2023–24 West Coast Conference men's basketball season explained

2023–24 West Coast Conference men's basketball season
Nextseason Link:2024–25 West Coast Conference men's basketball season
Prevseason Year:2022–23
Prevseason Link:2022–23 West Coast Conference men's basketball season
Seasonslistnames:Basketball
Finals Mvp Link:West Coast Conference Men's Basketball Tournament#List of finals
Mvp:Augustas Marčiulionis, Saint Mary's
Finals Link:2024 West Coast Conference men's basketball tournament
Finals:Tournament
No Of Teams:9
Color:
  1. 9B1743
Color Text:
  1. FFFFFF
League:NCAA Division I
Sport:Men's basketball
Season:Regular season
Season Champs:Saint Mary’s
Nextseason Year:2024–25

The 2023–24 West Coast Conference men's basketball season began with practices in September 2023 and will end with the 2024 West Coast Conference men's basketball tournament in March 2024. This will be the 73rd season for WCC men's basketball, and the 35th under its current name of "West Coast Conference". The conference was founded in 1952 as the California Basketball Association, became the West Coast Athletic Conference in 1956, and dropped the word "Athletic" in 1989.

Head coaches

Coaches

TeamHead coachPrevious jobYearsat schoolOverallrecordWCCrecordWCCTournament recordNCAATournamentsSweetSixteens
GonzagaMark FewGonzaga (asst.)25689–135 (.836)332–34 (.907)49–5 (.907)2312
Loyola MarymountStan JohnsonMarquette (asst.)443–39 (.524)19–24 (.442)2–3 (.400)00
PacificLeonard PerryPacific (asst.)322–39 (.361)10–20 (.333)1–2 (.333)00
PepperdineLorenzo RomarArizona (asst.)6105–136 (.436)24-53 (.312)5–5 (.500)73
PortlandShantay LegansEastern Washington332–33 (.492)12–18 (.400)2–2 (.500)10
Saint Mary'sRandy BennettSaint Louis (asst.)23507–208 (.709)256–95 (.729)27–19 (.587)91
San DiegoSteve LavinSt. John's211–20 (.355)4–12 (.250)0–1 (.000)84
San FranciscoChris GerlufsenSan Francisco (asst.)220–14 (.588)7–9 (.438)2–1 (.667)00
Santa ClaraHerb SendekArizona State7120–94 (.561)57–50 (.533)5–7 (.417)81
Notes:

Preseason

Conference realignment

On September 10, 2021, BYU was one of four schools (the others being Cincinnati, Houston, and UCF) that accepted invitations to join the Big 12 Conference beginning with the 2023-24 athletic season.[1] Therefore, the WCC dropped to 9 teams for the current season.[2]

Preseason poll

2023-24 WCC Preseason Men's Basketball Coaches Poll[3]
RankTeam (First Place Votes)Points
1.Saint Mary's (5)61
2.Gonzaga (4)60
3.San Francisco45
4.Loyola Marymount42
5.Santa Clara41
6.Portland27
7.Pepperdine22
8.Pacific16
9.San Diego10

All-WCC Preseason Men's Basketball team

HonorRecipient
Preseason All-WCC TeamAlex Ducas, Saint Mary's
Graham Ike, Gonzaga
Keli Leaupepe, LMU
Aidan Mahaney, Saint Mary's
Houston Mallette, Pepperdine
Ryan Nembhard, Gonzaga
Jevon Porter, Pepperdine
Tyler Robertson, Portland
Mitchell Saxen, Saint Mary's
Anton Watson, Gonzaga

Rankings

See main article: 2023–24 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings. *AP does not release post-NCAA tournament rankings

  Improvement in ranking
 Drop in ranking
RVReceived votes but were not ranked in Top 25
NVNo votes received
Pre/Wk 1Wk2Wk3Wk4Wk5Wk6Wk7Wk8Wk9Wk10Wk11Wk12Wk13Wk14Wk15Wk16Wk17Wk18Final
GonzagaAP1111111171015132423RVRVRVRVRVRV2319
C1212101081316162521RVRVRVRVRVRV2218
LoyolaMarymountAPNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNV
CNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNV
PacificAPNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNV
CNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNV
PepperdineAPNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNV
CNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNV
PortlandAPNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNV
CNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNV
SaintMary'sAP23RVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVRVRVRV18181723
C2324NVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVRVRV19181721
SanDiegoAPNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNV
CNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNV
SanFranciscoAPNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVRVNVNVNVNVNVNV
CNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNV
SantaClaraAPNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNV
CNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNVNV

Regular season

Conference matrix

GonzagaLoyola MarymountPacificPepperdinePortlandSaint Mary'sSan DiegoSan FranciscoSanta Clara
vs. Gonzaga–0–20–20–20–21–10–20–21–1
vs. Loyola Marymount2–0–0-21–11–12–01–12–02–0
vs. Pacific2–02–0–2–02–02–02–02–02–0
vs. Pepperdine2–01–10–2–1–12–01–12–02–0
vs. Portland2–01–10–21–1–2-02–02–01–1
vs. Saint Mary's1–10–20–20–20–2–0-20–20–2
vs. San Diego2–01–10–21–10–22–0–2–01–1
vs. San Francisco2–00–20–20–20–22–00–2–1-1
vs. Santa Clara1–10–20–20–21–12–01–11–1–
Total14–25–110–165–115–1115–17–911–510–6

Early season tournaments

The following table summarizes the multiple-team events (MTE) or early season tournaments in which teams from the West Coast Conference will participate.

