2020–21 West Coast Conference men's basketball season

The 2020–21 West Coast Conference men's basketball season began with practices in September 2020 and ended with the 2021 West Coast Conference men's basketball tournament in March 2021. This was the 70th season for WCC men's basketball, and the 32nd 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

Coaching changes On March 8, 2020, it was announced that Mike Dunlap would end his tenure as head coach at Loyola Marymount. He spent six seasons as their head coach and posted a record of 81–108. During the 2018–19 season, LMU began the season with eight straight wins and reached the semifinals of the College Basketball Invitational. However, in the 2019–20 season their record was 11-21 and they only reached the second round of the WCC tournament. Soon thereafter, on March 20, Loyola Marymount announced that Stan Johnson, the associate head coach at Marquette, would become their new head coach. Johnson played college basketball at Southern Utah University and has coached at various universities in the West and Midwest. On February 5, 2021, the University of Portland announced that Terry Porter had been released as head coach and Ben Johnson had been named as interim head coach until the end of the season.

Coaches TeamHead coachPrevious jobYears at schoolOverall recordWCC recordWCC Tournament recordNCAA TournamentsSweet SixteensBYUMark PopeUtah Valley224–8 (.750)13–3 (.813)0–1 (.000)00GonzagaMark FewGonzaga (asst.)22599–124 (.828)291–31 (.904)43–5 (.896)209Loyola MarymountStan JohnsonMarquette (asst.)10–0 (–)0–0 (–)0–0 (–)00PacificDamon StoudamireMemphis Grizzlies (asst.)562–68 (.477)28–40 (.412)1–4 (.200)00PepperdineLorenzo RomarArizona (asst.)332–34 (.485)14–18 (.438)4–2 (.667)73PortlandTerry PorterMinnesota Timberwolves (asst.)537–92 (.287)7–61 (.103)1–4 (.200)00Ben Johnson (interim)Portland (asst.)10–0 (–)0–0 (–)0–0 (–)00Saint Mary'sRandy BennettSaint Louis(asst.)20440–182 (.707)219–92 (.704)24–16 (.600)71San DiegoSam SchollSan Diego (asst.)332–40 (.444)9–23 (0.281)3–2 (0.600)00San FranciscoTodd GoldenSan Francisco (asst.)222–12 (.647)9–7 (.563)2–1 (.667)00Santa ClaraHerb SendekArizona State564–64 (.500)32–35 (.478)2–4 (.333)81 Notes:

Year at school includes 2020–21 season. Overall and WCC records are from time at current school and are through the beginning of the 2020–21 season.

Preseason

Preseason poll 2020-21 WCC Preseason Men's Basketball Coaches PollRankTeam (First Place Votes)Points1.Gonzaga (9)812.BYU (1)693.Saint Mary's634.Pepperdine575.San Francisco526.Santa Clara387.Loyola Marymount338.Pacific318.San Diego1610.Portland10

All-WCC Preseason Men's Basketball team HonorRecipientPreseason All-WCC TeamJoel Ayayi, GonzagaAlex Barcello, BYUJamaree Bouyea, San FranciscoKessler Edwards, PepperdineCorey Kispert, GonzagaColbey Ross, PepperdineEli Scott, LMUMatthias Tass, Saint Mary'sDrew Timme, GonzagaJosip Vrankic, Santa Clara

Rankings

+Legend  Improvement in ranking Drop in ranking Not ranked previous weekRVReceived votes but were not ranked in Top 25 of poll(Italics)Number of first place votes  Pre/ Wk 1Wk 2Wk 3Wk 4Wk 5Wk 6Wk 7Wk 8Wk 9Wk 10Wk 11Wk 12Wk 13Wk 14Wk 15Wk 16Wk 17PostBYUAPRVRVRVRVRVRVRVRVRVRVRV23T --CRV --RVRVRVRVRVRVGonzagaAP1 (28)1 (57)1 (54)1 (54)1 (61)1 (62)1 (63)1 (63)1 (62)1 (62)1 (61)1 (55)1 (59)1 (60)1 (59)1 (61)1 (60) --C2 (10) --1 (23)1 (24)1 (25)1 (29)1 (29)1 (29)1 (28)1 (29)1 (28)1 (28)1 (28)1 (27)1 (31)1 (31)1 (32)2Loyola MarymountAPCPacificAPCPepperdineAPCPortlandAPCSaint Mary'sAPCRV --RVRVSan DiegoAPCSan FranciscoAPCSanta ClaraAPC

