Photo by: Kyle Terada
MBB | WCC Announces Tournament Bracket, Gaels are Top Seed
2/26/2023 11:09:00 AM | Men's Basketball
SAN MATEO, Calif. — The West Coast Conference announced on Sunday morning the full bracket on the men's side of the 2023 University Credit Union WCC Basketball Tournament in The Orleans Arena. After much anticipation in seeing how the tie-breaking process would play out, Saint Mary's men's basketball is the top seed in the tournament, edging out Gonzaga in the third tiebreaker for the top spot.
The UCU WCC Basketball Tournament gets underway on Thursday, March 2 and runs through Tuesday, March 7 with the championship games. By virtue of their top seed, the Gaels will not play at The Orleans until Monday, March 6 at 6:00 pm. The game will be televised on ESPN with the Gaels in line to take on the fourth seed in the conference tournament, the LMU Lions. They will play on Saturday night against a to-be-determined team, with SMC facing the winner of that game.
This is the first time that the Gaels have been the top seed in the UCU WCC Basketball Tournament since 2016, which was also the last time that the Gaels and Gonzaga shared the regular season championship. As the top seed in the conference tournament, the Gaels all-time are 6-3 with this being their fifth appearance as the top seed. The only year the Gaels have won the tournament while being seeded at the top came in 2012, when the Gaels won both the regular season and tournament championships in the WCC.
Should Saint Mary's see Loyola Marymount in the semifinals, the Gaels are 3-1 all-time against the Lions in the conference tournament, with their most recent matchup coming in the 2021 quarterfinals (Gaels won 52-47). Their only loss came in the 2006 semifinals, when the tournament was hosted by Gonzaga.
More information about the 2023 UCU WCC Basketball Tournament can be found HERE.
A full tournament preview for Saint Mary's will be available on SMCGaels.com later in the week.
The UCU WCC Basketball Tournament gets underway on Thursday, March 2 and runs through Tuesday, March 7 with the championship games. By virtue of their top seed, the Gaels will not play at The Orleans until Monday, March 6 at 6:00 pm. The game will be televised on ESPN with the Gaels in line to take on the fourth seed in the conference tournament, the LMU Lions. They will play on Saturday night against a to-be-determined team, with SMC facing the winner of that game.
This is the first time that the Gaels have been the top seed in the UCU WCC Basketball Tournament since 2016, which was also the last time that the Gaels and Gonzaga shared the regular season championship. As the top seed in the conference tournament, the Gaels all-time are 6-3 with this being their fifth appearance as the top seed. The only year the Gaels have won the tournament while being seeded at the top came in 2012, when the Gaels won both the regular season and tournament championships in the WCC.
Should Saint Mary's see Loyola Marymount in the semifinals, the Gaels are 3-1 all-time against the Lions in the conference tournament, with their most recent matchup coming in the 2021 quarterfinals (Gaels won 52-47). Their only loss came in the 2006 semifinals, when the tournament was hosted by Gonzaga.
More information about the 2023 UCU WCC Basketball Tournament can be found HERE.
A full tournament preview for Saint Mary's will be available on SMCGaels.com later in the week.
#GaelsRise
MBB | Highlights vs. Vanderbilt, 11-28-25
Friday, November 28
MBB | Randy Bennett Postgame vs. Vanderbilt, 11-28-25, Presented by University Credit Union
Friday, November 28
MBB | Highlights vs. Virginia Tech, 11-27-25
Thursday, November 27
MBB | Randy Bennett and Andrew McKeever Postgame vs. Virginia Tech, 11-27-25, presented by University Credit Union
Thursday, November 27
