Michael Chin is the RTC correspondent for the West Coast Conference.
So to update the conference, the fact is nothing has really changed:
Saint Mary’s took care of business with a win against San Diego State (SDSU). SDSU is a good team in a mediocre mid-major conference. Saint Mary’s front court played very well, but Patty Mills turned in another subpar performance, going 6-18. He needs to become a true point guard and let the game come to him. Their game against Oregon is now a must-win after San Diego edged by the Ducks this weekend.
San Diego is really an anomaly this year. They lose to New Mexico and San Jose State and the pull off a win against Oregon. This really speaks to the coaching of Bill Grier. Looking at the big picture, if Oregon doesn’t offer Mark Few the job, Bill Grier may also be on their short list.
News flash, actually not really: Pepperdine and Loyola Marymount are terrible. LMU hasn’t won a Division One game this year and Pepperdine is just a hair better, as they have one win on the season. The problem is when if Saint Mary’s, Portland, or any other of the possible bubble teams lose to these guys, you more than likely will hear the proverbial “pop.”
As for Portland, Santa Clara and USF, they are all mediocre. With that said, at least USF and Portland are better than any of the magazines expected. The have both had a few quality wins, but are at the back end of any postseason thoughts.
As it stands today I only see one team guaranteed an NCAA spot in this conference…No it’s not a Santa Clara alumni team led by Steve Nash and Kurt Rambis… Speaking of Gonzaga, I don’t think we can read too much into their loss to Arizona. They didn’t have a great shooting night and only lost by five. It’s a well known fact college basketball fans that Gonzaga will live and by their outside shooting. I think you saw a tired GU team. Don’t forget where they have been in the last three weeks: Orlando, Indianapolis, Pullman, then to Phoenix. In that span they played: Maryland, Oklahoma State, Tennessee, Washington State, Indiana, and Arizona. If I didn’t know any better, I would say this is a warm-up for March. Oh and guess what, to top if off they get UConn this weekend.