Yes, they can!

It's looking like the West Coast Conference might get three NCAA bids after all, with San Diego claiming the automatic bid by virtue of their 69-62 victory over Gonzaga on Monday.

So the Toreros are in, and the Zags are going to get an at-large bid because they're still at top-25 team. St. Mary's might be on the bubble, but as I noted in yesterday's post, the Gaels finished with a decent RPI (recalculated to 39 after they lost to San Diego in the semis), and both of their so-called "bad losses" came at San Diego, the latter in double overtime. So I think they're in as well.

This is all good news for Vegas, because it's been officially announced that the WCC postseason tourney will be held at our own Orleans Arena next March. Selling tickets for a one-bid league would be tough, but with three teams coming off NCAA Tournament appearances, the WCC tourney should attract a bit more interest from curious observers.

Also, all three of these teams should be loaded next year. The Zags are the Zags -- they're always stacked. St. Mary's loses only one starter and one top reserve, neither of whom fall into the irreplaceable category. And San Diego doesn't have a senior on its roster.

The one drawback to the WCC this year is that it's been very top-heavy. After the top three, the dropoff is severe -- the bottom five teams are all below .500. But out of those teams, I think Santa Clara and Portland are on the rise, with good young coaches and talented youngsters on their rosters. LMU, Pepperdine and USF are still a far cry from being able to compete, but if this conference goes five-deep, wow. It could be a great weekend at the Orleans one year from now.