Sin City heating up the WCC

By Cecile Nguyen

As I stepped off the plane, I knew I was in Las Vegas immediately.

Flashing lights and the sound of ding, ding, ding from the slot machines greeted me as I left the terminal.

Smack dab in the middle of the airport were rows and rows of slot machines enticing me as I finally made my way out of the airport.

If only I was 21.

This year, the West Coast Conference men's and women's basketball tournaments will be held in Las Vegas, as opposed to being held at one of the schools in the conference.

This year's tourney will take place in Orleans Arena, a place Broncos men's basketball Head Coach Kerry Keating is familiar with.

"I've been here before for high school games," Keating said during the WCC Media Day that I attended at Orleans Arena last Wednesday. "My dad was here for a game when he was with Kansas too," he added.

"I think it's the right size. If you have eight schools and each school brings around 1,000 people, we'll be able to fill. And that's really what you want to do, create an environment that's exciting and having the neutral court. It's very rare for a conference to have a true neutral site."

Santa Clara was next in the rotation to host the WCC tournament in 2010 before the idea of a neutral site was introduced.

"I don't like the idea that we were supposed to host the tournament the year after next. It was our time," Keating said. "But for the sake of balance for the league I think a neutral site is the best thing."

In theory, playing at a neutral site is a good idea, but I always enjoyed seeing the home fans storm the court after their team wins the big one, which is exactly what happened at San Diego last year when the Toreros swept the tournament.

If Santa Clara were to host the tournament, wouldn't you want to be there if the Broncos win it all?

But it is Vegas. And who would really turn down an excuse to go to Vegas?

Keating said that because no one has played in Orleans Arena, it creates a balance, taking away little advantages or disadvantages a team might have if they weren't playing on a neutral court.

Might playing in Sin City be a distraction for the Broncos?

"Well, anything in Vegas is a distraction," Keating said. "But our focus is about winning. I don't want our team to worry about anything except for winning, and I think by the time we get to this stage in the season our guys will be ready."