Gonzaga men’s basketball enters West Coast Conference play in an unsettlingly familiar position. For the second straight season, the Zags wrapped up non-conference play with a 9-4 record. They have some quality wins to their name — Baylor, Arizona State, San Diego State — but nothing to light the marquee about.
Unlike last year, however, the West Coast Conference will provide some more stiff competition this season.
The Zags are 2-4 and 2-0 in Quadrants 1 and 2 respectively of the NCAA’s NET Rankings. That’s the most important measure of a team for inclusion and seeding in the NCAA Tournament. In prior years, the WCC held the Zags down in those categories, often loading them up with unsavory Quadrant 3 and 4-level games.
This year is different, with the addition of Washington State and Oregon State. Plus, the top half of the league in general has done pretty well for itself.
As of Monday, the Zags have four more Quadrant 1 opportunities and five more in Quadrant 2.
The top half of the league is very stout, the Zags just need to navigate those games deftly and pick up wins. The bottom half, however … well, we’ll get to that.
Here’s how the West Coast Conference looks as the Zags embark on their 2024-25 slate.
SAINT MARY’S GAELS (11-3, 1-0 WCC)
Surprise of all surprises here, but in his 24th season at the helm, head coach Randy Bennett’s Saint Mary’s Gaels are the most likely challenger to Gonzaga atop the West Coast Conference. They are the defending conference champions — regular season and tournament — after all.
The Gaels have a roster with some familiar faces including reigning WCC Player of the Year Augustas Marciulionis (14.2 points, 6.4 assists per game), who unlike last season is actually playing like someone deserving of that honor. Fellow senior Mitchell Saxen (10 points, 7.6 rebounds) remains a load in the paint at 6-foot-10, 230 pounds, while former role player Luke Barrett (11.1 points, 7.4 rebounds) has more than doubled his productivity over last season on the wing.
A pair of impact newcomers are making waves in Moraga: sophomore Arizona transfer Paulius Murauskas (who is leading the league in rebounds at 8.9 per game to go along with 13.4 points per game), and freshman Mikey Lewis (8.9 ppg). They are contenders for All-Conference and All-Freshman honors respectively.
Like Gonzaga, the Gaels have no bad losses — Arizona State, Boise State and Utah State — and have played a decently challenging schedule overall with a mix of quality mid-major opponents and mid-level power conference teams. They’re battle tested and will once again bring a stylistic contrast to their games against Gonzaga with their slow, prodding pace of play.
Gonzaga at St. Mary's: Feb. 1
Gonzaga vs. St. Mary's: Feb. 22
SAN FRANCISCO DONS (12-3, 2-0 WCC)
With the exception of the pandemic-plagued 2020-21 season, San Francisco has posted 20-plus wins every season dating back to 2017. This year looks to be no different.
The Dons’ program has become a consistent top-100 program in the country and positioned itself to take over BYU’s spot in the league’s top-three, something it was trending toward even before BYU left the league two seasons ago.
Senior wing Malik Thomas is second in the league at 18.2 points per game (up from 12.4 a season ago when he earned all-conference honorable mention honors). Well-rounded point guard Marcus Williams (13 points, 4.1 rebounds, 3.9 assists per game) continues to play at the first team All-WCC level that he displayed last season.
Under third-year head coach Chris Gerlufsen, the Dons are once again a menace on the defensive end, holding teams to low shooting percentages (especially inside the arc) and forcing turnovers on over a fifth of possessions. They’re also fairly battle tested, with two of their three losses coming by just four points or fewer and all three against quality teams in Memphis, Clemson and Bradley. Outside of those games, they’ve shown an ability to run up the score and run their opponents out of the gym.
They should be a fun team to watch... when they’re not playing the Zags at least.
Gonzaga at San Francisco: Feb. 13
Gonzaga vs. San Francisco: March 1
WASHINGTON STATE COUGARS (12-3, 2-0 WCC)
Since leaving the Pac-12 Conference at the end of last season, WSU has morphed into something of a hybrid program. It still has the resources of a power conference program but it now has to exist at the mid-major level.
The question, this season at least and maybe next, is how do a bunch of former EWU Eagles adapt to life deep on the Palouse? Not only in a new location, but in a new league?
LeJuan Watts (13.3 points, 7.9 rebounds per game), Dane Erikstrup (12.1 points) and Ethan Price (11.6 points, 5.7 rebounds) are three of five starters for Wazzu, and they’re all former Eagles that new head coach David Riley brought along to Pullman. They’re not making the jump to the Pac-12, but the Big Sky to the WCC is still a jump up in talent nonetheless.
The unfamiliar face leading the way is Nate Calmese at point guard. The Lamar transfer (via UW) is averaging a team-high 16.1 points and 4.6 assists per game.
Riley spent a decade at Eastern helping the Eagles become one of the best low-major programs in the country. He now has high-major resources in a mid-major league, but a hodge-podge of talent to fill out his roster.
This team is the ultimate wildcard in the WCC this season. Their upside is high — Riley and company bring a tradition of excellence at the low-major level at EWU — but Wazzu’s traditional floor is as low as it gets.
Gonzaga vs. Washington State: Jan. 11
Gonzaga at Washington State: Feb. 19
SANTA CLARA BRONCOS (9-6, 1-1 WCC)
If San Francisco has been consistently beating on the door of a top three finish, Santa Clara hasn’t been far behind. The thing is, the Broncos haven’t actually done it yet.
They won’t this year, either.
Christoph Tilly (12.1 points) and Adama Bal (13.9 points per game) are once again fantastic players, but the Broncos aren’t much more than them. Five players, all upperclassmen, lead Herb Sendek’s team in scoring, but they’re not players Gonzaga fans should fear. They’re all known commodities at the WCC level.
