WCC schedule announced, BYU to open vs. Gonzaga

SAN BRUNO, Calif. – The West Coast Conference announced the 2014-15 men's basketball conference schedule today. The race for the WCC regular season crown will be contested over a 10-week span, and consist of a double round-robin format. Conference play is slated to begin on Saturday, December 27, and will conclude on February 28, 2015.

After a strong 2013-14 campaign featuring two teams in the NCAA Tournament and two in the NIT field for the first time in more than 20 years, competition promises to be exceptionally tough in the West Coast Conference. Six teams – BYU (NCAA), Gonzaga (NCAA), Pacific (CIT) Saint Mary’s (NIT), San Diego (CIT) and San Francisco (NIT) – represented the conference in the postseason, and four teams posted at least 20 victories.

The 2014-15 West Coast Conference men’s basketball season tips off Saturday, December 27, 2014 with eight teams in action for a compelling opening weekend. Defending regular season and tournament champion Gonzaga will play at BYU in a rematch of the 2014 WCC Tournament title game on Saturday. NIT participant San Francisco will play at CIT Postseason Semifinalist Pacific, while Saint Mary’s will welcome longtime Bay Area rival Santa Clara.

All 10 teams compete on Monday, Dec. 29 to close the calendar on 2014. Portland travels to face the Cougrs in Provo while the Bulldogs play at San Diego. Pepperdine squares off against longtime SoCal rival Loyola Marymount in a PCH rivalry contest, while local rivalries dominate play in the Bay Area with the Dons at Gaels and the Broncos at Tigers.

Key games in January include Gonzaga at Portland Saturday, Jan. 3, BYU at Saint Mary’s Saturday, Jan. 17 and San Francisco at BYU Thursday, Jan. 29. Conference battles to mark on the calendar for February include Gonzaga at San Francisco Saturday, Feb. 7 and Saint Mary’s at BYU Thursday, Feb. 12. Gonzaga makes its annual trip to Moraga, Calif. to face the Gaels Saturday, Feb. 21 and BYU takes on the Bulldogs in Spokane, Wash. Saturday, Feb. 28 on the final day of the regular season, which features all 10 teams in action.

The 2015 West Coast Conference Basketball Championships will take place from March 5-10 at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas.

Fans can expect an announcement regarding the full slate of WCC telecasts in the coming month. The complete 2014-15 West Coast Conference men's basketball schedule can be accessed at WCCsports.com, but is subject to change.

BYU's 2014-15 WCC Schedule
Date	Opponent
Dec. 27 (Saturday)	Gonzaga
Dec. 29 (Monday)	Portland
Jan. 1 (Thursday)	at Santa Clara
Jan. 3 (Saturday)	at San Francisco
Jan. 8 (Thursday)	Pepperdine
Jan. 10 (Saturday)	Loyola Marymount
Jan. 15 (Thursday)	at Pacific
Jan. 17 (Saturday)	at Saint Mary's
Jan. 24 (Saturday)	at San Diego
Jan. 29 (Thursday)	San Francisco
Jan. 31 (Saturday)	Santa Clara
Feb. 5 (Thursday)	at Pepperdine
Feb. 7 (Saturday)	at Loyola Marymount
Feb. 12 (Thursday)	Saint Mary's
Feb. 14 (Saturday)	Pacific
Feb. 19 (Thursday)	San Diego
Feb. 26 (Thursday)	at Portland
Feb. 28 (Saturday)	at Gonzaga