By Alan Snel of LVSportsBiz.com
LVSportsBiz.com photos by J. Tyge O’Donnell
The parade of college basketball conference tourneys marching through Las Vegas continued Monday night with national power Gonzaga and its legion of fans making the trip from Spokane to hotels around Las Vegas.
The Gonzaga faithful makes the March pilgrimage to the West Coast Conference tourney in Las Vegas every year to see their beloved Zags play the likes of San Francisco, St. Mary’s or Brigham Young. This year, Gonzaga is ranked number two in the nation and is poised to be a number one seed and make a deep run in the Big Dance.
The West Coast Conference, which stages its men’s and women’s tourneys at The Orleans Arena, has been coming to Las Vegas for years. Tonight’s Gonzaga vs San Francisco game drew a packed arena in the first semifinal, with the Zags getting a strong test from the USF Dons before finally winning, 81-77.
The WCC receives $300,000 from Las Vegas Events because the LVCVA’s non-profit arm believes it’s an investment necessary to keep those Zags fans booking hotel rooms in Las Vegas. Las Vegas Events also gives $300,000 to the Mountain West Conference, which concluded its tournament over the weekend.
Gonzaga will face its old nemesis from the metro Oakland area, St. Mary’s College of Moraga, California. St. Mary’s upended BYU, 51-50, on a last-second shot in the second semifinal Monday to set up Tuesday’s WCC title game with the Zags at 6 p.m. Here are some highlights from last year’s WCC title tilt when St. Mary’s upset then number one-ranked Gonzaga:
LVSportsBiz.com was there for the big upset one year ago.
Las Vegas Events also gives $500,000 to the Pac-12, which staged its women’s tournament at the Mandalay Bay Events Center, where Oregon took the women’s title. In the next few days, T-Mobile Arena will have the men’s Pac-12 games — plus the college basketball and bicycling legend Bill Walton doing TV commentary for ESPN.
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