The opening round of the West Coast Conference Tournament is tomorrow and so it is time to break out the crystal ball and predict the winner.
Who are the key players? Which matchups will be key?
Opening round matchups:
No. 5 Portland (20-10) vs. No. 8 Loyola Marymount (10-20)
Winner: Portland
Player to watch: Nemanja Mitrovic, F, Portland
The Pilots had a shot at being a top-4 seed, earning a first-round bye, but a loss last Saturday at Saint Mary's thwarted that effort. In any case, Portland should have no problem bouncing back against the Lions. Expect Nemanja Mitrovic to have his way on the wing.
No. 6 Pepperdine (11-20) vs. No. 7 San Diego (6-23)
Winner: San Diego
Player to watch: Ken Rancifer, G, San Diego
San Diego has shown much more grit and determination toward the end of conference play. In their win against Saint Mary's, the Toreros got to every loose ball and were able to find open shooters following those rebounds. The Waves will have their hands full on Friday.
Quarterfinals:
No. 4 Santa Clara (18-13) vs. Portland
Winner: Portland
Player to watch: Kevin Foster
It will be close. Very close. But in the end, Portland has too many weapons to use and that will be the difference against Santa Clara. The gameplan against the Broncos is to send anybody and everybody at Kevin Foster. He is the one true offensive force on that team and Santa Clara goes as he goes.
No. 3 San Francisco (16-13) vs. San Diego
Winner: San Francisco
Matchup to watch: San Francisco bigs vs. San Diego bigs
San Francisco has been the surprise of the conference and will not disappoint in the quarterfinals. The interior presence and tenaciousness of the Dons will overwhelm San Diego and push the Dons onto a semifinal matchup against Gonzaga.
Semifinals:
No. 2 Gonzaga (21-9) vs. San Francisco
Winner: Gonzaga
Player to watch: Sam Dower
Gonzaga has not lost a conference game since losing against Saint Mary's on January 27 and shows no sign of slowing down. San Francisco did defeat the Zags on January 22 but followed that up by getting blasted by 17 in Spokane. Sam Dower, coming off the bench, has been the difference for the Bulldogs.
No. 1 Saint Mary's (23-7) vs. Portland
Winner: Saint Mary's
Player to watch: Stephen Holt
Portland is hungry to reach the WCC final and it will be close but not close enough. The difference will be freshman Stephen Holt. His energy and increasing impact on offense will match that of Jorden Page last season. His speed on offense and defense is the difference between these teams.
Saint Mary's vs. Gonzaga
Winner: Saint Mary's
Player to watch: Mickey McConnell
Both teams need this win. There is absolutely no guarantee either team would gain an at-large bid this season. The game will be decided by WCC Player of the Year Mickey McConnell. When the Gaels won in Spokane, he went for 27 points, including the game-winning shot. But in the game in Moraga, McConnell went 5-for-12 from the field. McConnell was the WCC Tournament MVP in 2010 and expect him to rise to the occasion again.
McConnell has to lead St Marys otherwise it won't be good! Holt has been looking better offensively lately, good point on him and the Portland game.
ReplyDelete