!Team!Tournament!Dates!Result
GonzagaMaui InvitationalNovember 20-225th
Loyola MarymountCayman Islands ClassicNovember 19-217th
PacificPacific MTE[4] November 24–29–
PepperdineBall Dawgs ClassicNovember 21–24–
PortlandDiamond Head ClassicDecember 21-248th
Saint Mary'sContinental Tire Main EventNovember 17-194th
San DiegoAcrisure InvitationalNovember 24-252nd
San FranciscoArizona Tip-Off[5] November 17-193rd
Santa ClaraEmerald Coast ClassicNovember 18-252nd

WCC Player/Freshman of the Week

Throughout the year, the West Coast Conference names a player of the week and a freshman of the week as follows:

!Week!Date!Player of the Week!Freshman of the Week
1November 13, 2023Carlos Marshall Jr., Santa ClaraTyler Harris, Portland
2November 20, 2023Justice Hill, LMUTyler Harris (2), Portland
3November 27, 2023Anton Watson, GonzagaRyan Beasley, San Francisco
4December 4, 2023Ryan Nembhard, GonzagaBraden Huff, Gonzaga
5December 11, 2023Dominick Harris, LMUNils Cooper, Pepperdine
6December 18, 2023Mitchell Saxen, Saint Mary'sKevin Patton Jr., San Diego
7December 26, 2023Malik Thomas, San FranciscoBraden Huff (2), Gonzaga
8January 2, 2024Luke Barrett, Saint Mary'sDragos Lungu, San Diego
9January 8, 2024Jonathan Mogbo, San FranciscoTyler Harris (3), Portland
10January 15, 2024Jonathan Mogbo (2), San FranciscoKevin Patton Jr. (2), San Diego
11January 24, 2024Joshua Jefferson, Saint Mary'sBraden Huff (3), Gonzaga
12January 29, 2024Graham Ike, GonzagaKevin Patton Jr. (3), San Diego
13February 5, 2024Jonathan Mogbo (3), San FranciscoBol Dengdit, Portland
14February 12, 2024Wayne McKinney III, San DiegoBraden Huff (4), Gonzaga
15February 19, 2024Ryan Nembhard (2), GonzagaKevin Patton Jr. (4), San Diego
16February 26, 2024Michael Ajayi, PepperdineRyan Beasley (2), San Francisco
17March 4, 2024Graham Ike (2), GonzagaRyan Beasley (3), San Francisco

Postseason

WCC Tournament

See main article: 2024 West Coast Conference men's basketball tournament.

NCAA Tournament

See main article: 2024 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament.

SeedRegionSchoolFirst roundSecond roundSweet 16Elite EightFinal FourChampionship
5MidwestGonzagaDefeated (12) McNeese, 86–65Defeated (4) Kansas, 89–68Lost to (1) Purdue, 68–80
5WestSaint Mary'sLost to (12) Grand Canyon, 66–75
BidsW-L (%):1–1 1–0 0–1 0–0 0–0 TOTAL: 2–2

NIT

See main article: 2024 National Invitation Tournament.

SeedSchoolFirst roundSecond roundQuarterfinalsSemifinalsFinal
–San FranciscoLost to (2) Cincinnati, 72–73 (OT)
W-L (%):0–1 0–0 0–0 0–0 TOTAL: 0–1

All-WCC Awards and Teams

On March 5, 2024, the West Coast Conference announced the following awards:[6]

!Honor!Recipient!School
Player of the YearAugustas MarčiulionisSaint Mary’s
Coach of the YearRandy BennettSaint Mary’s
Defensive Player of the YearMitchell SaxenSaint Mary’s
Newcomer of the YearJonathan MogboSan Francisco
Sixth Player of the YearDeuce TurnerSan Diego
All-WCC First TeamMichael AjayiPepperdine
Adama-Alpha BalSanta Clara
Graham IkeGonzaga
Aidan MahaneySaint Mary’s
Augustas MarčiulionisSaint Mary’s
Jonathan MogboSan Francisco
Ryan NembhardGonzaga
Mitchell SaxenSaint Mary’s
Anton WatsonGonzaga
Marcus WilliamsSan Francisco
All-WCC Second TeamAlex DucasSaint Mary’s
Nolan HickmanGonzaga
Wayne McKinney IIISan Diego
Tyler RobertsonPortland
Deuce TurnerSan Diego
All-WCC Freshman TeamRyan BeasleySan Francisco
Jake EnsmingerSanta Clara
Tyler HarrisPortland
Braden HuffGonzaga
Kevin Patton Jr.San Diego
WCC Honorable MentionJoshua JeffersonSaint Mary’s
Houston MallettePepperdine
Carlos Marshall Jr.Santa Clara
Alex MerkviladzeLMU
Jevon PorterPepperdine
Ndewedo NewburySan Francisco
Malik ThomasSan Francisco
Christoph TillySanta Clara

References

  1. Web site: Lundquist . Casey . BYU Athletics to Join the Big 12 in 2023 . 2024-02-12 . BYU Cougars on Sports Illustrated: News, Analysis, and More . en. September 10, 2021.
  2. Web site: What BYU leaving the WCC means for both the conference and Gonzaga . 2024-02-12 . krem.com . en-US. Greene, Brenna. September 10, 2021.
  3. Web site: Saint Mary's Picked to Win 2023-24 WCC Men's Basketball Championship . 2024-02-12 . wccsports.com . en.
  4. Web site: CDobbertean . 2023-04-04 . 2023-24 Men’s College Basketball Early Season Tournaments and Exempt Multi-Team Events (MTEs) . 2024-02-12 . Blogging the Bracket . en.
  5. Web site: RMiller . 2023-06-06 . The Inaugural Arizona Tip-Off . 2024-02-12 . The Bracketeer . en.
  6. Web site: WCC Announces 2023-24 Men's Basketball All-Conference Awards .

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