Gonzaga, Portland and Saint Mary's continued their hot starts last week as the three schools are off to a combined 9-2 start in the 2009-10 season. The WCC also pulled off a pair of Pac-10 wins on Saturday night with Portland defeating Oregon and Loyola Marymount winning at USC.

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Omar Samhan, Saint Mary's, C, 6-11, RSr., San Ramon, CA
Samhan posted back-to-back double-doubles against San Diego State and Vanderbilt. He averaged 21.0 points, 17.5 rebounds, and 2.5 blocks per game and shot 17-of-35 (48.6 percent) from the field.

Also Nominated: Keion Bell (Pepperdine), Jarred DuBois (LMU), De'Jon Jackson (San Diego) and Robert Sacre (Gonzaga)

2009-10 WCC Preseason All-Conference Team
If the WCC preseason all-conference team is any indication, it should be a very competitive season as all eight conference schools landed at least one player on the team. Gonzaga and Portland led the way with each team landing two players on the team. In addition, guard play in the WCC should be exciting to watch as eight of the 10 players named to the team play in the backcourt.

2009-10 WCC Men's Basketball Preseason All-Conference
Keion Bell, PEP
Matt Bouldin, GON
T.J. Campbell, POR
Jared DuBois, LMU
Kevin Foster, SCU
Steven Gray, GON
Brandon Johnson, USD
Dior Lowhorn, USF
Nik Raivio, POR
Omar Samhan, SMC

Three WCC Teams Advance To The Postseason For Second Consecutive Season
For just the sixth time in conference history, three WCC men's basketball teams advanced to the postseason. Gonzaga, the WCC regular season and conference tournament champion, earned the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament and advanced to the Sweet Sixteen before falling to eventual National Champion North Carolina. Saint Mary's was a No. 2 seed in the NIT and advanced to the quarterfinals, while Portland earned an invitation to the inaugural Collegeinsider.com Tournament.

WCC Tournament To Remain At The Orleans Arena Through 2012
On July 22, 2009, the West Coast Conference and the Orleans Arena announced a three-year contract extension that will keep the WCC Men's and Women's Basketball Championships in Las Vegas through 2012. The extension comes after the West Coast Conference sold out the Orleans Arena for the 2009 WCC Basketball Championships. The 2009 championship, which was the WCC's first-ever at a neutral site, set conference records for both total championship attendance (33,320) and single session championship attendance (7,845).

Gonzaga's Matt Bouldin Named 2010 John R. Wooden Award Preseason Top 50
Gonzaga University senior guard Matt Bouldin has been named to the 2009-10 preseason candidates for the John R. Wooden Award All-American Team and Player of the Year trophy. Bouldin started 33 of 34 games a year ago, his only non-start coming on Senior Night. He averaged 13.6 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 3.4 apg and shot 49.1 percent from the field, going 156-for-318. He also shot 42.3 percent from 3-point range, connecting on 55-of-130 from long range. Eleven conferences are represented on the Wooden Award Preseason List. Leading the way is the Big East (11), followed by the ACC (10), Big 10 (8), SEC (7), Big 12 (6), Pac-10 (3), and Atlantic 10, CAA, Horizon, WAC and West Coast with one apiece.

Zappos.com Named Title Sponsor of the WCC Basketball Championships
The West Coast Conference (WCC) and its multi-media rights partner, IMG College, announced Zappos.com as the official title sponsor of the WCC Men's and Women's Basketball Championships. The three-year deal, effective through the 2011-12 season, marks the WCC's first-ever title sponsorship. In addition to its financial sponsorship, the WCC and Zappos.com will partner with Soles4Souls to challenge each West Coast Conference campus to collect the most shoes from December to the end of the conference basketball season. The gently used shoes will be distributed internationally through Soles4Souls to individuals in need.

Gonzaga Edges Portland For Top Spot In 2009-10 WCC Preseason Coaches Poll
Gonzaga was selected as the favorite to capture an unprecedented 10th consecutive West Coast Conference men's basketball regular season title in the 2009-10 WCC Preseason Coaches Poll. The Zags received six first place votes and tallied 48 points to narrowly edge out Portland, which received the remaining two first place votes and collected 44 overall points. Saint Mary's was picked third with 34 overall points, followed by San Francisco and Santa Clara, which tied for fourth with 26 points. Rounding out this year's poll is San Diego in sixth place with 21 points, followed by Pepperdine in seventh place with 13 points, and Loyola Marymount in eighth place with 12.

2009-10 WCC Men's Basketball Preseason Coaches Poll
1. Gonzaga - 48 (6)
2. Portland - 44 (2)
3. Saint Mary's - 34
4. San Francisco - 26
Santa Clara - 26
6. San Diego - 21
7. Pepperdine - 13
8. Loyola Marymount - 12

WCC Men's Basketball Teams To Make 31 Appearances On ESPN's Family Of Networks
ESPN recently announced its 2009-10 men's basketball schedule which will feature approximately 1,100 games across the networks multiple platforms. The West Coast Conference is among the featured conferences as WCC teams are scheduled to make 31 appearances, including 14 WCC regular season games, on ESPN's family of networks.

Make sure to download the full release to view the full TV schedule.