2/15 WCC Preview

After a grueling 5 days off, the WCC returns with a vengeance to end the drought of meaningless sports since last Saturday. Tonight 8 of our beloved teams square off in a competitive race for the 2nd through 4th seeds of the WCC tournament here in late February. Teams are skidding and teams are surging, this will be a critical day for the stability of the middle of the conference heading into the home stretch of the regular season. Let’s take a look at west coast basketball tonight.

Gonzaga -15.5 at LMU

Gonzaga coming off its biggest win of the year and going on the road to a weakened LMU team with only 6 scholarship players. You best believe we are laying the points tonight, it’s just going to be too much for LMU to overcome and likely will end any chance of the Lions getting back in the race for a 4 seed in the WCC. Gonzaga looking to hold onto their at large status and I expect them to take care of business today.

Pacific at Santa Clara -16.5

The conference doormat heads to the South Bay to face off against the struggling Santa Clara Broncos coming off their 3rd loss in a row. Santa Clara last played on Saturday and blew an emotionally charged rivalry game to USF on the road, resulting in the suspension of Jalen Benjamin. I’m staying away from the Broncos tonight even though this is one of the worst teams in the nation coming to Leavey Center, but this Santa Clara is in a spiral right now and just want to get back in the win column tonight. 

Portland at San Diego -6.5

The surging Toreros! California’s hottest team is hosting the Portland Pilots. The turn around the Toreros have had over the course of the last 3 weeks has jolted them into a top 4 seed conversation opposite of the struggling Broncos. The Toreros have played in competitive wins and handled some strong WCC conference play, turning it on at the right time of the season. San Deigo is 1 game behind Santa Clara and tonight I am laying the points with the surging Toreros. 

Pepperdine at St. Mary’s -19.5

The St. Mary’s Gaels are one of the strongest teams in the country let alone the WCC. There hasn’t been anything standing in the way of the Gaels this season with an 11-0 conference record and a #18 ranking, the Waves of Pepperdine certainly will not be a threat. St. Mary’s needs to use this time to find a rhythm from the 3 point line and get as much juice out of their NCAA resume for seeding. St Mary’s covers.