The Little Conference that Probably Will

Those shrieks of anguish you heard last night around 8:30 were from major conference bubble teams that just watched the USD Toreros take down the heavily-favored Bulldogs of Gonzaga in the finals of the West Coast Conference Tournament. This after another improbable come-from-behind victory against St. Mary’s the night before in double OT.

Its very possible now that 3 West Coast Conference teams will make the field of 64 when its named this Sunday and because of USD’s win last night and thus automatic bid, teams like Ohio St., Arizona St. and Syracuse may be on the outside looking in as it was felt Gonzaga and St. Mary’s would make the tournament as at-large bids regardless of how they did in the conference tourney. ESPN’s Joe Lunardi has his latest bracket, here, and has all 3 teams in. We had some thoughts on the WCC prior to the season.
.
First year coach Bill Grier was a Zags assistant for years and was brought down here to duplicate some of the underdog magic that has won-over much of the nation as Gonzaga has acquired the moniker, “America’s Team” for some of their deep runs in the tournament over the past decade or so.

Quick NBA note: The talking points have gone out. Apparently, the Golden State Warriors are “the team that no one wants to play” in the playoffs. Hmmmm… let’s see who else is in the West that is currently playoff bound: San Antonio, Phoenix, Lakers, Hornets, Utah, Dallas, Houston. Anyone there you would prefer to play?