The WCC will be Drew Timme-less for the first time in years. He tormented the rest of the conference in his Gonzaga tenure, which has finally come to a close.
The WCC also has a different look now that BYU has moved to the Big 12.
Usually, Gonzaga takes this conference by storm, but Saint Mary’s shocked the WCC world last season with its first regular season title since 2016. Gonzaga won the conference tournament, but these two were pretty even all year long.
An exciting new campaign is ahead of us. Either Gonzaga or Saint Mary’s is likely to be the conference title winner, but there could be a couple of other teams in the mix for an NCAA tournament bid.
WCC Regular Season NCAAB Conference Title Odds
| Team Name | Odds (Via FanDuel) |
| Gonzaga | -125 |
| Saint Mary's | +130 |
| San Francisco | +1700 |
| Santa Clara | +1900 |
| Loyola Marymount | +2400 |
| Portland | +6000 |
| Pacific | +10000 |
| Pepperdine | +14000 |
| San Diego | +25000 |
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Conference Title Contenders
Gonzaga Bulldogs
The Bulldogs have been a juggernaut in not only the WCC but college basketball as a whole.
This team will have an entirely new look this season, though, and could take some lumps early on, especially with the fact that it has noteworthy games against Purdue, USC, UConn and San Diego State in the non-conference. These will be a test to see how this new-look team fares against some of the best in the country.
Timme, Julian Strawther, Rasir Bolton and Malachi Smith are all gone from the 2022-2023 team. But Mark Few & Co. welcome the likes of Ryan Nembhard (Creighton), Steele Venters (Eastern Washington) and Graham Ike (Wyoming).
They also add four-star recruit Dusty Stromer, as well as Braden Huff, who redshirted in 2022-2023.
Nolan Hickman, Anton Watson and Ben Gregg provide some continuity in the lineup as returnees.
In the preseason, the Zags rank fifth in Adjusted Efficiency with a top-30 defense, according to KenPom.
This team will likely get stronger as the season goes on, but it may take a little while to find its rhythm.
Saint Mary's Gaels
Saint Mary’s was voted as the top team in league this year in the WCC Preseason Coaches Poll.
#WCChoops 𝙈𝙚𝙣'𝙨 𝘽𝙖𝙨𝙠𝙚𝙩𝙗𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙋𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙤𝙣 𝘾𝙤𝙖𝙘𝙝𝙚𝙨 𝙋𝙤𝙡𝙡
🗒️ https://t.co/VmJyZX9JbCpic.twitter.com/sxOMos1JVf
— WCC Basketball (@WCChoops) October 12, 2023
This isn't shocking considering how they performed last season and what they're returning this year.
The Gaels don't see the turnover the Zags have, and this will likely provide a boost to them in the early portion of the new campaign.
The Gaels lose Logan Johnson and Kyle Bowen, which are massive losses. However, they return Aidan Mahaney, Alex Ducas and Mitchell Saxon. They add Mason Forbes from Harvard and continue with Augustas Marciulionis, Harry Wessels, Chris Howell and Luke Barrett as role players.
Jordan Ross, Andrew McKeever and others may see some time as freshmen, too.
Gaels are heating up 🔥
Alex Ducas drains a three and gives Saint Mary's its largest lead of the game #MarchMadnesspic.twitter.com/nj7OFwBMSJ
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 18, 2022
Saint Mary’s historically plays at a snail’s pace. In the preseason, KenPom has Randy Bennett's bunch at 359th in Adjusted Tempo out of 362 teams.
However, the Gaels are 38th in Adjusted Efficiency and top-40 in both offense and defense. They're more balanced than the Zags and can force teams to play at their tempo.
Mahaney and Ducas will be the scorers. Experience at the guard position is paramount to a team’s tournament success and chances, and they're in great shape in this area.
Given that the Gaels have a leg up on Gonzaga thanks to a similar lineup to last year, getting them at plus money to win the conference regular season holds value.
Potential Tournament Bids
Loyola Marymount Lions
Loyola Marymount will have an interesting look this season. The Lions lose Cam Shelton, who was by far the best player on the team and honestly was just a walking bucket. He averaged 21.4 points with 5.4 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game last season.
They also lost Justin Ahrens, Chance Stephens and Jalin Anderson.
This year, the Lions are adding Justice Hill (LSU), Dominick Harris (Gonzaga), Justin Wright (NC Central), Will Johnston (UTRGV) and Lars Thiemann (Cal).
Keli Leaupepe will be the familiar face and leader of the rotation. Alex Merkviladze also will be a mainstay in the rotation.
LMU ranked 26th in defensive rebounding and only allowed a 33.1% 3-point attempt rate, per Shot Quality. The Lions come into this season ranked 91st in KenPom, so the hopes for a tournament berth remain alive.
That said, the WCC crown should be out of reach.
San Francisco Dons
The Dons have remained in the shadow of the big dogs in this conference, even when they made the NCAA tournament in 2022.
