2020 WCC Tournament Bracket
Favorite to win: Gonzaga
It is no surprise that Mark Few’s squad is once again the favorites to capture the 2020 WCC Tournament title. The Zags have won six of the last seven tournaments and 17 overall. However, last season, Gonzaga was blown out by Saint Mary’s in the title game. This year, the Bulldogs have just one conference loss, on the road against BYU. Stud forward Filip Petrusev is averaging 17.8 ppg and enters the tournament red-hot, scoring 27 and 21 points his last two games. Gonzaga gets it done on both ends of the floor and a conference title would all but guarantee them a No. 1 seed for the Big Dance.
Team to Watch: Pacific
The Tigers enter the tournament as the No. 4 seed, but they could make some noise. Leading scorer Jahlil Tripp has been great this season, averaging 15.8 points, 8.8 rebounds, and 1.5 steals per game. Now in his fourth season at the helm, head coach Damon Stoudamire has begun to turn the Pacific program around. The Tigers have not made the NCAA Tournament since 2013 and would have to win the conference tournament to do so. They enter winners of three straight and eight of their last nine.
Player to Watch: Yoeli Childs, BYU
When BYU lost to Gonzaga on the road, there was one huge x-factor missing: Yoeli Childs. He was injured and missed that game. With him back, I correctly predicted the Cougars would beat Gonzaga in round two. And they did. Childs had 28 points in a 91-78 win. He will once again have to be the difference-maker in this tournament for BYU to pull another shocker.
Current Tournament Teams: 3
Gonzaga has essentially locked up a No. 1 seed. BYU currently hovers around the six seed spot but could move up with a tournament championship. Saint Mary’s is an eight seed according to both ESPN and CBS. Although I do believe the Gaels are a tournament team, it could hurt them to lose in the quarterfinals to a team like Pepperdine. I don’t think a semifinals loss to BYU would bump them out of the field.
Prediction
I think that Gonzaga and BYU are far and away the best two teams in the WCC. Saint Mary’s and Pacific are solid, but I see the title coming down to the Bulldogs and the Cougars. Do I go to the well and take BYU again?! Nope. Can’t do it. I love BYU and their shooters, but Gonzaga is coming for revenge. It’s a basic pick, but I like Gonzaga to capture the WCC title. Do not sleep on BYU, though. They will make an NCAA Tournament run.
You can view the rest of our conference tournament previews here.