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BYU Women’s Basketball: Previewing the WCC Conference slate

By Shaun Gordon

LAS VEGAS, NV - MARCH 05: A logo for the West Coast Conference basketball tournament is shown on a screen during a semifinal game between the Brigham Young Cougars and the Saint Mary's Gaels at the Orleans Arena on March 5, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Cougars won 85-72. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NV - MARCH 05: A logo for the West Coast Conference basketball tournament is shown on a screen during a semifinal game between the Brigham Young Cougars and the Saint Mary's Gaels at the Orleans Arena on March 5, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Cougars won 85-72. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) /
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LAS VEGAS, NV – MARCH 05: A logo for the West Coast Conference basketball tournament is shown on a screen during a semifinal game between the Brigham Young Cougars and the Saint Mary’s Gaels at the Orleans Arena on March 5, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Cougars won 85-72. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NV – MARCH 05: A logo for the West Coast Conference basketball tournament is shown on a screen during a semifinal game between the Brigham Young Cougars and the Saint Mary’s Gaels at the Orleans Arena on March 5, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Cougars won 85-72. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) /

The non-conference schedule is over for BYU Women’s Basketball. Now they’ll face a West Coast Conference slate full of improved teams.

Unlike the men, BYU Women’s Basketball tips off West Coast Conference play on Saturday, when they’ll hit the road to take on Santa Clara.

The non-conference slate has to be considered a success. The Cougars sit at 8-3, with solid wins over TCU, Colorado State, and Northern Colorado. Their only bad loss came to Southern Utah.

As a result, BYU’s RPI sits at No. 56, which is firmly in the NCAA Tournament bubble range.

Which means that a strong run in WCC play could help BYU reach their first NCAA Tournament since 2016.

The conference is strong this year, though. Five WCC teams have Top 100 RPIs, and two more are in the Top 151.

That could be both a good thing and a bad thing. If the Cougars win, beating better conference opponents will look good on their NCAA Tournament resume. But those wins will be harder to get since the teams are better.

First, let’s take a look at BYU’s conference schedule:

  • Sat. Dec. 29 – @ Santa Clara
  • Mon. Dec. 31 – @ San Francisco
  • Thu. Jan. 23 – Pepperdine
  • Sat. Jan. 5 – Loyola Marymount
  • Thu. Jan. 10 – @ Pacific
  • Sat. Jan. 12 – @ St. Mary’s
  • Thu. Jan. 17 – Gonzaga
  • Sat. Jan. 19 – Portland
  • Sat. Jan. 26 – @ San Diego
  • Thu. Jan. 31 – @ Loyola Marymount
  • Sat. Feb. 3 – @ Pepperdine
  • Thu. Feb. 7 – St. Mary’s
  • Sat. Feb. 9 – Pacific
  • Thu. Feb. 14 – @ Portland
  • Sat. Feb. 16 – @ Gonzaga
  • Sat. Feb. 23 – San Diego
  • Thu. Feb. 28 – San Francisco
  • Sat. Mar. 2 – Santa Clara

It’s a surprisingly balanced schedule. The Cougars never play more than three road games in a row, and have the luxury of finishing the regular season with three straight home games.

By far their most important stretch will come early on, when BYU takes on Pacific, St. Mary’s, Gonzaga, and Portland in consecutive games. All four have Top 100 RPIs, and the Cougars have to come out of that gauntlet with at least two wins.

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