Santa Clara should make the NIT, and the Broncos should do well there, but that’s about it.
Gonzaga vs. Santa Clara: Jan. 18
Gonzaga at Santa Clara: Feb. 25
OREGON STATE BEAVERS (11-3, 1-0 WCC)
Forever a cellar dweller in the Pac-12, Oregon State now finds itself in the middle of the pack in the WCC.
Congratulations on the minor upgrade there, because that’s about all you can say about Oregon State.
There is a reason this program was left behind when the Pac-12 disintegrated. The Beavers were just not worth taking.
In 2021, the Beavers went full fever and chewed their way to a random Elite Eight run. But apart from that fluke of a season, OSU has only been to the NCAA Tournament once since 1990.
I do not trust this team. I do not trust this program. Which says a lot about the programs below them.
Gonzaga at Oregon State: Jan. 16
Gonzaga vs. Oregon State: Jan. 28
LOYOLA MARYMOUNT LIONS (8-6, 0-2 WCC)
Head coach Stan Johnson is in his fifth season at the helm in Los Angeles. After a promising first season in 2020-21 that saw the Lions finish as one of the top 100 teams in the country, they have since failed to build upon or even match that level of success. That said, they’ve never truly been bad either.
This year looks much the same. They’re not going to challenge to compete at the top of the league but they should be a clear cut step ahead of the bottom as well.
Former Pepperdine standout Jevon Porter transferred into the program during the offseason and leads the team with 14.2 points and 7.8 rebounds per game. The 6-foot-11 forward has been the focus of the Lions’ offense this season.
Gonzaga at Loyola Marymount: Jan. 4
Gonzaga vs. Loyola Marymount: Feb. 6
PACIFIC TIGERS (5-11, 0-2 WCC)
When Pacific rejoined the West Coast Conference in 2013, I was personally all for it. The Tigers were a founding member of the league back in the early 1950s, but left in the 1970s to pursue football — former Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll even played safety for the team in the early '70s.
When Pacific rejoined the conference over a decade ago, the Tigers were coming out of the Big West Conference where they had enjoyed a run of sustained success under head coach Bob Thomason, which made them almost the Gonzaga of their league.
Things haven’t gone so well since returning to the WCC. They’ve been a doorstop more often than not, and last season went 0-16 in league play. That led to the removal of Leonard Perry as head coach and the hiring of an unknown in Dave Smart.
Pun intended, it was a smart move. Smart, a Canadian, spent 18 seasons at the helm of Carleton University in Ottawa, Ontario. There he amassed 656 wins — Mark Few has 725 wins at Gonzaga, for comparison.
The Tigers are 5-10, sure, but they’ve played a brutal schedule. Starting off 0-2 in the WCC further emphasizes that this isn’t their year, but they can hopefully be better than they’ve been going forward with Smart in charge.
Gonzaga at Pacific: Feb. 8
PEPPERDINE WAVES (6-9, 0-2 WCC)
The Zags got WCC play off to a winning start on Monday night with an 89-82 victory at Pepperdine, but GU's play was far from confidence-inspiring considering how bad the Waves have been so far in 2024.
If you thought getting rid of head coach Lorenzo Romar — who led the University of Washington to years and years of underwhelming results — would change the culture in Malibu, well…
Pepperdine — once Gonzaga’s arch-rival in the WCC — sucks again.
Forget scouting this team, because they’ve lost 47 straight games to Gonzaga. The Waves haven’t won against the Zags since January 18, 2002. That’s a losing streak that’s old enough to legally drink.
To be fair, San Francisco transfer Stefan Todorovic does lead the league in points at 19.7 per game. The big man is a threat inside and out of the arc. His versatility will always present a challenge for Graham Ike or whoever switches onto him.
Gonzaga at Pepperdine: Dec. 30 (W, 89-82)
Gonzaga vs. Pepperdine: Feb. 15
PORTLAND PILOTS (5-10, 0-2 WCC)
The 19-15 season in Shantay Legans’ first year (2021-22) at the helm on The Bluff in Portland is well in the rearview mirror at this point. The former Eastern Washington head coach now finds himself in year four in Portland with a squad lacking in the Eastern Washington transfers he brought along that took that Pilots squad to those heights.
Of Portland’s five wins this season, two have come against non-Division 1 competition. The highlight thus far was an overtime game against Oregon, which Portland ultimately lost.
The highlight going forward looks to be their Jan. 25 game against Gonzaga, but that will only be from a ticket-sales perspective as traveling or Rose City-bound Zag fans take up what would otherwise be empty seats in the Chiles Center.
Gonzaga vs. Portland (Spokane Arena): Jan. 2
Gonzaga at Portland: Jan. 25
SAN DIEGO TOREROS (4-10, 1-0 WCC)
Former UCLA and St. John’s coach Steve Lavin, who took a decade off to work in television, returned to the sidelines two years ago when he took the top job at San Diego. Many around college basketball wondered if he took the job simply as a cushy way into retirement.
It sure looks that way.
His Toreros are not only worse than a season ago but worse than they were when he took over. They entered league play on a six game skid with just two D1 wins to their name this season, before beating Pacific on Monday. They’re the polar opposite of Gonzaga in that they are among the absolute elite teams in the country in missing shots.
Gonzaga at San Diego: Jan. 8
UP NEXT
Men
Gonzaga vs. Portland • Thu, Jan. 2 at 6 pm • KHQ and ESPN+
Gonzaga at Loyola Marymount • Sat, Jan. 4 at 6 pm • KHQ and ESPN+
Women
Gonzaga at Portland • Thu, Jan. 2 at 6 pm • ESPN+
Gonzaga vs. Santa Clara • Sat, Jan. 4 at 2 pm • ESPN+
