Broncos awarded bye into WCC semifinals

By Chris Furnari

The Broncos, despite dropping their final two West Coast Conference games of the season, will look to change their fortune this weekend in the conference tournament. A tournament victory would earn them a share of the conference title, but more importantly a trip to the NCAA tournament.

Because the Broncos finished in one of the top two spots, they were awarded a bye into the tournament's semifinals.

"The key thing is getting the byes," said head coach Dick Davey. "The negative may be that we haven't played yet and the other teams have the momentum, but I don't think that is the case with the WCC."

The Broncos will have their hands full with whatever competition they may face, as each team in the conference brings their own strengths to each game.

"I think any team can beat anyone in the WCC on any night," said senior Danny Pariseau. "Every team has their strength, so every team kind of scares me right now."

Davey mentioned the University of San Francisco, among other teams, as one of the major threats in the tournament.

"USF is really athletic, and I think they will be heading into the tournament feeling pretty good about themselves," said Davey.

Of course, the head coach is not leaving out the still heavily favored Zags, who enter the tournament a slightly different team than they were in the beginning of the year. With the loss of big man Josh Heytvelt, Gonzaga will rely more heavily on outside shooting from Matt Bouldin and Derek Raivio.

"Gonzaga got a little bit smaller now, but they are more athletic and they will present some problems," said Davey. "I think they still have enough talent to beat anybody in the league, and they know that."

But the Broncos will bring a distinct sense of maturity to the tournament. The starting lineup consists of three seniors, one junior and a sophomore, a factor that Pariseau believes will help their cause in the tournament.

"I think it really helps having the older presence because it keeps the team emotionally stable," said Pariseau. "In playoff basketball it gets harder to withstand an opposing team's run, but we are able to because we won't let it get to us."

For Dick Davey's Broncos, the key to a successful tournament will boil down to one thing: defense.

"I think the most important factor is how well you play defensively," said Davey. "Our offense has done well enough to keep us in the ball game, but it has been our defense that has really carried us all year."

Contact Chris Furnari at (408) 551-1918 or cfurnari@scu.edu.