Drew Timme, Gonzaga Bulldogs (photo by Steve Cheng via Flickr).
We are long past the days when West Coast Conference teams surprise the upper crust of college basketball. Last season the Gonzaga Bulldogs came up one game short of winning a National Championship. The rest of the conference might not be at the same level, but there are few easy outs.
So far, the WCC is off to a good start; only two teams have losing records. At one point, Brigham Young was ranked as high as 12th. Last week San Francisco and St. Mary’s received votes in both Top-25 polls. In 2021-22 the West Coast Conference could put three teams could make the big dance.
Gonzaga Bulldogs – Pre-Conference record 11-2
Gonzaga is by far the class of the WCC. It would be a shock if the Bulldogs didn’t go undefeated in conference play.
Drew Timme might be the best player in college basketball, and his frontcourt partner freshman Chet Holmgren is one of a handful of candidates to be the number one overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft.
While opponents deal with the forward duo, Gonzaga’s guards, Andrew Nembhard and Rasir Bolton, can bury a dagger in the hearts of teams in the other colored jersey from outside. The bigger names on this team get plenty of attention, but 6-7 wing Julian Strawther averages 13.0 points and 6.2 boards per game.
2021-22 Team Leaders
Scoring: Timme – 17.1 PPG
Rebounds – Holmgren – 8.5 RPG
Assists – Nembhard – 4.3 APG
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
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
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
San Diego Toreros 7-6
San Diego returns several key players. They lost Massalski in the portal to San Francisco but picked up forward Marcellus Earlington from St. John’s. The Toreros have the potential to surprise.
2021-22 Team Leaders
Scoring: Earlington – 13.6 PPG
Rebounds – Terrell Brown – 7.7 RPG
Assists – Bryce Monroe – 2.3 APG
Pacific Tigers 5-9
The Tigers lost several key players off last season’s 9-9 team. Pacific returns their second-leading scorer Jeremiah Bailey. UNLV transfer Nick Blake should help, but not enough to jump the .500 mark.
2021-22 Team Leaders
Scoring: Bailey – 10.8 PPG
Rebounds – Alphonso Anderson – 6.2 RPG
Assists – Pierre Cockrell – 4.3 APG
Pepperdine Waves 5-9
The Waves won 14 games last season, but due to all the players they lost, Pepperdine will be hard-pressed to match that total. They return no double-digit scorers.
2021-22 Team Leaders
Scoring: Jan Zidek – 12.4 PPG
Rebounding – Keith Fisher – 6.3 RPG
Assists – Mike Mitchell Jr. – 4.9 APG
Portland Pilots 9-6
The Pilots are likely the WCC’s cellar dwellers this season. Their record is a bit deceiving. Portland hasn’t beat anyone good. They shoot 36.3 percent from behind the arc, so the Pilots always have “a shooter’s chance.”
2021-22 Team Leaders
Scoring: Tyler Robertson – 15.6 PPG
Rebounds – Robertson – 6.3 RPG
Assists – Michael Meadows – 4.1 APG
Who do you think will give the Gonzaga Bulldogs trouble in the WCC? Let us know in the comments section below.