If February is the worst month for sports, then March might be a front-runner for the best. Along with Major League Baseball beginning spring training, the National Football League's offseason heats up as free agents sign with new clubs.
However, the biggest event this month is \March Madness.""
As the college basketball tournament season heats up, there is no surprise that teams from the ""Super Six"" conferences (Atlantic Coast Conference, Big East, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-10 and Southeastern Conference) receive the most attention.
But with each year comes a brand new tournament and everyone is on the search for the new Cinderella team that will come out of nowhere to surprise everyone. In steps the rising but less-known West Coast Conference into the picture.
The last three seasons have seen the Gonzaga Bulldogs win the WCC and step right into the role of the Cinderella team. The Bulldogs have reached the NCAA Tournament's Sweet 16 the last three years'a feat only matched by perennial powerhouses Duke and Michigan State.
Such success has promoted Gonzaga in many experts' eyes into the role of favorite, but nonetheless has provided the WCC with increased recognition.
Many players and coaches have felt that this recognition is long overdue.
""I don't think the East Coast gives enough recognition, although they do give a little,"" Gonzaga junior guard Winston Brooks said. ""It's all Big East and ACC and the Pac-10, let alone the West Coast Conference, doesn't get the recognition it deserves.""
The conference's image as a mediocre mid-major conference is certainly changing, though.
Monday, Gonzaga (29-3) moved up to sixth in the USA Today/ESPN poll'its highest ranking ever in the poll. The Bulldogs, who are 113-35 over the past four seasons, finally seem to be getting their hard-earned respect.
They have come a long way since the 1998-'99 season that saw the Bulldogs go 28-7 and take the tournament by storm, beating Minnesota, Stanford and Florida before losing the West Region Final by five points to eventual NCAA champion Connecticut.
""After we went to the Elite 8, people would say, 'Oh man, you guys caught lightning in a bottle,'"" Gonzaga Head Coach Mark Few said. ""Then, the next year, when we went to the Sweet 16, it was, 'Wow, what an unbelievable senior class. You will never have a class like that again in 100 years.'""
This year's team could prove to be the best yet.
Missing from the roster this year are former point guard Matt Santangelo, a long-range shooter in guard Richie Frahm, and the Bulldogs' leading rebounder in center Casey Calvary.
Following in the footsteps, though, is a group that may be better overall. They are led by senior guard Dan Dickau and sophomore guard Blake Stepp. Unlike previous seasons, the inside post is dominated by two players'senior forward Zach Gourde and sophomore forward Cory Violette.
Dickau, who transferred from Washington after two seasons, is the league's leading scorer and has developed into one of the most feared players in the country.
""He's a phenomenal shooter and has great vision and a lot of different ways to score,"" Few said. ""He can score off the catch-and-shoot and the pull-up and drive you down. He can score in the intermediate area. He can score all the way to the basket.""
Despite the high national ranking, Gonzaga is not alone in the WCC spotlight.
That second spot belongs to a team that may vie for Gonzaga's Cinderella role this year, the Pepperdine Waves.
While the Waves (25-8) fell to the 'Zags in the WCC final 96-90 Monday, Pepperdine is a near lock to make the NCAA Tournament.
This certanity lies, in part, to the Waves' success in the non-conference season when they defeated cross-town rivals USC and UCLA, both of whom are expected to make the NCAA Tournament.
Pepperdine is led by junior forward Jimmy Miggins and freshman guard Terrance Johnson.
Probably one of the biggest causes of the Waves' success this year can be attributed to head coach Paul Westphal, though.
A 12-year NBA veteran and former head coach of the Seattle Supersonics and the Phoenix Suns, Westphal has provided the program with additional name recognition'a critical factor in the competitive Southern California sports market. His presence has gone a long way towards recruiting and has brought more publicity to the WCC.
Both teams will get a chance to prove themselves to the rest of the country as they face off in a rematch this Saturday at Gonzaga.
Whatever the outcome may be, people are starting to take notice of the WCC, as Gonzaga and Pepperdine are teaching college basketball fans and office gamblers across the nation not to look past the little guy.
