West Coast Conference Returning To Vegas For Hoops Tourney In 2026; St. Mary’s, Gonzaga Win Semifinal Games, Play For League Title Tuesday
ADVERTISEMENT
Shop at Jay’s Market at 190 East Flamingo Road at the Koval Lane intersection east of the Strip.
ADVERTISEMENT
Story by Alan Snel Photos by J. Tyge O’Donnell
LAS VEGAS, Nevada — They pass through Las Vegas every early March on their way to college basketball’s Big Dance.
It’s become an annual Las Vegas rite for this college hoops power duo: Gonzaga from Spokane, Washington and St. Mary’s from quaint Moraga, California playing in the West Coast Conference (WCC) basketball tournament at the Orleans Arena two miles west of the Strip.
Las Vegas Events paid $300,000 to the West Coast Conference in the form of a sponsorship for the WCC to stage its men’s and women’s basketball tournaments in Vegas.
Before St. Mary’s blasted Pepperdine and Gonzaga defeated the University of San Francisco, WCC Commissioner Stu Jackson said the WCC is committed to holding its league championship tourney at the Orleans in 2026.
Next year will be the final year for Gonzaga to play in a WCC tournament because the Zags are off to the rebuilt Pac-12 after the 2025-26 academic school year. Gonzaga coach Mark Few has won 52 of 58 WCC tournament games and the Gaels and Dawgs are back at it Tuesday at 6 PM.
LVSportsBiz.com asked Jackson why the WCC likes returning to Las Vegas every March to stage its tourney.
“Las Vegas is the hub for the game of basketball,” said Jackson, a former NBA executive who coached the NBA New York Knicks and former Vancouver Grizzlies franchise. “It’s the place where our fans like to come. Our fans love to be here.”
The second semifinal pitted Gonzaga against San Francisco, a team that annually seems destined to reach the semis but advance no further.
The Spokane-based university has an intense fan base that knows quite a bit about traveling every year to Las Vegas and Orleans Arena.
