2012 WCC Tournament format announced

With the addition of BYU to the West Coast Conference next season, the conference is forced to change the format of its basketball championship with a unconventional nine teams set to play in the conference. WCC Commissioner Jamie Zaninovich announced next year's bracket format this afternoon.

The 2012 Zappos.com WCC Tournament will begin on Wednesday, February 29 with the eighth and ninth seeds facing off against each other. The winner will then face the fifth seed on Thursday (and basically be on track to play the same bracket track that the eighth seed has played in the past). The sixth and seventh seeds will also face off Thursday.

Games will continue Friday and the semifinals will be held Saturday. Sunday will be a dark day, and no basketball will be played. This allows BYU to not have to play on a Sunday (which is against their school's rules) and keeps the eighth or ninth seed from having to play five games in five days to win the championship.

The championship game will be held Monday, March 5.