West Coast Conference Tournament Odds, Predictions & Favorites to Win in 2025

• After winning the past four West Coast Conference Tournaments, the Gonzaga Bulldogs fell to the Saint Mary’s Gaels by nine points in the championship game in 2024.

• Since the inception of the WCC Tournament in 1987, the Gonzaga Bulldogs have amassed the most conference tournament championships with 21. The next closest team is Saint Mary’s, with the Gaels securing five championships.

• Gonzaga will be the West Coast Conference Tournament favorite when each team’s odds drop next season due to its talented returning core, which includes Graham Ike, Ryan Nembhard, Nolan Hickman, and Ben Gregg.

While the WCC has been primarily ruled by the Gonzaga Bulldogs, Saint Mary’s secured the 2023-24 regular season championship and the 2024 WCC Tournament championship last season.

Unfortunately for the Gaels, they lost star guard Aidan Mahaney to the transfer portal; he left Saint Mary’s to enroll at UConn, the back-to-back national champions. With Mahaney gone and 

Further, the Bulldogs have been ranked as high as No. 3 in ESPN’s Way-Too-Early NCAA Basketball rankings since they will return several key players, including Ryan Nembhard, Graham Ike, Nolan Hickman, and Ben Gregg.

Can the undermanned Gaels or another underdog punch their automatic ticket to the “Big Dance” next season, or will the ‘Zags run through the WCC once again, winning their 22nd WCC Tournament title?

Check out our favorite teams to win the 2025 West Coast Conference Tournament below, which includes the two powerhouse programs: Gonzaga and Saint Mary’s.

Odds to Win the West Coast Conference Tournament Title

As of May 2024, the West Coast Conference Tournament odds have not dropped on online sportsbooks. Usually, those odds will be made available a week or two before the start of the conference tournament, as seeding from the regular season and any applicable injuries could drastically change a team’s chances.

Once available, we will list the West Coast Conference Tournament odds below.

Favorites to Win the 2025 West Coast Conference Tournament

Gonzaga Bulldogs 

The Gonzaga Bulldogs got off to a slow start in the 2023-24 regular season but got hot at the end, securing yet another NCAA Tournament birth as a No. 5 seed. Unfortunately, the ‘Zags were bested by Zach Edey and the No. 1 Purdue Boilermakers in the Sweet 16. 

Gonzaga had an inexplicably efficient offensive attack in the season’s final stretch. In fact, the Bulldogs shot 53.7% from the field and 40.1% from behind the arc in their last 19 games. Needless to say, they were one of the hottest teams entering the “Big Dance” despite losing to Saint Mary’s in the WCC Tournament.

This season, the Bulldogs will bring back five of their top six scorers, including Ryan Nembhard, Graham Ike, Ben Gregg, Braden Huff, and Nolan Hickman. 

Additionally, they scooped up highly-touted Pepperdine transfer Michael Ajayi, Arkansas guard Khalif Battle, and Patriot League Player of the Year guard Braeden Smith in the transfer portal, adding three more impressive players to an already stacked roster. 

Ajayi averaged an eye-opening 17.2 points and 9.9 rebounds per game for the Waves, leading them in scoring and rebounding during the 2023-24 campaign. 

Meanwhile, Battle was the second-leading scorer for the Razorbacks and will have one more year of eligibility. Smith should also bring valuable backcourt bench depth to what will undoubtedly be the best offensive attack in the country.

Let’s break down all of Gonzaga’s players for this upcoming season.

Ike is a double-double machine and will again be among college basketball’s most dominant big men. Nembhard is a veteran floor general who has been on winning teams at Creighton and Gonzaga; he can provide primary playmaking and secondary scoring on any elite team, especially this one. 

Hickman is fresh off averaging 14 points per game on this highly efficient and cohesive Zags squad. Ajayi should be able to step right in and contribute in the scoring and rebounding departments, while Battle has microwave scoring ability. Further, Ben Gregg brings experience and the ability to stretch the floor with his elite shooting.

However, one player could make or break the Bulldogs’ championship hopes: Braden Huff. Huff’s redshirt freshman campaign was just the tip of the proverbial iceberg as far as his upside, and if he takes another step forward, this Gonzaga team could be nearly unbeatable.

During his 2023-24 season, Huff averaged 9.3 points per game on a ludicrous 59.8% shooting from the floor, displaying his ability to score at all three levels at 6-foot-10. If he continues to expand his game, the Bulldogs will have a team that closely resembles the 2020-21 squad that nearly went undefeated, losing their only game in the NCAA Tournament championship.

The loss of Anton Watson hurts, but he is not nearly as irreplaceable as someone like Drew Timme. The gap year between the end of the Timme era and the beginning of a new one has passed. This will be the start of another special ‘Zags run!

Bet on Gonzaga Bulldogs at FanDuel

Saint Mary’s Gaels

Head coach Randy Bennett and the Saint Mary’s Gaels had an advantage over other programs because of their culture and cohesion. After last season, the Gaels were able to return all of their key (and eligible) players from the previous year’s team.

However, like many other mid-major programs, the transfer portal has thrown a wrench into the Gaels’ process, with star guard Aidan Mahaney heading from the West Coast to the East Coast to join the UConn Huskies.

Saint Mary’s is also losing its fourth-leading scorer, Joshua Jefferson, to Iowa State and Alex Ducas to graduation. This means that reigning WCC Player of the Year, Augustas Marciulionis and Mitchell Saxen, will have to carry most of the offensive workload.

Since Bennett and the Gaels are not used to bringing outside talent into their program, except for the obvious recruiting trail, they have struggled to get their footing in the transfer portal. Still, they have secured Ashton Hardaway from Memphis and Paulius Murauskas from Arizona.

