On Senior Night, BYU looking to clinch No. 3 seed in WCC Tournament

PROVO — In its regular-season finale, BYU hosts San Diego with a chance to earn the No. 3 seed in the upcoming West Coast Conference Tournament.

It's also Senior Night on Saturday (7 p.m., MST, BYUtv) and the Cougars will be honoring its pair of seniors — Luke Worthington and McKay Cannon — who could be playing their final game at the Marriott Center.

"These two guys play a lot. McKay's a huge part. He's right in the mix," said coach Dave Rose. "He's had a great second half to the season in league play. And Luke's been tremendous here for four years. It will be emotional."

BYU (18-12, 10-5) needs a win over San Diego (18-12, 7-8), or a loss by San Francisco (21-8, 9-6) against Loyola Marymount, to clinch the No. 3 seed in next week's WCC Tournament at Orleans Arena in Las Vegas.

“I think the most important thing is, win or lose, how we’re feeling going into the tournament because it’s going to be a tough game either way.”

BYU guard McKay Cannon

If the Cougars lose and USF wins, BYU will fall to the No. 4 seed, setting up a potential semifinal matchup against No. 1 seed — and No. 1 ranked — Gonzaga. Saint Mary's has already clinched the No. 2 seed in the tournament.

"We don't talk about it; we just want to play," Cannon said of the seeding implications of Saturday's game. "I think the most important thing is, win or lose, how we're feeling going into the tournament because it's going to be a tough game either way. I don't think we're overthinking as far as seeding goes. We just want to be playing as best as we can going into the tournament with a lot of confidence and togetherness. That's the most important thing for us."

San Diego is coming off a dramatic 91-90 overtime victory at San Francisco Thursday night. The Toreros trailed USF by 10 points with less than four minutes to play and was down by 8 with 1:30 remaining in regulation. But USD rallied and Olin Carter III banked in a long 3-pointer just before the buzzer to force overtime.

Isaiah Pineiro scored 9 of his game-high 28 points in OT. Isaiah Wright poured in 24 for USD.

Exactly one week earlier, BYU led San Francisco at home by 14 points with eight minutes remaining before losing, 77-71. A little more than two weeks ago, the Cougars trailed San Diego by 14 in the second half before coming back to beat the Toreros.

"They're a really good team, a really resilient team. When the schedule came out for the WCC and I saw that we'd play San Diego twice late, I knew that would be a good challenge for us and good preparation heading into the WCC Tournament," Worthington said. "They're very experienced, they're very skilled and they don't go away. Just like how we had to battle to the very end through an overtime to get a win at their place, they had to battle to the very end through an overtime to get through San Francisco, which is another very good team. It's a deep league this year. It will be exciting to see, come tournament time, who shows up and who's ready to go."

San Diego is riding high off its big victory on the road.

"It might be, numbers-wise, their best win of the season," Rose said. "It's a really talented group of guys. Those four seniors that are coming in here are experienced. I'm sure it gives them a lift. In our game down there, they dominated that game for a large portion of the game. We made some plays and won it at the end and got a big win in overtime. I think it will be a really good game."

For Worthington, Saturday marks his 130th game in a BYU uniform.

"That's a lot of games. He's one of the last couple of guys in the program that has played in an NCAA Tournament game," Rose said. "Hopefully, he can use that experience to help the guys here in March when we're playing for keeps, where if you don't win you don't get another game."

Both Worthington, who is planning to be a graduate assistant with the team next season, and Cannon are eager to help their team snap a two-game losing streak and build some momentum for March.

"It's kind of weird but I'm just excited. It's another game to play with the guys," Worthington said of Senior Night. "You know there's a few more games at least coming after this, hopefully. But with it being the last game potentially in the Marriott Center, it's an amazing atmosphere and it's been such a good run these four years. I've definitely been able to soak it up this entire year, not just heading into this last game. This last one will be special."

"I'm not thinking too much about it because we've got work to do as far as getting this 'W' and going into the conference tournament. You've got to be playing right," Cannon said. "But you do think about it, obviously — the memories, the practices, the laughs with the guys, the team meals, things like that. We're not thinking about it too much. But once we're done with the season, we'll be able to reflect on everything, particularly playing in the Marriott Center with all the great fans and the atmosphere here."

San Diego (18-12, 7-8) at BYU (18-12, 10-5)

• Saturday, 7 p.m. MST
• Marriott Center
• TV: BYUtv
• Radio: 1160 AM, 102.7 FM

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