By Alan Snel of LVSportsBiz.com
LVSportsBiz.com photos by J. Tyge O’Donnell
Longtime basketball coach Mark Few had his hands in his pants pockets in an “aw shucks” position after his Gonzaga Bulldogs mauled their nemesis, St. Mary’s, to win the West Coast Conference hoops title in Las Vegas Tuesday evening.
True, St. Mary’s shocked the Zags a year ago to win the WCC championship. But this year, Gonzaga systematically pulverized the Gaels in the second half and the robust Zag Nation that travels from Spokane to Sin City had much to celebrate tonight. Final score: Zags 84 St. Mary’s 66.
It’s college basketball tourney week in Las Vegas, with the Mountain West and WCC wrapping up their tournament runs and the Pac-12 and Western Athletic up next in Sin City. Three of the four conferences receive $1.1 million in sponsorship money from Las Vegas Events because the LVCVA likes sports events that draw out-of-towners.
WCC Commissioner Gloria Nevarez, finishing her second year as the fourth full-time commissioner in the WCC’s 66-year history, said she touched base with local and federal health officials about the coronavirus crisis and event cancellation protocols were in place in the event a person connected with the WCC tournament showed symptoms of the potentially deadly disease.
The last two days were sellouts at The Orleans Arena, Nevarez said. The conference is in the first year of a three-year sponsorship deal with Las Vegas Events.
The WCC also has a conference title sponsorship deal with University Credit Union. The WCC is in the second year of a five-year deal with the credit union, Nevarez said. The conference even had enough money to buy its own hardwood floor, which will be packed up and stored for another year until the WCC returns to Las Vegas in 2021.
The $300,000 from Las Vegas Events comes in handy, she said. “We’re a small shop so every bit helps,” Nevarez said.
ESPN also broadcasts the WCC and Pac-12 games, so Las Vegas gets free pub during those tournaments.
Some things never get old like Gonzaga’s WCC crowns and number one seeds in the Big Dance — and the famed halftime act of Red Panda who couldn’t quite finish the act here at The Orleans Arena.
This time of the year is big bucks for Las Vegas sportsbooks, which will rake in lots of wagers during the March Madness season. The biggest days are the first two days of the NCAA college basketball tournament in mid-March when hoops fans from across the country converge at sportsbooks up and down the Strip.
But before March Madness beings in Las Vegas, there’s tournament madness — like tonight.
Unfortunately, St. Mary’s had a few less fans in the house than Gonzaga.
The Pac-12 men’s tourney hits T-Mobile Arena Wednesday. The WAC follows the WCC here at The Orleans Arena.
Follow LVSportsBiz.com on Twitter and Instagram. Like LVSportsBiz.com on Facebook.