BYU (20-5) vs. No. 1 Gonzaga (25-0)
- Tipoff: 7 p.m. MST
- Venue: Orleans Arena, Las Vegas
- TV: ESPN
- Livestream: WatchESPN
- Radio: BYU Sports Network on BYU Radio — Sirius XM 143/89.1 FM HD2 and KSL 102.7 FM/1160 AM.
- Series: The Bulldogs lead the all-time series 20-7, with the Zags beating the Cougars 82-71 on Feb. 8 in Provo.
The stakes
For BYU … It has been 20 years since the Cougars last won a conference tournament championship. And while BYU is expected to play in the NCAA Tournament, a win would give the Cougars the West Coast Conference’s automatic bid and potentially give them a seeding bump.
For Gonzaga … The Bulldogs are trying to become the first team to head into the NCAA Tournament undefeated since Kentucky accomplished that feat in the 2014-15 season. It’s been a long time since an unbeaten team has won a national title, though — the last team to do that was Indiana in 1976.
The trends
For BYU … The Cougars have won five straight games, including an 82-77 overtime win over Pepperdine in the semifinals, and are playing in their fourth WCC tournament championship game — they’ve lost to Gonzaga in each of their previous three tournament title game appearances.
For Gonzaga … The Zags, who haven’t lost since falling to BYU at the Marriott Center in February last season, have won every game except one this season by double digits, and are winning games by an average of 23.5 points per game, best in the nation.
Next up
Both the top-ranked Zags and Cougars are expected locks for the NCAA Tournament, no matter how the conference tournament championship game turns out. The NCAA Tournament selection show is Sunday at 4 p.m. on CBS.