Coach: Mark Few, 6th season, 133-32; 6th overall

Players to watch: Ronny Turiaf, sr., f; Adam Morrison, so., g; Erroll Knight, jr., g; Sean Mallon, so., f.

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Outlook: Despite the loss of five seniors – including two-time WCC player of the year and four-year starter Blake Stepp – from last year's 28-3 team, the Bulldogs remain the team to beat in the WCC. Turiaf's decision to return for his senior season rather than test the NBA Draft waters was huge. The two-time all-WCC forward averaged a team-high 15.5 points and 6.4 rebounds last winter and could emerge as an NBA lottery pick next spring. And when the Zags picked up junior college transfer J.P. Batista, a 6-foot-8, 265-pounder, in a late recruiting period coup, it solidified a front line that should be among the best in the league once again. Still, the Bulldogs need Morrison and Mallon, who were both named to the WCC's all-freshmen team last winter, to mature quickly, along with sophomore point guard Derek Raivio.

Coach: Randy Bennett, 4th season, 43-37; 4th overall

Players to watch: Daniel Kickert, jr., f; Paul Marigney, sr., g; E.J. Rowland, sr. pg; Frederic Adjiwanou, sr. f.

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Outlook: The Gaels opened their season with wins over Belmont and California to advance to the semifinals of the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic at Madison Square Garden in New York and appear poised to challenge Gonzaga for the WCC championship. Kickert, a 6-foot-10, 245-pounder and returning first-team all-WCC selection can bang inside and shoot the 3, while Marigney, another all-league performer, gives coach Randy Bennett one of the most productive and athletic perimeter players in the league. The Gaels will miss the contributions of departed seniors Tyler Herr and Chase Poole, but they have plenty of well-qualified returnees ready to assume leadership roles.

Coach: Paul Westphal, 4th season, 52-38; 7th overall, 136-65 overall

Players to watch: Yakouba Diawara, sr. f; Alex Acker, jr. g; Glen McGowan, sr. f.

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Outlook: Uncertainty abounds in Malibu, Calif., where Westphal must deal with the unplanned losses of two starters from last year's 15-16 team. Sophomore-to-be Shaun Davis, who started at the point as a freshman, and senior-to-be shooting guard Terrance Johnson, an all-WCC pick as a sophomore, both left school during the off-season. Still, the Waves boast an abundance of returning talent, headed by all-WCC returnees McGowan and Diawara, who combined to average 36.7 points and 12 rebounds a game last winter. Redshirt freshman Kingsley Coastain can play the point, but making up for the loss of Johnson's perimeter scoring ability will be difficult.

Coach: Brad Holland, 11th season 148-137; 13th overall, 171-168

Players to watch: Brice Vounang, sr. c; Corey Belser, jr. f; Brandon Gay, sr. f.

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Outlook: With last year's disappointing 4-26 finish mercifully in their rear-view mirror, the Toreros are healthy once again and eager to reestablish themselves as a WCC contender. Vounang, a second-year transfer, averaged 16.9 points and 6.8 rebounds in being named the league's newcomer of the year last season and returns – along with Gay and fellow senior Brett Melton – to provide the leadership that was lacking last year. Junior forward Corey Belser, who missed the 2003-04 season with a knee injury is back, and Holland has added a couple of impact transfers in former Oregon State wing Floyd North and former Oklahoma State guard Ross DeRogatis, who both sat out last season under the NCAA transfer rule.

Coach: Dick Davey, 13th season, 202-148; 13th overall.

Players to watch: Doron Perkins, sr. g; Kyle Bailey, sr., pg; Travis Niesen, jr. f; Tristan Parham, jr., f.

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Outlook: Dick Davey, the dean of WCC coaches, returns four starters from a team that climbed out of the league cellar to finish fifth last season. Bailey is a solid, veteran point guard who can score, and Perkins is as hard to guard on the wing as any player in the conference. Niesen, a 6-foot-7, 225-pound, came on strong at the end of the 2003-04 season, but needs help inside, where the Broncos have been uncharacteristically soft the past two years. Parham, a 6-8, 225-pound transfer from Coffeyville (Kan.) Community College should help with the heavy lifting down low, but Davey, in his 13th year as the Broncos head coach, could use another enforcer or two.

Coach: Steve Aggers, 6th season, 44-73; 26th overall, 358-343

Players to watch: Charles Brown, sr. g; Brandon Worthy, jr. g; Wes Wardrop, jr. g; Daryl Pegram, so., f; John Haywood, jr. f.

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Outlook: This could be the year Steve Aggers makes the kind of statement he has been waiting to make since taking over a wretched LMU program four years ago. Brown, who has led the WCC in steals each of the past two seasons, is among the quickest points guards in the league and can score, as well. Worthy, who averaged 11 points during the 2002-03 season, returns after missing all of last year with a broken hand, and Haywood has recovered from a similar injury that sidelined him just 11 games in to the 2003-04 season. In addition, the Lions benefited immensely from a 12-day, five-game European tour they made last spring, finishing 5-0.

Coach: Jesse Evans, 1st season at USF; 8th overall, 132-81 overall

Players to watch: John Cox, sr.; g; Tyrone Riley, sr. f; Jerome Gumbs, jr. g; Kenny Barnes, jr. f.

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Outlook: First-year coach Jesse Evans, after leaving Louisiana Lafayette and replacing Phil Mathews at USF last spring, got a massive dose of good news when the NCAA announced it was giving Cox a sixth year of eligibility. The 6-foot-5, 210-pound guard was a first-team all-WCC selection in 2002-03, but injured a knee in USF's first game last winter and missed the rest of the season. Cox, who averaged 15.3 points as a junior, will join senior point guard Andre Hazel, Riley and Gumbs as returning starters. And Evans hopes Barnes, a 6-7 transfer from Hartnell College, can add some athleticism on the wing and help ease the graduation losses of James Bayless and Alvin Broussard.

Coach: Michael Holton, 4th season, 28-58; 4th overall

Players to watch: Pooh Jeter, jr., pg; Donald Wilson, jr., g; Patrick Galos, sr. f; Dreshawn Vance, so., f.

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Outlook: The jet-quick Jeter, a first-team all-WCC selection last year, gives coach Michael Holton the best combo guard in the league, and Wilson emerged last year as one of the Pilots' most consistent performers on the wing. Throw is Vance, a member of the WCC's 2003-2004 all-freshman team, and there is reason to believe the Pilots can make some noise, despite the loss of point guard Adam Quick and long-range shooter Casey Frandsen. Holton still needs to find some muscle inside, but the addition of first-year transfers Ben Sullivan (6-10, 240), from Cal State Northridge, and Kevin Field (6-11, 265) from Oregon State, should help.