WCC announces 2020-21 conference men’s basketball slate

SAN BRUNO, Calif. – The West Coast Conference announced its 2020-21 men's basketball conference schedule on Tuesday ahead of what promises to be another exciting year. The race for the WCC regular season crown will stretch over a nine-week span, featuring 16 conference games. Conference play is slated to begin on Thursday, Dec. 31, 2020, and will conclude on Saturday, Feb. 27.

BYU men’s basketball begins WCC play at Pepperdine on Dec. 31 and plays its first home league game on Jan. 7 against Pacific. The Cougars’ 16-game conference slate features home-and-home series against Gonzaga, Pacific, Pepperdine, Portland, Saint Mary’s, San Diego and San Francisco. The schedule also includes matchups at Loyola Marymount on Feb. 20 and a home contest against Santa Clara on Feb. 25.

In 2019-20, BYU finished second in the WCC with a 13-3 mark, including a perfect home record of 8-0 that featured a 91-78 win over No. 2 Gonzaga and a thrilling 81-79 victory against Saint Mary’s. The Cougars’ only losses on the road came at Gonzaga, Saint Mary’s and San Francisco. BYU concluded the 2019-20 season ranked No. 18/16 in the AP and USA Today Coaches Polls and was poised to receive a single-digit bid to the 2020 NCAA Tournament before the COVID-19 pandemic led the cancelation of the rest of the season.

Head coach Mark Pope welcomes the return of six letterwinners on the 2020-21 roster, including four with starting experience in a BYU uniform in Alex Barcello, Gavin Baxter, Connor Harding and Kolby Lee. Utah Valley transfers Richard Hardward and Wyatt Lowell are eligible after sitting out last season while graduate transfers Brandon Averette and Matt Haarms and highly-touted freshman Caleb Lohner headline a talented cast of newcomers.

The nonconference schedule for the 2020-21 season along with game times and broadcast plans for the WCC schedule will be announced at a later date.

More from the WCC…
Four WCC teams concluded the 2019-20 season with a top-75 ranking in the ESPN BPI poll, headlined by defending regular season and tournament champion Gonzaga (No. 3), BYU (No. 17), Saint Mary’s (40) and San Francisco (72). For the second straight year, the Zags (31-2) led the nation in adjusted offense according to KenPom.com (121.3), while the Cougars (7th/116.3) and Gaels (16th/113.7) also cracked the top-20 in offensive efficiency

With a résumé featuring a nearly unprecedented five consecutive NCAA Sweet 16 appearances, including three Elite Eight showings since 2015, the Bulldogs are, once again, generating significant buzz. Gonzaga has been tabbed as the preseason No. 1 team in multiple “way-too-early” polls and if it holds would be the first WCC program to achieve a top preseason ranking since the 1955-56 San Francisco Dons. BYU and Saint Mary’s both are very much in the preseason “teams to watch” conversation with both squads spending time in the top-25 last season.

Prior to the cancellation of the 2020 NCAA Tournament due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, three WCC programs – BYU, Gonzaga and Saint Mary’s – were locks for single-digit seeds and the Bulldogs were in line for another No. 1 seed. Meanwhile Pacific, Pepperdine, San Francisco and Santa Clara all had postseason opportunities.

About West Coast Conference Basketball – 2019-20
#WCChoops enjoyed a storybook season in 2019-20 with three teams projected as locks for single-digit seeds in the 2020 NCAA Tournament by every meaningful publication/metric.

CONSIDER…

• Gonzaga – finished the 2019-20 campaign ranked No. 2 and spent five weeks at No. 1 and spent 14 weeks in the top-three

• BYU returned to the top-25 Feb. 17 and surged up to No. 14

• Saint Mary’s entered the season in the top-20 and received votes in every weekly poll

• Three WCC teams were in Joe Lunardi’s final 2020 Bracketology report: BYU (No. 6 West), Gonzaga (No. 1 West) & Saint Mary’s (No. 8 South)

• Three WCC teams received votes in both the AP and USA Today Coaches polls – Zags, Cougars & Gaels

• For the third time in four seasons, two #WCChoops programs earned a top-25 ranking in the final regular season poll (Gonzaga & BYU)

• Four WCC teams rated in the top-100 of the NET, led by two in the top-10 –Gonzaga (No. 1) & BYU (No. 9)

• A record seven WCC programs finished the season in the top-150 of the final NET rankings

• Seven WCC programs were in contention for postseason play, which would have established a new conference record

• WCC led all Division I conferences in both field goal (45.93) and 3-point field goal (35.61) accuracy

ONE KEY THING FOR EACH PROGRAM

• BYU – Ranked seventh in adjusted offense (116.3) and 13th overall (+20.68) in 2019-20 according to KenPom under first-year head coach Mark Pope

• GONZAGA – Has been projected as a preseason No. 1 in multiple “Way Too Early” 2020-21 polls

• LMU – Welcomes former Marquette assistant Stan Johnson as head coach for 2020-21

• PACIFIC – Posted first 20-win season since 2010-11 under WCC Coach of the Year Damon Stoudamire

