West Coast Conference Men's Basketball Finals to Air on ESPN Tuesday Night

Championship game between No. 1 Gonzaga and No. 3 Santa Clara tips off at 6 p.m. at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas.

Published on Mar. 10, 2026

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The West Coast Conference will crown its men's basketball champion on Tuesday night as No. 1 seed Gonzaga takes on No. 3 seed Santa Clara at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas. The game will air live on ESPN, with streaming available on the ESPN app. The winner will secure the WCC's automatic bid to the 2026 NCAA Tournament.

Why it matters

The WCC championship game is a highly anticipated matchup between two of the conference's top programs. Gonzaga enters as the tournament's top seed, while Santa Clara has momentum after knocking off second-seeded Saint Mary's in the semifinals. The winner will punch their ticket to the NCAA Tournament, with Gonzaga already projected as an at-large lock regardless of the outcome.

The details

The WCC championship game tips off at 6 p.m. on Tuesday at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas. Gonzaga, the tournament's No. 1 seed, will face off against No. 3 seed Santa Clara. The Bulldogs enter the final as the favorites, as every champion since 2009 at the Orleans Arena has been a No. 1 or No. 2 seed. Santa Clara will look to rewrite that narrative and secure the WCC's automatic bid to the 2026 NCAA Tournament.

  • The WCC championship game tips off at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, March 10, 2026.
  • The tournament semifinals were played on Monday, March 9, 2026.

The players

Gonzaga

The No. 1 seed in the WCC tournament, Gonzaga is one of the conference's traditional powerhouses and is projected to earn an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament regardless of the outcome of the championship game.

Santa Clara

The No. 3 seed in the WCC tournament, Santa Clara has momentum after knocking off second-seeded Saint Mary's in the semifinals. The Broncos will look to pull off the upset and secure the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

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What’s next

The winner of the WCC championship game will secure the conference's automatic bid to the 2026 NCAA Tournament.

The takeaway

The WCC championship game features a classic matchup between the conference's top programs, with Gonzaga entering as the favorite but Santa Clara looking to pull off the upset and earn the automatic NCAA Tournament bid. The game will be a must-watch event for college basketball fans.