Why You Need To Be Watching the WCC Basketball Tournament

It's almost March, which means one of the greatest three weeks of the year is here. March Madness. But before we get to the Big Dance, 31 teams have to earn their automatic qualifying spots by winning their conference tournament. Everybody tunes in to the big conferences, like the SEC and Big 12. But I think that the WCC tournament this year may be the most interesting and have some of the best stories.

Let's get the elephant in the room out of the way. This will be longtime conference member Gonzaga's final year in the WCC. Under Mark Few, Gonzaga has dominated the conference and has been it's shining star for many years. In his 26 years as head coach, his Gonzaga teams have won 23 WCC regular season championships and 20 WCC tournament titles. Their rivalry with St. Mary's has been the forefront of the conference, and the two are the #1 and #2 seeds in this years tournament. After this year, Gonzaga will leave for the new, rebuilt Pac-12.

Two other teams who will be leaving the WCC in a smaller capacity are Washington State and Oregon State, who had both joined the WCC as affiliate members for the last 2 years, and will be leaving to rejoin their home in the Pac-12 with Gonzaga and the other new teams. This season also marked the return of Seattle, who had left the conference after the 1979-80 season, and were in the WAC before, but had returned this year.

Now let's get into the good part, the actual quality of the teams. The WCC is currently projected to have 3 teams into March Madness, that being Gonzaga, St. Mary's, and Santa Clara. I can't see a bid steal taking place in this conference, as #9 ranked Gonzaga is just too dominant this year to warrant there being one. However, with how the tournament is structured, if a team can get hot early, the WCC could send four teams to the big dance.

Keep your eyes on the WCC tournament live in Las Vegas. You just might see something special.