• PEPPERDINE – Welcomes back senior guard Colbey Ross, who ranks fourth among active Division I career leaders in assists (6.60)

• PORTLAND – Opened the season with an 8-3 slate – the best since 2014-15

• SAINT MARY’S – Was set to make the NCAA Tournament in back-to-back seasons for the second time in program history and the third in four seasons

• SAN DIEGO – Have posted two 20-win seasons in the last three years

• SAN FRANCISCO – Posted its fourth straight 20-win season under the direction of first-year head coach Todd Golden

• SANTA CLARA – Streaked to a 14-2 start – the best for the program since the 1968-69 squad opened at 21-0

A STRONG DECADE FOR #WCCHOOPS
From 2010-20, West Coast Conference programs produced...
1 -- AP Coach of the Year
1 -- NCAA Elite 90 Award Winner
1 -- Final Four
3 -- Elite Eight Appearances
6 -- Sweet-16 berths
10 -- NBA Championships won by WCC alums
10 -- WCC programs to compete in at least one Postseason Tournament
13 -- Academic All-Americans
16 -- AP All-Americans
21 -- NCAA Tournament Wins
65 -- Overall Postseason Victories
308-54 – Combined decade record for Gonzaga – the highest win tally in Division I during the 2010s

This marks year three of the modified WCC men's basketball schedule. The 16-game schedule is the result of changes adopted by the WCC Presidents' Council as part of the Conference's Men's Basketball Enhancement Plan.

The West Coast Conference plans to celebrate its 13th year in Las Vegas when the 2021 West Coast Conference Basketball Tournaments return to the Orleans Arena from March 4-9.

Fans can expect an announcement regarding the full slate of WCC broadcasts in the coming weeks. The complete 2020-21 West Coast Conference men's basketball composite schedule is listed below, but is subject to change.

2020-21 WCC MEN’S BASKETBALL CONFERENCE SCHEDULE (home team listed first)

**SUBJECT TO CHANGE**  |  TIMES TBD

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 31
Pepperdine vs. BYU
San Francisco vs. San Diego

SATURDAY, JANUARY 2
San Diego vs. BYU
Gonzaga vs. San Francisco
Pacific vs. Portland
Saint Mary’s vs. Pepperdine
Santa Clara vs. LMU

THURSDAY, JANUARY 7
BYU vs. Pacific
San Diego vs. Saint Mary’s
Gonzaga vs. Santa Clara
Portland vs. LMU
San Francisco vs. Pepperdine

SATURDAY, JANUARY 9
Portland vs. Gonzaga
LMU vs. San Francisco
Pacific vs. San Diego
Santa Clara vs. Saint Mary’s

THURSDAY, JANUARY 14
Gonzaga vs. Pepperdine
Portland vs. San Francisco
LMU vs. San Diego
Pacific vs. Santa Clara
Saint Mary’s vs. BYU

SATURDAY, JANUARY 16
San Diego vs. Santa Clara
Pepperdine vs. Portland
Pacific vs. LMU
Saint Mary’s vs. Gonzaga
San Francisco vs. BYU

THURSDAY, JANUARY 21
BYU vs. Portland
LMU vs. Saint Mary’s
Pepperdine vs. Pacific
Santa Clara vs. San Francisco

SATURDAY, JANUARY 23
BYU vs. Pepperdine
Gonzaga vs. Pacific
Portland vs. San Diego
LMU vs. Santa Clara
San Francisco vs. Saint Mary’s

THURSDAY, JANUARY 28
San Diego vs. Gonzaga
Saint Mary’s vs. Portland
Santa Clara vs. Pacific

SATURDAY, JANUARY 30
BYU vs. San Francisco
San Diego vs. LMU
Portland vs. Santa Clara
Pepperdine vs. Gonzaga
Pacific vs. Saint Mary’s

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 4
Gonzaga vs. LMU
Portland vs. BYU
Pepperdine vs. San Diego
Pacific vs. San Francisco
Saint Mary’s vs. Santa Clara

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 6
San Diego vs. Pacific
Gonzaga vs. BYU
Pepperdine vs. San Francisco
Saint Mary’s vs. LMU

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 11
BYU vs. Saint Mary’s
LMU vs. Pepperdine
San Francisco vs. Portland
Santa Clara vs. Gonzaga

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 13
BYU vs. San Diego
LMU vs. Pacific
Pepperdine vs. Saint Mary’s
San Francisco vs. Gonzaga
Santa Clara vs. Portland

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 18
Gonzaga vs. Saint Mary’s
Portland vs. Pepperdine
Pacific vs. BYU
San Francisco vs. LMU
Santa Clara vs. San Diego

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 20
Gonzaga vs. San Diego
Portland vs. Pacific
LMU vs. BYU
Santa Clara vs. Pepperdine

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 25
BYU vs. Santa Clara
San Diego vs. Portland
Pepperdine vs. LMU
Pacific vs. Gonzaga
Saint Mary’s vs. San Francisco

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 27
BYU vs. Gonzaga
San Diego vs. Pepperdine
LMU vs. Portland
Saint Mary’s vs. Pacific
San Francisco vs. Santa Clara