Joining Hardaway and Murauskas will be freshman four-star recruit Mikey Lewis, who could see some minutes in the rotation; however, several players, including Jordan Ross, Luke Barrett, Rory Hawke, and Chris Howell, could keep Lewis from cracking the rotation.

The Gaels’ performance in the 2024 NCAA Tournament was underwhelming, to say the least. Still, they finished 20th in KenPom’s adjusted efficiency margin and ranked first in total rebounding rate by the end of the season.

We can expect the Gaels to be among the nation’s best rebounding and defensive teams again. However, if they want to knock off the Zags and win the West Coast Conference Tournament, they will have to improve substantially on the offensive end of the floor. 

Bet on Saint Mary's Gaels at FanDuel

Long Shot: San Francisco Dons

Let’s face it. For the past 15 years, the West Coast Conference has been a two-team race, with the Gonzaga Bulldogs and Saint Mary’s Gaels being the only squads to secure a conference tournament championship.

Listing San Francisco as a long shot is conditional: Jonathan Mogbo would have to withdraw from the 2024 NBA Draft and return to the Dons for his senior season. 

Mogbo does everything for the Dons, and he was quite literally their offensive engine last season, leading them to a 23-win season. In fact, Mogbo led the team in points (14.2 PPG), rebounding (10.1 RPG), and steals (1.6 SPG); he also was second in assists per game (3.6) and blocks per game (0.8).

If Mogbo returns, they might be a dark horse to sneak into the 2025 NCAA Tournament as an at-large bid.

San Francisco did have three players transfer out, including Mike Sharavjamts (undecided), Isaiah Hawthorne (Northern Colorado), and Stefan Todorovic (Pepperdine). Still, the talent it brings in could supersede the talent leaving.

Sharavjamts, Hawthorne, and Todorovic were the sixth, seventh, and eighth-leading scorers for the Dons, respectively; however, seven-foot senior Carlton Linguard (UTSA), sophomore guard Jason Rivera-Torres (Vanderbilt), and four-star freshman forward Tyrone Riley will immediately elevate this team to new heights.

Linguard posted 9.3 points and 6.2 rebounds last season, showing versatility on the offensive end of the floor. If he improves his efficiency (41.8% from the field during the 2023-24 season), he could take another sizable leap in overall production.

Rivera-Torres is another interesting acquisition. During his freshman campaign, he played more than 15 minutes per game. While he also struggled with efficiency, he should be able to spread his wings and get more minutes in the WCC. 

Further, most freshmen struggle to see the floor and adjust immediately to the collegiate level; he still has terrific upside, especially given his size at 6 foot 7.

Let’s wait for Mogbo’s decision before officially adding the Dons as one of our favorites. But they could be one of the mid-major Cinderellas we talk about for years if he returns.

Bet on San Francisco Dons at FanDuel

Who Won the West Coast Conference Tournament in 2024?

After dominating the 2023-24 regular season, the Saint Mary’s Gaels followed up their exceptional conference play with a West Coast Conference Tournament win over the Gonzaga Bulldogs. Gonzaga had won the previous four WCC Tournaments and 10 of the past 11, with 2019 being the only exception. Gonzaga appears to be the frontrunner to return to its winning ways in 2025 after bringing back a handful of vital players to its program.

West Coast Conference Tournament History

The West Coast Conference Tournament originated in 1987 and has been played annually since then, except for 1990, when it was canceled due to Hank Gathers’s passing. Gathers was one of the stars of the 1989-90 Loyola Marymount Lions squad, winning 26 of their 32 games and 13 of their 14 conference games. 

While the WCC Tournament winners largely varied between 1987 and 1998, with seven different programs claiming a conference tournament title in that span, the Gonzaga Bulldogs have since dominated their competition. In fact, Gonzaga has won 20 WCC Tournaments since 1999; Saint Mary’s (4) and San Diego (2) are the only two other programs that have made it through the tournament gauntlet in that span.

How to Choose the Best Sportsbook for Betting on the West Coast Conference Tournament 

Choosing the best sportsbook for betting on the West Coast Conference Tournament can be a challenge due to the variety of factors that go into such an important decision. The most crucial thing is deciding which factors are the most important to you, as they include the associated odds, welcome bonuses, withdrawal times, payment options, user interfaces, navigability, and more. 

Below, we have laid out a basic table that covers some of these factors from three of our favorite sportsbooks: BetMGM, Caesars, and DraftKings. 

How to Read West Coast Conference Tournament Odds

Reading American odds will be imperative to bet on the West Coast Conference Tournament or any other college basketball games and tournaments. 

Let’s break this down in a few steps. First, a minus (-) sign indicates that a team is a favorite and has a greater than 50% chance of winning, while a plus (+) sign indicates that a team is an underdog and has less than a 50% chance of winning. The higher the number is (i.e., -1100 or +1100 instead of -110 or +110), the bigger the favorite or underdog.

Now, let’s use some examples to demonstrate further how they work regarding money. If the Gonzaga Bulldogs have -250 odds to win the WCC Tournament, then you would have to bet $250 to win $100, as they will likely come away with the title. Conversely, if you believe the Saint Mary’s Gaels, at +400 odds, will secure another WCC Tournament championship, then you’d only need to bet $100 to win $400 since they are the underdog.

If you see other teams listed as heavy underdogs (i.e., Portland at +3000 odds), there is a reason for that. In fact, Gonzaga and Saint Mary have combined to win every WCC Tournament championship since the 2007-08 season, when San Diego secured the title. 

Keep that in mind when you are betting. The allure of hitting a huge underdog is always there; however, you must be realistic about each team’s chances relative to their betting odds.