3MW’s All Conference Team:
Player of the Year: Filip Petrusev, So., Gonzaga
Coach of the Year: Mark Pope, BYU
Newcomer of the Year: Jake Toolson, R Sr., BYU
Freshman of the Year: Drew Timme, Gonzaga
Season Storylines:
GonzagaLand: BYU’s meteoric rise. Saint Mary’s pristine precision. Pacific’s 12-man battalion. None of these forces could weaken Mark Few’s vice grip on the WCC title belt. The Zags notched their eighth consecutive WCC regular season crown with a 15-1 record, stumbling just once to BYU at the Marriott Center. Despite dealing with a depleted bench, the Zags were nearly untouchable all year long, showing only minor glimpses of mortality.
The Stormin’ Mormons: Mark Pope had high expectations for his inaugural season in Provo, but no crystal ball saw this storm coming. These Cougars completely reshaped the paradigm of BYU basketball’s identity. This is no longer just a bunch of fun-loving gunners. Yoeli Childs, a professional bucket acquirer, along with an under-appreciated defensive unit, the WCC’s 4th best on an efficiency basis, disqualify the Cougars from being labeled as some cute ‘Sweet-16 sleeper’. This team has all the prerequisite ingredients to make a Final 4 push.
Damon’s Depth: The Tigers were written off by most preseason prognosticators this summer (myself included), but Damon Stoudamire has injected new life into the Pacific basketball program. Somehow, Stoudamire’s compilation of freshmen, transfers and JUCOs are playing with symphonious chemistry, a band of brothers which features 12 players averaging over 11 minutes per game. Jahlil Tripp is the headliner, a 6’5 power guard who led the entire WCC in rebounding - not bad for a guy who also scored 19 points and dished out three assists per games.
Pilots Ejected: Unlike Pacific, the ex-NBA player head coaching experiment has been a failure in Portland. All signs indicate that Terry Porter’s days are numbered after the Pilots tallied just one conference win this year. Is there a PR team out there capable of spinning this into an improvement over last year’s 0-16 WCC performance? Unlikely, says I.
Tournament Preview
Saint Mary’s and Pacific secured critical double-byes to the Quarterfinals, while Gonzaga and BYU will have a long layoff before taking the hardwood in the Semis. All games will be payed at the Orleans in Las Vegas, one of the finest and most fitting venues among all conference tournament sites.
Tournament Predictions
I spy five teams with the chops to cut down the nets here, but conventional wisdom says this is ultimately a three-horse race. The Dons’ seemed to have decoded a few chinks in the Zags’ armor, which they exposed in both meetings between the two this season. USF had Gonzaga down nine in the Kennel at the half and led the Zags by a deuce with four minutes remaining at home. Pacific has the depth and physicality to potentially slow down Mark Few’s juggernaut, but it’s tough to see either team keeping pace with the nation’s most explosive offense.
The key factor is Killian Tillie’s health. Assuming Tillie will be at or near 100% for both games, the Zig Zags are my pick to win.
(8) LMU over (9) San Diego
(7) Santa Clara over (10) Portland
(5) San Francisco over (8) LMU
(6) Pepperdine over (10) Santa Clara
(5) San Francisco over (4) Pacific
(3) Saint Mary’s over (6) Pepperdine
(1) Gonzaga over (5) San Francisco
(3) Saint Mary’s over (2) BYU
(1) Gonzaga over (3) Saint Mary’s