Regular season

Conference matrix

 BYUGonzagaLoyola MarymountPacificPepperdinePortlandSaint Mary'sSan DiegoSan FranciscoSanta Claravs. BYU – 2−00−10−21−10−20−20−00−20–0vs. Gonzaga0−2 – 0−10−20−20−10−20−20−20–1vs. Loyola Marymount1−01−0 – 1−10−10−11−00−10−21−1vs. Pacific2–02−01−1 – 1−00−21−00−10−10−1vs. Pepperdine1−12−01−00−1 – 0−21–10−10−11−0vs. Portland2−01−01−02−02−0 – 0−01−02−00−0vs. Saint Mary's2−02−00−10−11−10−0 – 0−00−11−0vs. San Diego0−02−01−01−01−00−10−0 – 1−01−1vs. San Francisco2−02−02−01−01−00−21−00−1 – 0–1vs. Santa Clara0−01−01−11−00−10−00−11−11−0 – Total10−315−07−56−77−60−114−62−74−94−5

Early season tournaments The following table summarizes the multiple-team events (MTE) or early season tournaments in which teams from the West Coast Conference participated. +TeamTournamentDatesArenaArena LocationRecordBracketedFinishTV PartnerBYURoman Legends ClassicDecember 1–3, 2020Mohegan Sun ArenaUncasville, Connecticut1–1NoN/AESPNGonzagaRocket Mortgage Fort Myers Tip-OffNovember 26–27, 2020Suncoast Credit Union ArenaFort Myers, Florida2–0Yes1st of 4FOXLoyola MarymountMinnesota MTENovember 28–30, 2020Williams ArenaMinneapolis, Minnesota0–2No2nd of 2Big Ten NetworkPepperdineSan Diego State MTENovember 25 & 27, 2020Viejas ArenaSan Diego, California1–1No2nd of 4CBS & Pac-12 NetworkPortlandU.S. Bank Portland InvitationalNovember 25–29, 2020Chiles CenterPortland, Oregon2–1NoN/AN/ASaint Mary'sBad Boy Mowers Crossover ClassicNovember 25–27, 2020Sanford PentagonSioux Falls, South Dakota2–1Yes5th of 8ESPNSan FranciscoBubblevilleNovember 25–29, 2020Mohegan Sun ArenaUncasville, Connecticut2–2NoN/AESPNSanta ClaraBronco InvitationalNovember 25–28, 2020Leavey CenterSanta Clara, California3–0No1st of 4WCC Network

WCC Player/Freshman of the Week Throughout the year, the West Coast Conference named a player of the week and a freshman of the week as follows: +WeekDatePlayer of the WeekFreshman of the Week1November 30, 2020Drew Timme (Gonzaga)Jalen Suggs (Gonzaga)2December 7, 2020Andrew Nembhard (Gonzaga)Leemet Bockler (St. Mary's)3December 14, 2020Ahmed Ali (Portland)Caleb Lohner (BYU)4December 21, 2020Jalen Suggs (Gonzaga)Jalen Suggs (Gonzaga)5December 28, 2020Corey Kispert (Gonzaga)Jalen Suggs (Gonzaga)6January 4, 2021Joel Ayayi (Gonzaga)Oumar Ballo (Gonzaga)7January 11, 2021Joel Ayayi (Gonzaga)Jalen Suggs (Gonzaga)8January 18, 2021Corey Kispert (Gonzaga)Jalen Suggs (Gonzaga)9January 25, 2021Kessler Edwards (Pepperdine)Jalen Suggs (Gonzaga)10February 1, 2021Drew Timme (Gonzaga)Jalen Suggs (Gonzaga)11February 8, 2021Colbey Ross (Pepperdine)Jalen Suggs (Gonzaga)12February 15, 2021Drew Timme (Gonzaga)Jalen Suggs (Gonzaga)13February 22, 2021Eli Scott (Loyola Marymount)Caleb Lohner (BYU)14March 1, 2021Corey Kispert (Gonzaga)Jalen Suggs (Gonzaga)

National Awards and Teams

All-Americans

The following WCC players were named as national All-Americans as follows: PlayerSchoolAssociated PressUnited States Basketball Writers AssociationNational Association of Basketball CoachesSporting NewsConsensus PointsCorey KispertGonzagaJalen SuggsGonzagaDrew TimmeGonzaga AP Honorable Mention:

Joël Ayayi, Gonzaga Alex Barcello, BYU

Other National Awards The following WCC players were named to national award watch lists and received awards as follows:

