SAN BRUNO, Calif. - West Coast Conference men's basketball looks to continue its hot start to the season that has seen teams in the league win 21 of the last 25 games. Gonzaga currently ranks No. 1 in KenPom, while the conference ranks eighth, and both the Bulldogs and Saint Mary's are gaining recognition in the national polls. 

Notes From Around The Coast
Racking Up The Wins
From Nov. 9 to 16, West Coast Conference men’s basketball teams went 19-3 (.864). The win percentage was second to only the Big Ten (.900), and the Big Ten played eight more games last week. Including Monday night’s results, the West Coast Conference is 21-4.

Moving Up In KenPom
The West Coast Conference, currently eighth in KenPom, has seen eight of its team go up in rankings, including Gonzaga (+7) to No. 1, Saint Mary’s (+17) to No. 24 and Santa Clara (+30) to No. 68. 

Strength of Record
ESPN’s strength of record rankings has Gonzaga at No. 4 and Santa Clara at No. 15.  

Boasting An Elite Win Percentage
The West Coast Conference overall this season ranks fifth among all Division I conferences with a .780 win percentage. 

Against The Best
The West Coast Conference is 11-4 vs. top 100 NET teams from last season and 5-5 vs. current top 100 KenPom teams.

In The National Polls
After defeating No. 23 Creighton at home last week, Gonzaga moved up to No. 13 in the AP  poll and No. 12 in the USA Today Coaches poll. Saint Mary’s is receiving votes in both polls. 

More Notes From Around The Coast
San Diego ranks No. 5 (.472) nationally from three and Saint Mary’s is No. 10 (.448). USD’s Toneari Lane paces the league in 3-PT percentage (.588), while SMC’s Mikey Lewis leads in treys made per game (3.8).

No. 1 in the KenPom team rankings, Gonzaga is 5-0 after dismantling Southern Utah, 122-50 Monday night, the largest margin of victory against a DI opponent in program history.

LMU is one of four unbeaten teams remaining in the West Coast Conference. The Lions are 6-0 for the first time since 2018-19 and own the nation’s second longest active winning streak.

Santa Clara’s Jake Ensminger leads the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio (18.00), while Joshua Dent from Saint Mary’s ranks tied for 17th (7.33). 

Gonzaga’s Graham Ike is nearly averaging a double-double, ranking No. 5 in the conference in scoring (17.0 ppg) and he leads the league in rebounding at 9.2 rpg. As a team, Gonzaga leads the league in rebounding at 46.4 rpg, 17th in the nation.

Three teams rank inside the top 40 in the nation in margin of victory. Gonzaga leads the league and sixth nationally at 36.7 with Saint Mary’s tied for 27th at 27.0 and LMU 39th at 23.5. Gonzaga and Saint Mary’s collectively own the league’s top 3 single-game defensive performances, led by Gonzaga’s 43 points allowed to Texas Southern.   

The West Coast Conference’s leading scorer Brayden Maldonado ranks tied for 15th in the nation in scoring at 23.3 ppg. He has hit the 20-point mark in three of four games this season.

Both Gonzaga and Saint Mary’s are allowing fewer than 60 points defensively. The Bulldogs have a slight edge on the Gaels for conference leaders at 57.8 ppg allowed to 58.3 allowed by SMC.

Three teams rank inside the top 22 national in field goal percentage - No. 11 Seattle U (.541), No. 20 Gonzaga (.531) and No. 22 LMU (.526). Defensively, Gonzaga is only allowing opposing teams to shoot at a clip of .333, which ranks tied for seventh in the nation.     

The West Coast Conference boasts five players who remain perfect at the free throw line. Leading the way is Mikey Lewis from Saint Mary’s who has connected on all 21 of his free throw attempts. Seattle U’s Brayden Maldonado has been true on all 15 of his attempts.

Santa Clara’s Bukky Oboye leads the league and ranks tied for 11th with 3.3 blocked shots per game. Will Heimbrodt from Seattle U is not far behind in second in the league and tied for 15th nationally at 3.0 bpg.