Gonzaga Bulldogs guard Ryan Woolridge (4) goes to the hoop during the game against BYU at the Marriott Center in Provo on Saturday, Feb. 22, 2020. Spenser Heaps, Deseret News
Jeff Call
By Jeff Call

PROVO — The West Coast Conference announced Monday the 16 conference matchups for the 2020-21 men’s basketball season.

For the third straight year, the WCC will feature a 16-game schedule rather than an 18-game slate to allow for more nonconference scheduling flexibility. The league’s presidents and athletic directors put the scheduling initiatives in place in an attempt to enhance the national profile of the WCC’s 10 basketball programs and get more teams into the NCAA Tournament. 

This season, BYU will play Santa Clara and Loyola Marymount only once each. It marks the second consecutive season that the Cougars and Broncos will meet only once in the regular season — and it will, like last season, be played in Provo. BYU will face the Lions on the road.

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The Cougars were No. 2 in the final conference standings last season while Santa Clara finished No. 7 and LMU ended up No. 8.

The conference matchups are based on the league’s formula that includes the NET rankings, last year’s WCC tournament seedings and a spring survey of the conference’s 10 head coaches. 

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The 2019-20 campaign was a banner year for the WCC, highlighted by Gonzaga finishing No. 2 and BYU checking in at No. 18 in the final Associated Press poll. Four WCC teams were ranked in the top-150 of the final NET rankings, which is a league record, led by the Zags (No. 1) and the Cougars (No. 9). 

Three WCC teams were projected to play in the NCAA Tournament by ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi — Gonzaga (No. 1 seed), BYU (No. 6) and Saint Mary’s (No. 8). The league also led all Division I conferences in field goal percentage (45.9%) and 3-point field goal percentage (35.6%). 

The regular-season WCC schedule tips off Dec. 31, 2020. Below are the matchups for each team. Specific dates and times will be announced later. 

The 2021 WCC Tournament is scheduled for March 4-9 at Orleans Arena in Las Vegas. 

BYU

Home/road: Gonzaga, Pacific, Pepperdine, Portland, Saint Mary’s, San Diego, San Francisco

Home: Santa Clara

Road: LMU

Gonzaga

Home/road: BYU, Pacific, Pepperdine, Saint Mary’s, San Diego, San Francisco, Santa Clara

Home: LMU

Road: Portland

Loyola Marymount

Home/road: Pacific, Pepperdine, Portland, Saint Mary’s, San Diego, San Francisco, Santa Clara

Home: BYU

Road: Gonzaga

Pacific

Home/road: BYU, Gonzaga, LMU, Portland, Saint Mary’s, San Diego, Santa Clara

Home: San Francisco

Road: Pepperdine

Pepperdine

Home/road: BYU, Gonzaga, LMU, Portland, Saint Mary’s, San Diego, San Francisco

Home: Pacific

Road: Santa Clara

Portland

Home/road: BYU, LMU, Pacific, Pepperdine, San Diego, San Francisco, Santa Clara

Home: Gonzaga

Road: Saint Mary’s

Saint Mary’s

Home/road: BYU, Gonzaga, LMU, Pacific, Pepperdine, San Francisco, Santa Clara

Home: Portland

Road: San Diego

San Diego

Home/road: BYU, Gonzaga, LMU, Pacific, Pepperdine, Portland, Santa Clara

Home: Saint Mary’s

Road: San Francisco

 San Francisco

Home/road: BYU, Gonzaga, LMU, Pepperdine, Portland, Saint Mary’s, Santa Clara

Home: San Diego

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Road: Pacific

Santa Clara

Home/road: Gonzaga, LMU, Pacific, Portland, Saint Mary’s, San Diego, San Francisco

Home: Pepperdine

Road: BYU

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