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Feb. 26, 2006

SAN BRUNO, Calif. - For the second straight year, LMU will play in the opening game of the WCC Basketball Championships, facing San Diego on Thursday at noon.

Santa Clara and Gonzaga tied for the league title with identical 11-3 marks in league play, but the Broncos earned the top seed in the tournament by virtue of a tiebreaker with the Zags. Loyola Marymount secured the No. 3 seed in the tournament, while Pepperdine is seeded No. 4, and Saint Mary's received a No. 5 seed. San Diego and San Francisco are seeded No. 6 and No. 7, respectively, and Portland rounds out the tournament field at No. 8.

LMU will face San Diego at 12:00 pm on Thursday to tip off the tournament, and will be followed by the Pepperdine vs. Saint Mary's contest to wrap up the first session. Top-seeded Santa Clara begins the second session against Portland at 6:00 pm, followed by host Gonzaga taking on San Francisco in the final game of the first day.

Teams will be re-seeded following the first round, and the semifinals will take place on Saturday, March 4 following a day off on Friday. Sunday's WCC Tournament championship game is slated for a 1:00 pm start, and will be televised on a tape-delayed basis on ESPNU (5:00 pm PT).

The 2006 WCC Tournament marks the first time that the conference's premier event has been held at Gonzaga University. This season is the first of a two-year site rotation in the Pacific Northwest for the WCC Tournament. The 2007 event is scheduled to be held at Portland, while the tournament is slated to move to Southern California for the 2008 and 2009 seasons before returning to the Bay Area in 2010 and 2011.

- GO LIONS! -