CBS Sports Graphic
Late Tuesday night, for the fourth consecutive year and sixth time in a seven-year span, it’ll be Gonzaga against Saint Mary’s in the championship game of the West Coast Conference Tournament.
At this point, it’s basically a tradition.
And what’s interesting about this particular matchup is that even though Saint Mary’s just won the outright WCC regular-season title by three games, beat Gonzaga twice this regular season and is seeded higher than the Zags in Jerry Palm’s latest projected bracket, the Gaels are listed as 3.5-point underdogs.
That’s a testament to Gonzaga’s strong computer numbers.
The Zags are No. 8 in the NET and No. 9 at BartTorvik.com despite a 24-8 record featuring only three Q1 wins — partly because those eight losses came by an average of just 5.1 points and never by more than eight. Put another way, Gonzaga has zero double-digit losses and 21 double-digit wins — but only one victory against a team likely to secure an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament (Baylor). That’s how you end up with strong numbers in the predictive metrics but just a so-so resume. That’s why the Zags could find themselves ranked in the top 10 of some computers on Selection Sunday but also with a double-digit seed in the 2025 NCAA Tournament. Either way, barring a surprise, no matter what happens Tuesday night, the Zags will get their lowest seed on Selection Sunday since they were an 11 seed in 2016.
Saint Mary’s is No. 18 in Tuesday morning’s updated CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings. The Gaels are 28-4 overall with an 18-1 mark against WCC opponents. They’re 10-4 in the first two quadrants with four Q1 victories.
Top 25 And 1 rankings
1
Auburn Chaney Johnson was 1-of-3 from the field with four fouls in Saturday’s 93-91 overtime loss to Alabama. The Tigers are the No. 1 seed in the SEC Tournament. — 27-4 2
Duke Cooper Flagg finished with 15 points and nine rebounds in Saturday’s 82-69 win at North Carolina. The Blue Devils are the No. 1 seed in the ACC Tournament. — 28-3 3
Houston L.J. Cryer finished with 23 points and two rebounds in Saturday’s 65-61 win at Baylor. The Cougars are the No. 1 seed in the Big 12 Tournament. — 27-4 4
Florida Walter Clayton Jr. finished with 23 points and eight assists in Saturday’s 90-71 win over Ole Miss. The Gators are the No. 2 seed in the SEC Tournament. — 27-4 5
Michigan St. Tre Holloman finished with 20 points and three rebounds in Sunday’s 79-62 win over Michigan. The Spartans are the No. 1 seed in the Big Ten Tournament. — 26-5 6
Tennessee Chaz Lanier finished with 23 points and three steals in Saturday’s 75-65 win over South Carolina. The Vols are the No. 4 seed in the SEC Tournament. — 25-6 7
Alabama Grant Nelson finished with 23 points and eight rebounds in Saturday’s 93-91 overtime win at Auburn. The Crimson Tide are the No. 3 seed in the SEC Tournament. — 24-7 8
St. John’s RJ Luis finished with 28 points and 11 rebounds in Saturday’s 86-84 win at Marquette. The Red Storm are the No. 1 seed in the Big East Tournament. — 27-4 9
Texas Tech JT Toppin finished with 25 points and 11 rebounds in Saturday’s 85-57 win at Arizona State. The Red Raiders are the No. 2 seed in the Big 12 Tournament. — 24-7 10
Texas A&M Wade Taylor IV finished with 17 points and six rebounds in Saturday’s 66-52 win at LSU. The Aggies are the No. 5 seed in the SEC Tournament. — 22-9 11
Iowa St. Curtis Jones finished with 24 points and five assists in Saturday’s 73-57 win at Kansas State. The Cyclones are the No. 5 seed in the Big 12 Tournament. — 23-8 12
Wisconsin John Tonje was 2-of-13 from the field in Saturday’s 86-75 loss to Penn State. The Badgers are the No. 5 seed in the Big Ten Tournament. — 23-8 13
Purdue Purdue allowed the Illini to shoot 63% from 2-point range in Friday’s 88-80 loss at Illinois. The Boilermakers are the No. 6 seed in the Big Ten Tournament. — 21-10 14
Maryland Julian Reese finished with 19 points and 11 rebounds in Saturday’s 74-61 win over Northwestern. The Terrapins are the No. 2 seed in the Big Ten Tournament. — 24-7 15
Louisville Chucky Hepburn finished with 16 points and four steals in Saturday’s 68-48 win over Stanford. The Cardinals are the No. 2 seed in the ACC Tournament. — 25-6 16
Clemson Viktor Lakhin finished with 16 points and seven rebounds in Saturday’s 65-47 win over Virginia Tech. The Tigers are the No. 3 seed in the ACC Tournament. — 26-5 17
Kentucky Otega Oweh finished with 22 points and three steals in Saturday’s 91-83 win at Missouri. The Wildcats’ next game will be in the SEC Tournament. — 21-10 18
Saint Mary’s Augustas Marciulionis finished with 15 points and seven rebounds in Monday’s 74-59 win over Pepperdine. The Gaels will play Gonzaga in Tuesday’s championship game of the WCC Tournament. — 28-4 19
Arizona KJ Lewis was 1-of-8 from the field in Saturday’s 83-76 loss at Kansas. The Wildcats are the No. 3 seed in the Big 12 Tournament. — 20-11 20
Marquette Stevie Mitchell was 0-of-7 from the field in Saturday’s 86-84 loss to St. John’s. The Golden Eagles are the No. 5 seed in the Big East Tournament. — 22-9 21
Memphis PJ Haggerty finished with 20 points and eight rebounds in Friday’s 84-68 win over USF. The Tigers are the No. 1 seed in the AAC Tournament. — 26-5 22
Michigan Tre Donaldson was 1-of-5 from the field in Sunday’s 79-62 loss at Michigan State. The Wolverines are the No. 3 seed in the Big Ten Tournament. — 22-9 23
Oregon Nate Bittle finished with 36 points and 12 rebounds in Sunday’s 80-73 overtime win at Washington. The Ducks are the No. 8 seed in the Big Ten Tournament. — 23-8 24
BYU Dawson Baker finished with 15 points and one steal in Saturday’s 83-73 win over Utah. The Cougars are the No. 4 seed in the Big 12 Tournament. — 23-8 25
Illinois Will Riley finished with 22 points and four assists in Friday’s 88-80 win over Purdue. The Illini are the No. 7 seed in the Big Ten Tournament. — 20-11 26
UCLA Eric Dailey Jr. finished with 25 points and five rebounds in Saturday’s 90-63 win over USC. The Bruins are the No. 4 seed in the Big Ten Tournament. — 22-9
