2021-22 #WCCHOOPS MATCHUPS
 
SAN MATEO, Calif. -- The West Coast Conference announced its 2021-22 men's basketball conference schedule on Wednesday ahead of what promises to be another outstanding 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, December 30, 2021 and will conclude on Saturday, February 26, 2022.

Five WCC teams concluded the 2020-21 season with a top-101 ranking in the ESPN BPI poll, headlined by defending regular season and tournament champion Gonzaga (No. 1), BYU (No. 32), Saint Mary’s (No. 91), LMU (No. 100) and Pepperdine (101). For the second straight year, the Zags (31-1) led the nation in adjusted offense according to KenPom.com (126.4), while the Cougars (23rd/113.7) and Waves (79th/108.3) also cracked the top-80 in offensive efficiency.
 
With a resume featuring a nearly unprecedented six consecutive NCAA Sweet 16 appearances, including four Elite Eight berths and two NCAA title game showings since 2015, the Bulldogs are, once again, generating significant buzz.
 
For the second straight year, Gonzaga has been tabbed as the preseason No. 1 team in multiple “way-too-early” polls and was 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.
 
YEAR FOUR OF THE 16-GAME SCHEDULE
This is the fourth season the WCC will play a 16-game schedule after changes adopted by the WCC Presidents' Council as part of the Conference's Men's Basketball Enhancement Plan prior to the start of the 2018-19 season.

These schedule initiatives demonstrate the league-wide commitment by West Coast Conference Presidents and Athletic Directors to adopt an innovative approach to advance men's basketball on the national stage as a multiple NCAA bid Conference.

2022 UNIVERSITY CREDIT UNION WCC BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT
The 2022 UCU WCC Men’s and Women’s Basketball Tournament will take place March 3-8 at Orleans Arena in Las Vegas.

ABOUT WEST COAST CONFERENCE BASKETBALL – 2020-21 
#WCChoops enjoyed another storybook season in 2020-21 with No. 1 Gonzaga marching to its second Final Four and NCAA Championship game in five years after spending the entire season as the No. 1 team in the nation. The WCC once again sent multiple teams to the NCAA Tournament – BYU and Gonzaga – a season removed from the canceled 2020 event when three Conference teams were projected as locks for single-digit seeds by every meaningful publication/metric. 
 
Saint Mary’s advanced to the NIT, qualifying for their 14th straight postseason appearance (NCAA or NIT). Pepperdine became the second WCC program to win the CBI Invitational Championship (Santa Clara, 2013).
 
#WCCHOOPS NOTABLES

• After landing the top-rated recruiting class in program history, Gonzaga is poised to debut at No. 1 in the preseason national polls for the second straight season in 2021-22
• Gonzaga entered the National Title game winners of 35 straight games, the second best in WCC history. San Francisco owns the second longest streak in NCAA history at 60 games (1954-56) which included back-to-back NCAA Championships (1955-56).
• Gonzaga’s 93-90 overtime thriller against UCLA in the National Semis was its 31st consecutive win - the best single-season streak in program and WCC history. The previous record of 29 was held by San Francisco (1956 & 1977) and Gonzaga (2017).
• Gonzaga’s Mark Few enters the 2021-22 season with 630 career wins. Few owns the top active career winning percentage in Division I (630-125/.835). 
• Gonzaga’s Mark Few was named Naismith National Coach of the Year and NABC National Coach of the Year
• Three Gonzaga men’s basketball players earned consensus All-American honors – Corey Kispert (1st), Jalen Suggs (2nd) & Drew Timme (2nd)
• No. 1 Gonzaga led the nation in multiple offensive categories, including: scoring offense (91.6), field goal percentage (54.9), two-point percentage (63.6), scoring margin (23.1) and points in the paint (49.5).
• Three Gonzaga student-athletes were named Wooden All-Americans, headlined by Wooden Award Finalist Corey Kispert. Jalen Suggs & Drew Timme gave the Zags three on the 10-member team – the most from a single program in the history of the award.
• For the third straight season, the Zags reached the top of the AP national poll and have spent 33 weeks at No. 1 since 2012-13.
• Pepperdine downed Longwood (80-66), Bellarmine (82-71) & Coastal Carolina (84-61) in the finals to become the second WCC program to win the CBI Invitational Championship. Santa Clara won the 2013 event.
• Senior Saint Mary’s point guard Tommy Kuhse turned in a strong performance in the opening round of the NIT, scoring 17 points and dished 11 assists in a tough 69-67 setback against Western Kentucky (3/17/21). 
• BYU’s Alex Barcello scored 20 points in a 73-62 loss to No. 11 UCLA in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament (3/20/21).
• Five WCC teams appeared in the top-100 in the final 2020-21 NET rankings Gonzaga (No. 1), BYU (No. 20) & Saint Mary’s (No. 62). No fewer than eight WCC teams rate in the top-135.
• Three WCC teams rate in the top-75 in the final KenPom 2020-21 ratings: Gonzaga (No. 1), BYU (No. 20), Saint Mary’s (No. 75). Six WCC programs cracked the top-100:  Pepperdine(No. 90) San Francisco (No. 93) & LMU (No. 94). No fewer than eight WCC teams rate in the top-150.

