Quick vent. Gonzaga needs to move into a better conference.
Gonzaga basketball is good. Gonzaga basketball has been good. Gonzaga basketball will continue to be good. No one doubts the ability of the players and coaching staff. They've proven it many times throughout the years with a boatload of conference tournament championships and NCAA tournament appearances. Some of those appearances saw them make it into the Elite 8, Final Four, and Championship game. Incredible for a mid-major conference team to win like that in such a competitive sport. That is all fine and dandy. The reason I am even bothering to write this article is because I am SICK of watching Gonzaga play these garbage teams from the cupcake West Coast Conference on ESPN.
Every single game is a beat down by 20-30 points and essentially over a quarter of the way through the game. Even the typically good teams from the conference like St. Mary's or BYU get smashed. Did you know there is a school in the conference called 'Pacific'? I didn't either until I Googled it to write this.
The PAC-12 is Calling
It's time for Gonzaga to move into the PAC-12, or at a bare minimum, the Mountain West Conference. (Side note: I think the MWC is pretty soft but better than the WCC). They need to face stiffer competition on the regular, especially for nationally-televised games. The games would be better to watch for fans and it would also prepare the players and coaches for the Big Dance. I'm honestly surprised ESPN continues to show these blowouts - aren't people turning it off and watching other Western timezone games? For the high-major level, Gonzaga has the talent to compete, the arena to house a bunch of fans, and the national notoriety. Now with BYU, their main rival, leaving for the Big 12, it sounds like a no-brainer to me.
Before you say, "they don't have a football team," I will tell you that only basketball needs to move into the PAC-12, the other sports can stay as WCC teams. In New England, colleges have different teams play in different conferences. Take the University of New Hampshire; most teams play in the America East Conference, hockey plays in the ultra-competitive Hockey East Conference, and the football team plays in the Colonial Athletic Association. Guess what? Everything works out fine. It's time for the 'Zags to make the move and spare my eyes of another bashing against a school called...Loyola Marymount?