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AREA COLLEGE BASKETBALL: Saint Mary's men, not Zags, picked … – Coeur d'Alene Press
LAS VEGAS — In somewhat of a surprise, Saint Mary’s, not Gonzaga, was picked to win the West Coast Conference in men’s basketball this season by the league’s coaches.
Saint Mary’s received five first-place votes from the league’s coaches, and 61 points. Gonzaga got four first-place votes, and 60 points. The conference’s preseason poll and team were selected by the league’s nine coaches. Coaches were not allowed to vote for their own program.
Except for this season and 2017-18, the Zags have been first place in every West Coast Conference preseason poll since 2001. Gonzaga went on to win the 2017-18 regular season title outright.
The Zags shared the 2022-23 West Coast Conference regular season title with SMC. It was GU’s 11th straight regular season title and 26th overall.
Gonzaga’s Graham Ike, Ryan Nembhard and Anton Watson were selected to the West Coast Conference preseason team.
Watson was tabbed honorable mention All-West Coast Conference last season. The former Coeur d’Alene resident was second in the WCC shooting 60.8 percent from the field, while also topping the league in conference play at 64.8 percent. He started all 37 games in 2022-23, averaging a career-best 11.1 points per game, and 12.9 points per WCC contest. Watson had 66 steals, which was second in the conference and the fourth-most in a single season in program history. The Zags are 105-11 in his collegiate appearances.
Nembhard started 64 games the past two seasons for Creighton, averaging 12.1 points, 4.0 rebounds and 4.8 assists this past season and 11.3 points and 4.4 assists as a freshman. Ryan is the younger brother of former Zag star, Andrew Nembhard, who is now with the Indiana Pacers.
During the 2021-22 season, Ike averaged 19.5 points and 9.6 rebounds per game as Wyoming went 25-9 and made the NCAA Tournament. The 6-9, 255-pound forward missed last season due to an injury. He was the Mountain West Conference preseason player of the year coming into 2022-23.
The Bulldogs open their season with an exhibition at home against Lewis-Clark State on Nov. 3, before starting the regular season versus Yale in Spokane on Nov. 10.
2023-24 WCC Men’s Basketball Preseason Team
Alex Ducas, Saint Mary’s; Graham Ike, Gonzaga; Keli Leaupepe, LMU; Aidan Mahaney, Saint Mary’s; Houston Mallette, Pepperdine; Ryan Nembhard, Gonzaga; Jevon Porter, Pepperdine; Tyler Robertson, Portland; Mitchell Saxen, Saint Mary’s; Anton Watson, Gonzaga.
2023-24 WCC Men’s Basketball Preseason Coaches Poll
(First-place votes in parentheses)
1, Saint Mary’s (5) 61 points. 2, Gonzaga (4) 60. 3, San Francisco 45. 4, LMU 42. 5, Santa Clara 41. 6, Portland 27. 7, Pepperdine 22. 8, Pacific 16. 9, San Diego 10.
GONZAGA MEN’S BASKETBALL TV SCHEDULE ANNOUNCED
Fourteen of the Zags’ 30 regular season games this season will be on the ESPN Networks (ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU), including five at the McCarthey Athletic Center. GU’s home game against Portland and road game at Loyola Marymount will be on CBS Sports Network.
Another 15 games will be available regionally on KHQ and ROOT Sports Northwest, with the season-opening exhibition game against Lewis-Clark State on KHQ. Those 15 games will be available on ESPN Plus outside of the region.
Gonzaga’s matchup at Kentucky on Feb. 10, will be televised nationally on CBS at 1 p.m. Pacific Time.
West Coast Conference road games at Pepperdine, San Diego, Pacific, and Portland times and networks will be announced soon.
In addition to 10 games on ESPN networks on Thursdays and Saturdays, WCC men’s hoops will be featured on three Tuesday telecasts and one Wednesday telecast during conference play. WCC basketball will also be featured on ESPN’s Championship Week coverage once again, with six live telecasts from Las Vegas during the WCC Basketball Championship. This includes both the WCC Men’s Basketball and Women’s Basketball championship games on March 12.
All games that are televised on an ESPN network will also be available on the ESPN App with TV Everywhere credentials. WCC basketball games that are not nationally televised will be available on ESPN+, the sports streaming service. Blackout restrictions apply in certain local markets.
Gonzaga’s exhibition against Lewis-Clark State is scheduled for 6 p.m., on Nov. 3. The first regular season game against Yale on Nov. 10 will be on ROOT Sports Northwest and KHQ at 6 p.m.
2023-24 Gonzaga Men’s Basketball Schedule
November
3 — vs. Lewis-Clark State, 6 p.m. (KHQ). 10 — vs. Yale, 6 p.m. (ROOT/KHQ). 14 — vs. Eastern Oregon, 6 p.m. (ROOT PLUS/KHQ). 20 — vs. Purdue (at Honolulu), 2 p.m. (ESPN2). 21 — vs. Tennessee or Syracuse, (at Honolulu) TBD (ESPN Network). 22 — vs. TBD (at Honolulu), TBD (ESPN Network). 28 — vs. Cal State Bakersfield, 6 p.m. (ROOT PLUS/KHQ).
December
2 — vs. USC (at Las Vegas), 7 p.m. (ESPN). 5 — vs. Arkansas-Pine Bluff, 6 p.m. (ROOT PLUS/KHQ). 9 — at Washington, 8 p.m. (ESPN2). 11 — Mississippi Valley State, 6 p.m. (ROOT PLUS/KHQ). 15 vs. UConn (at Seattle), 7 p.m. (ESPN2). 20 — vs. Jackson State, 6 p.m. (ROOT/KHQ). 29 — vs. San Diego State, 6 p.m. (ESPN2).
January
4 — vs. Pepperdine, 6 p.m. (ROOT PLUS/KHQ). 6 — vs. San Diego, 6 p.m. (ROOT/KHQ). 11 — at Santa Clara, 6 or 6:30 p.m. (ESPN or ESPN2). 18 — at Pepperdine, time TBD (TV TBD). 20 — at San Diego, time TBD (TV TBD). 25 — vs. San Francisco, 6 p.m. (ESPN2). 27 — at Pacific, time TBD (TV TBD). 30 — Loyola Marymount, 8 p.m. (ESPN or ESPN2).
February
3 — vs. Saint Mary’s, 7 or 7:30 p.m. (ESPN or ESPN2). 7 — vs. Portland, 5 p.m. (CBS Sports Network). 10 — at Kentucky, 1 p.m. (KREM). 15 — at Loyola Marymount, 6 p.m. (CBS Sports Network). 17 — vs. Pacific, 6 p.m. (ROOT/KHQ). 22 — at Portland, time TBD (TV TBD). 24 — vs. Santa Clara, 5 or 7 p.m. (ESPN or ESPN2). 29 — at San Francisco, 8 p.m. (ESPN2).
March
2 — at Saint Mary’s, 7 p.m. (ESPN).
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