Wooden Award - Player of the Year Preseason Top 50Midseason Top 25Late Season Top 20Top 15 BallotWooden 10 All Americans5 FinalistsCorey Kispert, GonzagaCorey Kispert, GonzagaCorey Kispert, GonzagaCorey Kispert, GonzagaCorey Kispert, GonzagaCorey Kispert, GonzagaColbey Ross, PepperdineJalen Suggs, GonzagaJalen Suggs, GonzagaJalen Suggs, GonzagaJalen Suggs, GonzagaDrew Timme, GonzagaDrew Timme, GonzagaDrew Timme, GonzagaDrew Timme, GonzagaDrew Timme, Gonzaga

Naismith Award - Player of the Year Preseason Top 50Midseason Top 3010 Semifinalists4 FinalistsCorey Kispert, GonzagaCorey Kispert, GonzagaCorey Kispert, GonzagaCorey Kispert, GonzagaColbey Ross, PepperdineJalen Suggs, GonzagaDrew Timme, GonzagaDrew Timme, GonzagaDrew Timme, GonzagaJalen Suggs, GonzagaJoel Ayayi, Gonzaga

Bob Cousy Award - Point Guard Preseason Top 20Midseason Top 105 FinalistsJalen Suggs, GonzagaJalen Suggs, GonzagaJalen Suggs, GonzagaColbey Ross, Pepperdine

Jerry West Award - Shooting Guard Preseason Top 20Midseason Top 105 FinalistsJoel Ayayi, GonzagaJoel Ayayi, GonzagaJoel Ayayi, Gonzaga

Julius Erving Award - Small Forward

Preseason Top 20Midseason Top 105 FinalistsWinnerCorey Kispert, GonzagaCorey Kispert, GonzagaCorey Kispert, GonzagaCorey Kispert, Gonzaga

Karl Malone Award - Power Forward

Preseason Top 20Midseason Top 105 FinalistsWinnerDrew Timme, GonzagaDrew Timme, GonzagaDrew Timme, GonzagaDrew Timme, Gonzaga

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award - Center Preseason Top 20Matt Haarms, BYU

All-WCC Awards and Teams On March 2, 2021, the West Coast Conference announced the following awards: +HonorRecipientSchoolPlayer of the YearCorey KispertGonzagaCoach of the YearMark FewGonzagaDefensive Player of the YearMatt HaarmsBYUNewcomer of the YearJalen SuggsGonzagaAll-WCC First TeamJoël AyayiGonzagaAlex BarcelloBYUJamaree BouyeaSan FranciscoKessler EdwardsPepperdineCorey KispertGonzagaColbey RossPepperdineEli ScottLMUJalen SuggsGonzagaDrew TimmeGonzagaJosip VrankicSanta ClaraAll-WCC Second TeamBrandon AveretteBYUMatt HaarmsBYULogan JohnsonSaint Mary'sAndrew NembhardGonzagaKhalil ShabazzSan FranciscoAll-WCC Freshman TeamJalin AndersonLMUOumar BalloGonzagaCaleb LohnerBYUMitchell SaxenSaint Mary'sJalen SuggsGonzagaWCC Honorable MentionAhmed AliPortlandJeremiah BaileyPacificJoey CalcaterraSan DiegoDameane DouglasLMUDaniss JenkinsPacificKeli LeaupepeLMUDzmitry RyunySan FranciscoJalen WilliamsSanta Clara

Postseason

West Coast Conference tournament Gonzaga defeated BYU 88–78 in the Championship game to win the tournament on March 9. Mark Few was the winning coach and Jalen Suggs was named the MVP of the tournament.

NCAA tournament BYU and Gonzaga participated in the 2021 NCAA Tournament. Gonzaga earned an automatic bid to the tournament by winning the WCC tournament and was awarded the number one overall seed. BYU was awarded an at-large selection as the 23rd overall seed and the 6-seed in the East Regional. BYU was defeated in the first round by UCLA 72–63 while Gonzaga advanced to the National Championship game eventually losing to the overall champions Baylor 86–70.

National Invitation Tournament (NIT) Saint Mary's was selected as a 2-seed in a field of 16 teams to participate in the NIT Tournament. Saint Mary's was eliminated in the first round by 3-seed Western Kentucky 69–67.

College Basketball Invitational (CBI) tournament Pepperdine was selected as part of the field of 8 teams to participate in the CBI Tournament. Pepperdine won the tournament by defeating Coastal Carolina 84–61 in the Championship game on March 24.

References