SAN BRUNO, Calif. - West Coast Conference Men's Basketball conference play opens this Saturday as the Conference boasts six teams in the top 75 in the NET rankings, one of multiple conference bests in metrics this season.
In addition to league action starting, No. 14 Gonzaga has one more big non-conference test this Saturday against No. 22 UCLA in Inglewood, Calif.
Fast Facts
1
Gonzaga ranks No. 1 in the country in scoring offense, averaging 89.3 ppg.
5
Oregon State currently boasts the nation's fifth-ranked scoring defense (57.6 ppg).
7
The WCC's No. 7 ranking in the KenPom is the highest the conference has held since the inception of the KenPom rankings in 1997.
WCC Conference Notes
All-Time Bests In NET, KenPom And Torvik
The WCC is currently the seventh ranked conference in the country in the KenPom, the highest ranking the WCC has held as a conference since the inception of the KenPom in 1997. The WCC has been within the top 10 as a conference in six of the past seven seasons. In addition, the WCC garners six teams in the top 76 in KenPom for the first time since the inception of the metric.
In the latest Torvik rankings, the WCC is the highest-ranked conference on the West Coast coming in at No. 6, which is also the conference's highest ranking since the inception of the Torvik in 2008.
The WCC is one of six conferences to boast six teams in the top 75 of the NET rankings, also an all time conference best. Gonzaga leads the way at No. 5, followed by No. 40 Oregon State, No. 55 Saint Mary's, No. 60 San Francisco, No. 67 Washington State and No. 75 Santa Clara. These teams have combined for six Quad 1 and 2 wins.
The WCC is one of six conferences with a team in the top 30 in all seven team sheet metrics (NET, Strength of Record, Wins Against Bubble, KPI, KenPom, Torvik, BPI) and the only conference based on the West Coast.
Amassing Victories In Non-Conference Play
Against Division I teams during non-conference play, West Coast Conference Men's Basketball teams collected an overall record of 73-56 (.566), and a record of 83-56 (.597) against all teams this season. The WCC's record vs. D1 non-conference teams last season was 77-61 (.558).
Sights Set On The NCAA Tournament
According to Bracketmatrix, Gonzaga is a unanimous prediction to make the NCAA Tournament. Saint Mary's is in based on 31 of 33 predictions.
The WCC has continually been a multi-bid and second weekend league in the NCAA Tournament every year since 2019, and in most cases, those participants have been the higher seed. Last season, Gonzaga and Saint Mary's were both No. 5 seeds. In addition, the WCC has been a multi-bid league 11 times since 2010.
Best In The West
The WCC owns winning records over the Mountain West (9-8) and the Big West (12-10) this season. The WCC is the highest-ranked conference on the West Coast in the Torvik rankings at No. 6 overall, and the second-highest conference on the West Coast in the KenPom at No. 7 overall and ahead of the Big West (No. 13).
WCC Team Notes
Gonzaga remains ranked in the top 10 in the latest national polls, checking in at No. 14 in the Associated Press poll and No. 15 in the USA Today Coaches poll.
The WCC owns four Quad 1 wins this season, two by Gonzaga and one each for Saint Mary's and Washington State.
Gonzaga ranks No. 1 in the nation in scoring offense (89.3 ppg). The Bulldogs have reached 100 points scored on three occasions this season and seven of their nine wins this season have been by a scoring margin of 16 points or better.
The WCC features two teams in the top 25 nationally in scoring defense led by No. 5 Oregon State (57.6 ppg) and San Francisco checks in at No. 18 nationally, allowing 62.7 ppg. Similar to Gonzaga on offense, seven of the Beavers' victories and six of USF's have been by a scoring margin of 16 points or better.
Boasting the nation's No. 8 non-conference strength of schedule, Gonzaga battles its fifth nationally ranked team this week in No. 22/21 UCLA in Inglewood, Calif. The contest also features two teams currently ranked in the top 20 in the NET - No. 5 Gonzaga and No. 20 UCLA.
National honors candidate Ryan Nembhard of Gonzaga leads the nation in assists at 10.2 apg. Nembhard's efforts have given the Bulldogs a No. 3 national ranking in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.98).
Oregon State continues play this week in the semifinals of the Diamond Head Classic in Hawaii. Following a 74-65 win over College of Charleston last night, the Beavers battle Oakland today at 5 p.m. PT on ESPNU. The winner will play the winner of Nebraska vs. Hawaii on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. PT on ESPN2. OSU is enjoying a five-game winning streak.
Three WCC players are tied for eighth in the nation in double-doubles with six - Paulius Murauskas of Saint Mary's, Michael Rataj of Oregon State and Elias Ralph of Pacific. Murauskas and Ralph will square off on the opening night of conference play when Saint Mary's hosts Pacific.
In addition to Oregon State, Santa Clara and LMU are also riding five-game winning streaks heading into conference play. The Broncos go for six in a row when they host Pepperdine on Saturday. The Waves will bring the WCC's leading scorer Stefan Todorovic to Santa Clara. Todorovic is averaging 19.3 ppg and owns two of the WCC's five 30-point performances this season.
LMU goes for six in a row when they Lions head to San Francisco on Saturday before a trip to Pullman, Wash., to face Washington State on Monday. Three of the Lions five wins during its winning streak have been by four points or less. The Lions will contend with USF's Malik Thomas who ranks second in the WCC in scoring at 18.2 ppg.
Santiago Trouet of San Diego collected 20 rebounds vs. UC San Diego, tied for the No. 1 single-game high in the nation.