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Tuesday, November 7
West Coast Conference Breakdown

ESPN.com

HOW THEY'LL STACK UP

GONZAGA: It's a new lineup, but same old success in Spokane.

PEPPERDINE: Rematch with Indiana should be interesting early test.

SAN DIEGO: Upset special usually comes from Toreros.

SAN FRANCISCO: Ding-Dons. Who's there? Sleeper pick in WCC.

SANTA CLARA: Still not ready to be considered among top-tier teams.

PORTLAND: And to think, four years ago they were in the NCAAs.

SAINT MARY'S: The Big Continent is gone, so are big expectations.

LOYOLA MARYMOUNT: Winless in WCC last year; Won't go 0-28.

Tuesday, Nov. 7
Pepperdine and San Diego could easily supplant Gonzaga as the reigning champs of the WCC. But the Bulldogs still have two of the best players in the league in Calvary and Dickau. And the Bulldogs have the experience of being in two consecutive Sweet 16s, even if Matt Santangelo and Richie Frahm are gone.

The Torerros are one of the best-kept secrets and seem to always pull off a late-season upset in the league. Brad Holland should be able to keep San Diego in contention down to the final weekend.

Pepperdine has the maturity in two spots but still lost three key players. The Waves have a tough schedule, but not as difficult as Gonzaga, which has to play at Arizona and against Florida.

This could be one of the best races to watch all season, where at least one of these three teams won?t make the NCAA Tournament. Hopefully the NIT will look kindly on this league after shunning San Diego last season.

ESPN.com All-West Coast

Guard: Brian Jones
Senior, 6-3, Santa Clara

Guard: Brandon Armstrong
Junior, 6-4, Pepperdine

Forward: Darrell Tucker
Sophomore, 6-9, San Francisco

Forward: Casey Calvary
Senior, 6-8, Gonzaga

Forward: Kelvin Gibbs
Senior, 6-6, Pepperdine

Player of Year ...
Casey Calvary, F, Gonzaga
Guess who's left to mind the ship? Yeap, Calvary. But he should be up to the task after averaging 13.4 points and 6.4 rebounds a game. He has the potential to be the best player, on a team that needs him to step up. Gonzaga lost 64 percent of its offense with the graduation of four starters

Introducing ...
Dan Dickau, G, Gonzaga
With the Zags' backcourt void of Matt Santangelo, it's up to Dickau to step in and not replace Santangelo so to speak, but rather do his own thing. A two-year starter at the University of Washington, the 6-foot Dickau should do just fine.

Best backcourt ...
Pepperdine: Brandon Armstrong and Craig Lewis. Armstrong, a 6-4 junior, led the Waves in scoring last season on their way to the NCAA Tournament. He shot 43 percent from the field in averaging 14.4 ppg., while Lewis figures to start until Derrick Anderson unseats him. Anderson transferred in from Nevada last year after averaging 11.3 points, 4.5 assists and 2.1 steals for the Wolfpack.

Best frontcourt ...
Gonzaga: Casey Calvary, Mark Spink and Zach Gourde. Calvary was the MVP of last year's postseason tournament, scoring 28 points in the Zags' title-game win over Pepperdine. He'll need more games like that for a team that doesn't have the backcourt scoring it had last season. Spink and Gourde join the starting five after coming off the bench last season. Gourde, a sophomore, shot 63 percent from the field last year as a redshirt freshman.

Team on way up ...
San Francisco: The Dons were .500 in the WCC last season after starting the year 12-1. With a tough non-conference schedule, they should be better off without the gaudy mark coming into league play.

Team on way down ...
Gonzaga: Come on, the Zags have to come back down to earth sometime, don't they? Naw, they'll make the NCAA Tournament.

Tournament tough ...
NCAA: Gonzaga.
NIT: Pepperdine, San Francisco.

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