PRESENTING THE 2021-22 #WCCHOOPS SCHEDULE
The regular-season WCC men’s basketball schedule for the 2021-22 season is listed below. Conference play begins Thursday, December 30, 2021. Specific game times and television details for each game will be announced at a later date.

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 30
Gonzaga at San Diego
Santa Clara at Pacific
 
SATURDAY, JANUARY 1
BYU at Portland
San Diego at Santa Clara
Gonzaga at LMU
Pepperdine at Pacific
San Francisco at Saint Mary’s
 
THURSDAY, JANUARY 6
San Diego at Pepperdine
Portland at LMU
Pacific at BYU
Saint Mary’s at Santa Clara
San Francisco at Gonzaga
 
SATURDAY, JANUARY 8
San Diego at San Francisco
LMU at Pacific
Pepperdine at Gonzaga
Saint Mary’s at BYU
Santa Clara at Portland

THURSDAY, JANUARY 13
BYU at Gonzaga
Portland at San Diego
LMU at San Francisco
Pacific at Santa Clara
Saint Mary’s at Pepperdine
 
SATURDAY, JANUARY 15
BYU at San Francisco
Gonzaga at Santa Clara
Portland at Pepperdine
LMU at San Diego
Pacific at Saint Mary’s

THURSDAY, JANUARY 20
San Diego at BYU
Gonzaga at Pacific
Pepperdine at LMU
San Francisco at Portland
Santa Clara at Saint Mary’s
 
SATURDAY, JANUARY 22
San Diego at Pacific
Portland at BYU
Saint Mary’s at LMU
San Francisco at Pepperdine
 
THURSDAY, JANUARY 27
BYU at Santa Clara
LMU at Gonzaga
Pepperdine at San Diego
Pacific at Portland
Saint Mary’s at San Francisco
 
SATURDAY, JANUARY 29
BYU at Pacific
San Diego at LMU
Portland at Gonzaga
Pepperdine at Saint Mary’s
Santa Clara at San Francisco
 
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 3
Gonzaga at Pepperdine
LMU at Santa Clara
Saint Mary’s at Portland
San Francisco at BYU
 
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 5
Gonzaga at BYU
Portland at San Francisco
LMU at Saint Mary’s
Pacific at Pepperdine
Santa Clara at San Diego
 
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 10
BYU at LMU
San Diego at Saint Mary’s
Pepperdine at San Francisco
Pacific at Gonzaga
 
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 12
BYU at Pepperdine
LMU at Portland
Pacific at San Diego
Saint Mary’s at Gonzaga
San Francisco at Santa Clara
 
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 17
San Diego at Portland
San Francisco at Pacific
Santa Clara at LMU
 
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 19
BYU at Saint Mary’s
Pepperdine at Portland
Santa Clara at Gonzaga
 
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 24
Gonzaga at San Francisco
Portland at Pacific
LMU at BYU
Saint Mary’s at San Diego
Santa Clara at Pepperdine
 
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 26
Gonzaga at Saint Mary’s
Portland at Santa Clara
Pepperdine at BYU
Pacific at LMU
San Francisco at San Diego
 
About the West Coast Conference
The West Coast Conference was formed in 1952 and has evolved and grown to become a nationally recognized and competitive force in Division I intercollegiate athletics, with 15 conference-sponsored sports: baseball, men's and women's basketball, women's beach volleyball, men's and women's cross country, men's and women's golf, women's rowing, men's and women's soccer, softball, men's and women's tennis and women's volleyball. The WCC is characterized by the stability of its membership and its unique emphasis on combining excellence in athletics with excellence in academics. For more information, visit WCCsports.com or follow the West Coast Conference on Twitter @WCCsports.