WCC hoop slate tips off in December for first time

SAN BRUNO, Calif. - The new-look West Coast Conference men's basketball schedule was released Friday and Gonzaga will play the first game under the new nine-team alignment.

As a result of BYU joining the WCC July 1, the conference basketball season will begin prior to New Year's Day for the first time and feature 16 conference games for each school.

The Bulldogs will host Portland on Wednesday, Dec. 28, the first of three straight home games for Gonzaga.

The traditional travel partners are also a thing of the past. For instance, Gonzaga will host Pepperdine on Jan. 5 with Santa Clara in town Jan. 7, a switch from having the traditional Pepperdine/Loyola Marymount matchups on a weekend.

Gonzaga will play at BYU on Feb. 2 and host the Cougars on Feb. 23.

The 2012 West Coast Conference tournament will take place from Feb. 29-March 5 at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas. A first-round game between the eighth- and ninth-place teams will take place Feb. 29. The second round, with No. 5 facing the first round winner and No. 6 and No. 7 meeting, takes place March 1. The quarterfinals, with the third-place team facing the winner of the No. 5/first-round winner and the fourth-place team meeting the winner of the No. 6/7 matchup, will be March 2. The semifinals, with the top two seeds receiving byes into the semifinals, will be held March 3.

The teams will take Sunday off, with the championship Monday for the automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament.

In June, the West Coast Conference announced an eight-year extension of its partnership with ESPN. The WCC-ESPN television schedule will be announced Monday.

The Bulldogs also announced they will host Eastern Washington in the regular season and home opener Nov. 11, the latest non-conference game to be added to the slate.

Gonzaga men's basketball

West Coast Conference schedule

(Game times and television TBA)

Home games in CAPS

December

28 - PORTLAND.

January

5 - PEPPERDINE; 7 - SANTA CLARA; 12 - at Saint Mary's; 14 - at Loyola Marymount; 19 - SAN FRANCISCO; 21 - SAN DIEGO; 28 - at Portland.

February

2 - at BYU; 4 - at Pepperdine; 9 - SAINT MARY'S; 11 - LOYOLA MARYMOUNT; 16 - at Santa Clara; 18 - at San Francisco; 23 - BYU; 25 - at San Diego.