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For now, the annual West Coast Conference tournament is slated to end in less than a month at the Orleans Arena – likely without fans being allowed to attend.
The reality is that half of the 10 CMC teams have been on hiatus since last week, and BYU’s two home games against Saint Mary’s (Thursday) and San Diego (Saturday) have been postponed or canceled.
So what will the conference tournament – scheduled for March 4-9 – actually look like during a pandemic?
Across the country, there have been debates about whether or not to play conference tournaments and whether they can be played safely.
On Tuesday, the Big Ten moved their tournament from Chicago to Indianapolis, which will host the NCAA tournament this season. Holding the conference tournament in Indianapolis is expected to increase the chances of Big Ten teams meeting testing and safety protocols.
Could the 2021 WCC tournament move to, say, Spokane?
Script coach Mark Few of No. 1 Gonzaga floated Monday after an 82-71 win over the Cougars.
The Zags are, of course, a lock to get into the Big Dance and they don’t necessarily need to play in the WCC tournament. For Gonzaga, it’s all about competing for a national championship and he doesn’t want to risk COVID-19 cases preventing him from playing in the NCAA.
BYU is also screened as an NCAA tournament team as a general participant.
The CMC tournament title game is scheduled for March 9, and Selection Sunday is March 14, with the NCAA tournament starting March 18-19.
The WCC has many contracts – including with ESPN, which will broadcast part of the conference tournament, as well as with corporate sponsors. The conference tournament is a big revenue generator for the league, although less so without fans being able to buy tickets.
With the cancellation of the NCAA tournament last year, programs across the country missed out on millions of dollars.
“Especially in a conference like ours, in fact in any conference, it’s about how many wins we can all get in the NCAA tournament,” Few said. “This is how all schools get their money, so that has to be part of it. However, we want to play games. My guys live to play and I don’t necessarily know we want to take three weeks off (before the NCAA tournament). “
Few have suggested that the top four teams play Spokane to determine the CMC tournament champion.
“I think there’s probably a way to do it and it probably doesn’t bring the 10 teams together in Vegas,” he said. “Whether it’s bringing the top three to Spokane and playing after we settled it earlier or something like that, everyone has been thinking about it and I think we’ll come to a good conclusion when the time comes. .
BYU coach Mark Pope told his coaching show on Tuesday that contingency plans were being discussed.
“It will all work out. Do you know what I like? I like the fact that we have all the conversations possible in real time so that nothing surprises us, ”he said. “We’re coming to the end here and we’re going to have to make some decisions. Hope everyone goes through the ideas and the thinking process and will understand it.
Pope understands what the CMC tournament means to the league.
“We have two teams that are squarely in (the NCAA tournament) right now. It’s important for the league. It’s important financially for the league, ”he said. “We will find the best way to do it and it will happen. Coach Rares is the one who swings a big stick in this league. So often when he says something, it’s like that, that’s what’s going to happen. We’ll see.”
For months, WCC officials discussed many scenarios and backup plans regarding the organization of the WCC tournament.
“In this environment, we have contingency plans behind everything because it’s just the prudent thing to do. Right now we are optimistic, ”WCC commissioner Gloria Nevarez told Deseret News last month. “We have four other leagues providing information to Vegas. We started to meet them regularly, in order to be coordinated and to share all the same information.
Pac-12, Mountain West, Western Athletic Conference and Big West also have their conference tournaments scheduled in Las Vegas in March.
Being able to organize a conference tournament safely is a top priority for the WCC.
“The tournament is definitely the crown jewel of our conference operations and events. It’s a sold-out event every year. Last year it was amazing, ”Nevarez said. “It’s been sold every year since we started in Vegas (in 2009). It was amazing.
“Second, our ESPN exposure at this event is amazing on the male and female side. We are very lucky. Leagues our size are not exposed to this kind of tournament. Typically, we send multiple teams to the NCAA tournament. Our WCC event has certainly been a platform for doing this for many years.
Determining the standings for the tournament will also be something to watch, given that the teams have played an uneven number of matches.
BYU, for example, has played nine league games while Saint Mary’s, Santa Clara and San Diego have only played five.
Pope said the league had “started looking at other metrics – win percentage, NET rankings, they kind of went back and forth. Everything is not traditional. For tournament ranking, you can no longer use an absolute record. “
In a college basketball season like no other, prepare for a conference tournament like no other.
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