I wanted to go back to my freshman year and, because I love pain, revisit the WCC tourney.
In those 13 seasons we are 8-13 and have made the semis 3x.
There have been a couple of brutal OT losses, a few really bad upsets to the likes of Pepp, LMU, and USD, and a couple near wins along the way.
Coincidentally, since my freshman year (2010), only Gonzaga and SMC (and byu) have made the final.
USF making the Dance in 2022 (as much as it pains me to say it) was really the only exception to the stranglehold that the top echelon has had on this tourney.
All that being said, aren’t we at least a little due to make a final? And if not us, ANYONE?
My final point, it has to be time for the triple bye to go right? The top half of the league has more than separated themselves from the rest of the league already the past couple seasons. I would love to see it play out with a true 8 team quarterfinals. Shrink the tourney to 4 days - Thurs to Sun.
In 2025 I imagine the triple bye might be up for discussion with both Washington State and Oregon State joining the conference. Or hopefully something that goes away. With our luck that is the year Santa Clara finishes 2nd in the conference and we miss out!
Speaking of WSU and OSU…will the WCC stick with 11 teams? Probably doesn’t make a lot of sense to make adjustments given that the Cougars and Beavers are only committed to the WCC for two years.
Or perhaps I totally missed some news on what is actually planned.
It seems the MWC is having the perfect season to show that it is the best inheritor of the PAC12 mantle.
Good point Dualthreat, something will have to change with the tourney w/ 11 teams.
I suspect it will look like this:
1st two rounds are the 5th through 11th seeds playing what looks like a standard 8 team bracket with the 5th seed getting a bye to the 2nd round. The two rounds reduces the teams remaining to 2.
The above 2 remaining teams play the 3 and 4 seeds with winners advancing to semi-finals vs. the 1 and 2 seeds.
Very similar to the current format except the 6th seed no longer gets a bye.
And if we happen to add a 12th team such as Seattle, this format still works and in fact is cleaner as the 12th place team plays the 5th.
See the link below for a fairer and simpler bracket, 1st thru 5th get a single bye and 2nd round on becomes a traditional 8 team tourney bracket; top seeds still get the benefit of playing lower seeds. But I suspect GU and SMC would argue for a multi round bye option.
Link: Printable 11 Team Single Elimination Bracket (printabletournamentbrackets.net)
The commissioner has been candid about needing to be at 12 teams, both sooner and later, but it’s likely too late to get to 12 by next year. My money would be on Grand Canyon. I know that we all likely agree this isn’t a good institutional fit, but they’re invested in and have a solid basketball program, and I’m sure that’s what matters most for Jackson. He will have to make that case to the Presidents, and I’m not convinced they’ll buy it, but I think that’s probably his personal top priority.
I’m softening a bit on Grand Canyon only because sports conference affiliation only means so much regarding everything else that comes with an institution. BYU’s involvement didn’t mean that the rest of the conference endorsed the Honor Code.
My remaining hesitation, though, is that GCU’s potential for problems is different in kind than prospective non-profit members and could actually splash back on the conference in the NIL era. Their for-profit, shareholder driven mission has and may yet increase their investment in athletics and get tangled up not in the usual booster overreaches but the actual politics of running a transparent for-profit sports franchise through intercollegiate athletics. Recruiting violations are one thing. But GCU through its shareholders is capable of the kind of RICO-worthy racketeering-cum-college-sports that no other WCC institution could come close to.
So while I’m more open to the idea of a vaguely predatory degree mill in the conference, I worry about the implications of GCU’s for-profit status leading to some scandal that may really cause problems for the conference in the way a standard NCAA violation would not.
I haven’t softened.
My opinion remains the same…not at all interested in GCU. You are judged by the company you keep. If the future health of the WCC hinges on whether we bring in GCU then we’re in deep trouble anyhow.
I don’t care what GCU looks like at the moment, their facilities, fan support or whatever. From my view their rise is mostly PR spin, branding and strategic initiatives to change their perception…little to do with academic merit or academic ingenuity. They remind me of non-denominational Christian mega churches that pop up in various regions, have a meteoric rise built on a ‘message’ that a bunch of people seem to devour but is mostly self-help schtick branded as religion. Ultimately a few people get rich, that’s the real reason for their existence. No thanks…
Sorry, probably getting a bit off topic from the thread focus on the 2024 WCC Tourney.
I hear you guys concerning GCU. Having 11 teams doesn’t bother me. My worry is for the future of the WCC and SCU basketball. It didn’t take much for the Pac-10 to dissolve. A couple marquee teams leaving the WCC would basically kill it (possibly even just 1 specific team leaving). I do think having Oregon St. and WSU for the next 2 years (at least) buys the WCC some time to either swim or sink.
NCAA D1 hoops is in jeopardy (at least the smaller schools are). There’s probably already 100 too many teams. With the way things are going currently I expect the landscape to change dramatically in the next 2-3 years (LMU cut 6 sports teams a couple weeks back and the majority of the WCC is likely to follow in coming years… it starts with the smaller sports) Hopefully Stu understands that league survival is very much at stake.
this Pacific vs Pepperdine opening round game is going to be so sicko at the Orleans. I’m tempted to go to it myself, two new coaches, Houston Mallette in the portal.
as a Cal football fan, I’m aptly prepared for that. About to board my flight now and scheduled to fly back Tuesday morning unless we get into either championship, so we’ve got BUDGETING to do.
