaga (16)
• #2 BYU (5) – Bry, Caleb, J, Lazarow, Lynch
• #3 San Francisco (4) – Gersh, Lynch, PapaCim, Stumpf

Biggest Upsets

• R1 – #10 Loyola Marymount (many)
• QF – #10 Loyola Marymount (WaTers)
• SF – #6 San Diego (Primm, WaTers)

Previous CTC Champions

• 2008 – Waters
• 2009 – Ina (perfect)
• 2010 – Lynch
• 2011 – Bry (perfect)
• 2012 – Alexi
• 2013 – GrossSr

Final 2014 Scores

1. GrossSr – 224*
2. Colton – 208
3. RDoc – 192
4. Stritts – 192
5. Becks – 176
6. Doogan – 176
7. GrossJr – 176
8. Scoot – 176
9. Stri – 176
10. Alexi – 160
11. Bry – 160
12. Chris – 160
13. Dave – 160
14. Mac – 160
15. Lohse – 144
16. Lynch – 144
17. Teddy – 144
18. Gersh – 128
19. J – 128
20. Primm – 128
21. WaTers – 128
22. Caleb – 112
23. Lazarow – 112
24. PapaCim – 112
25. Stumpf – 64