2021-22 West Coast Conference Basketball Preview
West Coast Conference Preseason Predictions
WagerTalk college basketball handicapper Adam Trigger offers his thoughts on the upcoming 2021-22 West Coast Conference basketball season. Which teams are being underrated by the betting market? Which teams should you stay away from? Check out Adam’s WCC Basketball betting preview.
The 2021-22 college basketball season tips off on Tuesday, November 9th, and Adam Trigger wants to introduce himself with a big discount! For a limited time, you can get the opening seven days of the college hoops season for ONLY $39, giving you access to ANY college basketball selections played during opening week, including ANY 5% Best Bets on the hardwood! Stay on top of the latest College Basketball updates direct from Las Vegas!
West Coast Conference Basketball Betting Preview
Close, but no cigar. Gonzaga swept the West Coast Conference last season, going 15-0 in conference games during the regular season, then winning the WCC Tournament. The Bulldogs failed to complete the perfect season, losing to Baylor in the National Championship Game. Gonzaga will open the season as the No. 1 team in the country according to the AP Poll, but the Bulldogs will be without their head coach Mark Few who is serving a suspension.
West Coast Conference ‘BET ON’ Teams
San Francisco Dons – The Dons had THE result of opening weekend last year knocking off #4 Virginia 61-60 on national TV but San Francisco’s season was ravaged by COVID and the Dons fell apart finishing 11-14 overall and 4-9 in the WCC. San Francisco was one of the areas hit hardest by COVID (and COVID related restrictions) so I’m willing to give San Francisco a pass for their season falling off the rails last year. Rewind to 2019-20, San Francisco was 22-12 under 1st year head coach Todd Golden who seamlessly took over for former head coach Kyle Smith and two of the key players from that team, Jamaree Bouyea and Khalil Shabazz, are both seniors on the squad this season.
Dzmitry Ryuny returns for his senior season as well and the Dons bring in a couple senior transfers in Gabe Stefanini (Columbia 13.8 ppg) and Yauhen Massalski (San Diego 9.6 ppg). Another senior transfer, Patrick Tape, didn’t play much at Duke but he has a chance to start on this San Francisco team and this Dons lineup is so deep that it wouldn’t be surprising to see Shabazz (USF’s best returning player aside from Bouyea) come off the bench in a 6th man role. Nevada transfer Zane Meeks adds some more depth, this Dons roster is loaded with guys that can shoot the three and that will be the MO of San Francisco yet again this season. San Francisco now has some size in the front court, this is a deep, veteran team that checks all the boxes and there’s games on the Dons schedule like Davidson, Nevada, UNLV, Fresno State, Grand Canyon, Arizona State (and then the conference games against Gonzaga, BYU and St Marys) where San Francisco could be undervalued and a solid bet.
St Mary’s Gaels – The Gaels are a “BET ON” team for me because last season Randy Bennett had arguably the worst team he’s ever had in Moraga and he still managed to go 14-10 and get to the NIT. This year Bennett returns essentially his entire team and there are ZERO transfers on this roster so from a continuity perspective St Mary’s should be as far along as any team in the country to start the season. St Mary’s will start four seniors and a junior and Bennett’s system has far more to do with the “team” than the individual so this team WILL improve with a full offseason to play together and get better. St Mary’s was another team that had a huge chunk of their season canceled by COVID, were clearly undermanned from what they usually are, and still found ways to beat the likes of Northern Iowa, South Dakota State and Colorado State and win on the road at upstart Loyola Marymount before COVID trashed the rest of the Gaels season.
This will be Bennett’s 21st season as head coach at St Mary’s, while other teams are figuring out how to mesh in transfers and form an identity St Mary’s will be playing excellent defense and grinding games to a halt. St Mary’s slow, methodical style of play can leave them vulnerable to an upset but it’s also the reason they can hang with the big boys in this conference. Tommy Kuhse and Logan Johnson can both score and everyone will fall into their role in an offense that will share the ball, milk the shot clock and find a good shot. More than anything I’m willing to bet on coach Bennett, you give him a bunch of returning players and games like Notre Dame, Utah Stae, Colorado State, Santa Barbara, San Diego State (and then the conference games Gonzaga, BYU and San Francisco) all look like spots where St Mary’s could be undervalued and primed to pull an upset.
West Coast Conference ‘BET AGAINST’ Team
Pepperdine Waves – One of my biggest “BET ON” teams in the WCC last season has become by biggest BET AGAINST team this year. We were on Pepperdine a bunch last season and the Waves usually came through for us going 15-12 overall, 7-6 in the WCC and finishing the year by winning the CBI Tournament. I’ve never been a huge fan of Lorenzo Romar as a head coach and I think he’s set to struggle big time with a team that loses Pepperdine’s all time leading scorer, Colbey Ross, and Kessler Edwards who was good enough to be drafted 44th overall by the Brooklyn Nets. Romar had a guy that went in the NBA Draft and an all-time WCC player in Ross and still only managed to go 15-12 so I just don’t see how Romar has success with Pepperdine this year.
Romar has a couple capable transfers but his brand of offense is to go 100 mph at all times and I just can’t see how that works well without a seasoned veteran like Ross running the show. Romar’s teams historically aren’t great defensively so what I see here is a Pepperdine team trying to play fast (because that’s what Romar wants) but more missed shots than last year will cause the Waves to be out of control more often than not and that’s typically not a recipe for success for teams that don’t play defense. Pepperdine has a stud freshman in Maxwell Lewis, so there’s potential on this roster, I’m just not counting on Romar to be able to get it organized. Pepperdine loses too much with Ross and Edwards no longer on the team and I don’t think Romar is a good enough coach to “X and O” this team to overachiever status.
Im going to go conference by conference & post previews with teams I’m looking to bet on & bet against this season
I’ll post them for free @WagerTalk
There are conferences I focus on more than others but drop the ones you want ⬇️ and I’ll try to go in order of most requested!
— Adam Trigger (@TopFlightSI) October 18, 2021
Other College Basketball Conference Previews
WAC Conference Preview
Big Sky Conference Preview
College Basketball Betting Basics
College basketball totals can be one of the most frustrating, yet rewarding, things to handicap in the sports betting sphere. WagerTalk’s Kelly Stewart and Drew Martin help you navigate the finer points of how to handicap college basketball totals. In this round of college basketball betting tips, Drew and Kelly break down five key factors for betting college basketball, including pace of play, changes in tempo and efficiency stats.
2021-22 NCAA Basketball National Championship Odds
The Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook has just released their updated 2021-22 NCAA Basketball National Championship odds, and Gonzaga remains the 6-to-1 favorite, followed by Texas (10-to-1), Kansas (12-to-1) and UCLA (12-to-1). Once the season tips off, WagerTalk’s live odds screen will feature up-to-the-minute betting lines from a variety of offshore and domestic sports books.
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