College basketball enters championship week as the major conferences begin their tournaments on Tuesday. The West Coast Conference gets the spotlight on Monday as they play their championship game, putting No. 1 seed Saint Mary's against No. 2 seed Gonzaga. Both teams are likely heading to the NCAA tournament, but a conference tournament title would boost them in the eyes of the selection committee.
The WCC title game should feature two ranked opponents. Saint Mary's is ranked No. 21 in the Coaches Poll and receiving votes in the AP Poll. They should climb two or three spots in the Coaches Poll, but might not have enough leverage to get into the AP Top 25. Gonzaga is the top team in "Others receiving votes" for both polls. It will be difficult to get into the top 25 in either poll as few lower ranked teams lost, but their win over BYU might be enough to shade some votes their way.
At the top of the rankings, Michigan State and Baylor are likely to drop out of the top ten following tough weeks. Kentucky will remain number one, and might have done enough to pick up the final two first place votes in the AP Poll as they head into championship week as a heavy favorite in the SEC.