Gonzaga Bulldogs: 2021-2022 West Coast Conference thumbnail preview

Gonzaga Bulldogs
Drew Timme, Gonzaga Bulldogs (photo by Steve Cheng via Flickr).

Possible Top-25

Brigham Young Cougars 11-3

The Cougars could use 7-3 Matt Haarms, last year’s WCC Defensive Player of the Year. He graduated and now plays professionally in Europe. The good news for BYU is that the leading scorer from last season’s 20-win team. Alex Barcello is back. This year, the Cougars will have to depend on their backcourt stars Barcello, Te’Jon Lucas, and Spencer Johnson because they don’t have much size.

2021-22 Team Leaders

Scoring: Barcello – 17.9 PPG

Rebounds – Fousseyni Traore – 7.5 RPG

Assists – Lucas – 5.2 APG

Contenders for March Madness

St. Mary’s Gaels 11-3

The Gaels bring back every important player from last season’s 14-7 squad. What makes St. Mary’s such a tough team to play against is because they are experienced, and head coach Randy Bennett is a defensive mastermind. SMU gives up 58 points per game, the 13th fewest in college basketball. Expect low-scoring games from the Gaels.

2021-22 Team Leaders

Scoring: Matthias Tass – 12.7 PPG

Rebounds – Kyle Bowen – 6.5 RPG

Assists – Tommy Kuhse – 3.4 APG

San Francisco Dons 12-1

USF is a very talented team. Their top three players, Jamaree Bouyea, Yauhen Massalski, and Seattle native Khalil Shabazz are all double-digit scorers and, more importantly, seniors. San Francisco’s experienced core will give opponents fits this season.

2021-22 Team Leaders

Scoring: Bouyea – 17.8 PPG

Rebounds – Massalski – 7.8 RPG

Assists – Bouyea – 3.7 APG

NIT Possibilities

Santa Clara Broncos 10-5

Santa Clara started the season hot with five straight wins, including an 88-72 win over Stanford. Then they fell into a 2-5 slump. Like many other WCC teams, the Broncos lack size. SC has two stars who made the All-WCC Preseason Team (tied with Gonzaga), Josip Vrankic and Jalen Williams.

2021-22 Team Leaders

Scoring: Williams – 18.8 PPG

Rebounds – Keshawn Justice – 8.0 RPG

Assists – Vrankic – 4.1 APG

Loyola Marymount Lions 7-5

The Lions are off to a shaky start in 2021. They have five losses, and only one is from a power conference. The loss of center 7-3 center Mattias Markusson hurt LMU because they have a huge size deficit on most nights. Only two players in their rotation are 6-7 or taller. Loyola’s two top players are seniors Eli Scott and Joe Quintana, who averaged a combined 30.7 points per game.

2021-22 Team Leaders

Scoring: Scott – 15.6 PPG

Rebounds – Scott – 6.7 RPG

Assists – Scott – 3.8 APG

Next Page 3 – Picking up the rear

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