Wild, Wild West Coast Conference

I received two texts this past weekend, both asking the same question, about two separate West Coast Conference men's basketball games. They both read, "Who do we want to win, again, in this game?"

That is because the WCC men's basketball standings are closer than they have been in years, and with six of the nine tournament seeds still up for grabs with just one week left before the conference tournament begins in Las Vegas, it is hard to know exactly how to root for your team, especially if you're a Lions fan.

The Lions have secured a fourth seed, and therefore a first-round bye, at the tourney, but there is still a decent shot they can snatch the third seed away from either Gonzaga or (more likely) BYU. While that would allow LMU of playing the second seed, not the first, in the semifinals, what may be more important is it would give the team a much easier quarterfinal matchup; basically, avoiding a very hot San Francisco team.

Here is the easiest, and most probable, way for the Lions to steal the third-place spot. All of the following things would need to happen.

• LMU would need to win its final two conference games against Santa Clara and San Diego. Both are at home and against teams the Lions have previously beat. Odds are definitely in LMU's favor here.
• Saint Mary's would need to win its final two games. The No. 1 team in the conference is set to face Portland and San Francisco. Portland should be easy, but the Dons could definitely test the struggling, limping Gaels, especially since the game is on the hilltop in SF. The odds, however, do have to be in Saint Mary's favor here. And therefore, also the Lions' favor.
• Gonzaga needs to win its final two games. This is the trickiest part, as Gonzaga will most likely beat San Diego Saturday, but will first face BYU in one of the biggest games of the season Thursday. Luckily for the Lions, the game is in Spokane, a place where the Zags have not lost yet this conference season. 

Why this works for the Lions: If the above happens, the best BYU could do this weekend is go 1-1 (having lost its game to the Zags Thursday). That would leave BYU and LMU tied in the standings. Because the two teams split their head-to-head matchups, LMU would beat BYU in the tiebreaker based on the fact that it had the "bigger" conference win, defeating the No. 1 Gaels over BYU's biggest conference win, defeating the No. 2 Bulldogs. 

There are a lot of scenarios still possible, but the above seems both the most likely and easiest when it comes to figure out who to root for this weekend. It is important, however, to mention that if Saint Mary's and Gonzaga TIE for first-place in conference, I am pretty sure BYU would then beat out LMU in the tiebreaker for third place, as it would have matched LMU's biggest win and tops LMU in the next tiebreaking category (RPI).

Either way, Thursday and Saturday should be a lot of fun. Can't remember who to root for or just want to follow along with the action? Follow The Bottom Line on Twitter at @thebottomlinejp.