6 San Francisco vs. 5 BYU (2:00pm MDT ESPN2)
Regular season meetings: The Cougars swept the regular season series, narrowly defeating the San Francisco Dons 65-62 in Provo on Jan. 3 and 68-63 in San Francisco on Jan. 29.
Momentum factor: The Cougars upset top-seeded Gonzaga after a reenergized BYU defense held the Zags to just 23 second half points to take a 61–55 victory. San Francisco also made a second–half comeback in its semifinal game after being down by 13 to San Diego at the break. The Dons’ Taj Winston sealed the deal with a layup that gave them a five-point lead with 28 seconds to go.
What a win means: BYU would claim its second WCC Championship title in four years and an automatic bid into the 2015 NCAA tournament.
Players to watch: Morgan Bailey recorded a double-double in both regular season games against the Dons with 26 points and 12 rebounds in Provo and 19 points with 11 rebounds in San Francisco. The Cougars need to watch out for the Dons’ Taylor Proctor, who averages 15.7 ppg and a team best 7.8 rpg. Proctor pulled down 10 rebounds in the WCC semifinal win against San Diego.
Underdogs in the championship: The Cougars with a 22-9 season record came into the WCC tournament as a fifth-seed underdog, beating fourth-seed Saint Mary’s and top-seed Gonzaga (24-6), who swept the Cougars during the regular season. San Francisco has a 19-12 record and claimed a WCC tournament upset win over second-seed San Diego (24-5) after a pair of regular-season losses to them as well.
