Gonzaga’s loss creates rare intrigue for WCC tournament

Gonzaga has dominated the West Coast Conference tournament in recent years, but Saint Mary’s might have injected some drama into this year’s event.

Gonzaga has claimed eight of the past nine WCC titles, winning all of the finals by double digits. The only exception was Saint Mary’s in 2019, and the Gaels showed that they’re not laying down to the Bulldogs this season with a 67-57 upset Saturday.

Of course, Gonzaga — which held onto the top spot in The Associated Press rankings despite the loss — is still heavily favored to win the tournament, which starts Thursday at Orleans Arena. The Bulldogs are -450 favorites at the Westgate SuperBook.

Saint Mary’s is next at +450, followed by San Francisco at 18-1, Santa Clara at 30-1 and Brigham Young at 40-1. Everyone else is 300-1 or higher.

In Thursday’s opening games, Loyola Marymount is a 4½-point favorite over Pacific, and San Diego is -4 against Pepperdine.

Gonzaga and Saint Mary’s have byes until Monday’s semifinals.

Red Rock Resort sportsbook director Chuck Esposito said despite Gonzaga’s track record, bettors would rather take the odds on Saint Mary’s or even San Francisco.

“Some love on both Saint Mary’s and SF because of the price on the Zags,” he said via text message.

The Gaels and Dons are certainly teams that shouldn’t be dismissed. Saint Mary’s is safely in the NCAA Tournament field, and San Francisco is on the bubble but projected in as a No. 10 seed as of Tuesday by ESPN’s Bracketology.

Saint Mary’s is No. 17 in the highly respected KenPom.com power ratings, and San Francisco is No. 23. Gonzaga is No. 1.

The Bulldogs won their home game with Saint Mary’s 74-58 on Feb. 12 and swept San Francisco (78-62 and 89-73).

Caesars Sportsbook said it opened Gonzaga at -300 to win the WCC tournament, then went to -400 and now -450.

“You just have to make sure that the price you put up on Gonzaga is about right,” Adam Pullen, Caesars assistant director of trading, said in a release. “If it’s too short, then (bettors) wouldn’t mind laying it. It’s a tough one, because you have to think that they’re going to be in the championship.”

Pullen said he’s intrigued by BYU, ranked 50th by KenPom.

“They haven’t been in this odds range in a while,” he said. “Obviously they’ve had stronger teams in recent years, and they’re not the standout second or third team (in the WCC) that they have been.”

Contact Jim Barnes at jbarnes@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0277. Follow @JimBarnesLV on Twitter.