David J. Phillip, AP
PROVO — Gonzaga continued to raise the national profile of the West Coast Conference last season by advancing all the way to the NCAA Tournament championship game.
Both the Zags and Saint Mary’s have been carrying the WCC banner for a while. Entering its seventh season in the WCC, BYU is still looking for its first WCC regular-season championship.
Based on what they accomplished in the preseason, Gonzaga (10-3) and Saint Mary’s (11-2) remain the league favorites.
But the Cougars (11-2) are riding an eight-game winning streak as they get set to tip of conference play against Portland Thursday (7 p.