This season, they have a similar expectation in the cards, as they rank 93rd in KenPom in the preseason.
They will have almost an entirely new look, as is the case with many teams in modern college hoops. Tyrell Roberts, Khalil Shabazz and Zane Meeks all depart, and they made up an average of nearly 45 points per game.
Chris Gerlufsen needs to find a way to manufacture points in some other way.
He landed a plethora of recruits to help fill out the rotation. Mike Sharavjamts (Dayton), Jonathan Mogbo (Missouri State), Malik Thomas (USC), Robby Beasley III (UC Davis) and Stefan Todorovic (SMU) all join the squad via the portal.
Ryan Beasley and Junjie Wang are two notable recruits incoming.
Like Gonzaga — without the prowess — the Dons will take their lumps early. As long as they can mitigate the early damage and find a solid, reliable rotation, they could see themselves in the NCAA tournament field.
Could-Be Surprises
Santa Clara Broncos
The Broncos have produced two incredible NBA prospects the last two seasons in Jalen Williams (Oklahoma City Thunder) and Brandin Podziemski (Golden State Warriors).
Head coach Herb Sendek might have the second-best selling point in the conference — getting players to the next level.
Unfortunately for him, though, this will look like more of a rebuilding season. Podziemski, Keshawn Justice, Carlos Stewart, Parker Braun and Jaden Bediako are all gone.
Carlos Marshall Jr. and Camaron Tongue provide a little bit of a safety net for those returning to the team, but the Broncos had to fill the lineup out via the transfer portal.
Jalen Benjamin (Mount Saint Mary’s), Adama Bal (Arizona), Francisco Caffaro (Virginia), Johnny O’Neil (American), Tyeree Bryan (Charleston Southern) and Jake Ensminger (freshman) should all get consistent playing time this season.
Unlike Saint Mary’s, the Broncos play at an incredibly fast tempo. However, they rank 150th in preseason KenPom, so this team looks like it may take a minute to gel.
Unless they pop onto the WCC scene immediately, Santa Clara looks to be a spoiler down the stretch.
Portland Pilots
The Pilots are interesting. Last season, they were the 18th-most efficient 3-point shooting team, per Shot Quality. They also got to the free-throw line often.
Their defense was atrocious, however.
This season will look a little different. Moses Wood, Mike Meadows, Kristian Sjolund and Chika Nduka all left.
That means Shantay Legans has to find a way to fill 42.2 points per game.
He added Alimamy Koroma (Cal Poly), Yuto Yamanouchi-Williams (Lamar), Noah Jordan (Junior College) and Tyler Harris (freshman).
The Pilots do return Tyler Robertson and Juan Sebastian Gorosito, so they have a little stability.
Even still, this looks like a new team with very little defense, like 2022-2023.
They could rank in the top-half of the conference and maybe surprise here or there, though. After all, they took down Villanova last November.
This team could be a massive longshot in the conference tourney.
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The Rest
Pacific Tigers
The Tigers finished 15-18 overall last season, and head coach Leonard Perry returns much of the same team, compared to the rest of the conference.
The Tigers lost Luke Avdalovic, Keylan Boone and Jordan Ivy-Curry. Meanwhile, they add Burke Smith (Boise State), Lesown Hallums Jr. (South Carolina State) and Tan Yildizoglu (freshman).
Tyler Beard, Donovan Williams, Moe Odum and Nick Blake will likely fill out the rotation, but many players on the team logged at least 10 minutes per game last season.
What helped in 2022-2023 was that the Tigers ranked 58th in 3-point efficiency (Shot Quality) and 48th in turnover rate.
Again, there are far too many holes on the defense to make Pacific a contender in this conference, though.
Pepperdine Waves
The Waves rank 190th going into this season, according to KenPom. They can throw teams off by running at an exceptionally fast pace (ninth preseason).
They return Malik Moore, Houston Mallette, Boubacar Coulibaly, Jalen Pitre and potential NBA prospect Jevon Porter.
They lose Maxwell Lewis, Mike Mitchell Jr., Jan Zidek and Carson Basham, while adding Ethan Anderson (Wyoming), Nils Cooper (freshman) and Curtis Williams (freshman).
The Waves might reside in one of the nicest climates in the country, but they will be in the cellar of the WCC this season.
If you tune in, you will at least be entertained by how Porter fits in the league.
San Diego Toreros
San Diego comes into this season ranked last in the conference, per KenPom, and 263rd overall. The Toreros lose some critical pieces in Eric Williams Jr., Marcellus Earlington, Jase Townsend and Jaiden Delaire.
This is one of the rosters that won't be supplementing the lineup with transfers. Wayne McKinney III, Deuce Turner, Bendji Pierre and Steven Jamerson II will get the bulk of the playing time.
The rest will come from bench pieces and freshmen.
They will likely finish at the bottom of the conference this season.
