Malibu, Calif. • Just after they took the floor Thursday night against Pepperdine, the BYU Cougars learned they couldn’t win a piece of the West Coast Conference regular season championship.
That’s because Gonzaga routed Loyola Marymount in Spokane, making it mathematically impossible for BYU to catch the Bulldogs in the standings. Saint Mary’s which was tied with the Zags for the league lead, played late at San Francisco.
Still, BYU went into this crucial three-game trip knowing there was still a lot on the line, and also knowing it had a lot of room for improvement.