SAN BRUNO, Calif. - West Coast Conference men's basketball ranks fifth among other conferences in win percentage and third since Nov. 9. No. 13 Gonzaga currently ranks No. 3 in KenPom, while the conference ranks eighth, and both the Bulldogs and Saint Mary's continue to gain recognition in the national polls.
Notes From Around The Coast
Racking Up The Wins
Since Nov. 9, West Coast Conference men’s basketball teams went 27-5 (.844). The win percentage is third to only the Big Ten (.922) and the Big 12 (.872). But in comparison, the Big Ten has played 19 more games and the Big 12 has played 15 more games than the West Coast Conference.
Top Shooting Conference
Among conference national leaders, the West Coast Conference ranks No. 2 in field goal percentage (.487) and No. 2 in three-point field goal percentage (.363).
Strength of Record
ESPN’s strength of record rankings has Gonzaga at No. 8, Santa Clara at No. 14 and LMU at No. 26.
Boasting An Elite Win Percentage
The West Coast Conference overall this season ranks fifth among all Division I conferences with a .789 win percentage.
Against The Best
The West Coast Conference is 12-4 vs. top 100 NET teams from last season and 4-4 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
Three teams rank inside the top 18 nationally in three-point FG percentage - No. 6 Saint Mary’s (.456), No. 13 Seattle U (.432) and No 17 LMU (.417).
Three teams rank inside the top 20 national in field goal percentage - No. 7 Seattle U (.541), No. 14 Gonzaga (.531) and No. 18 LMU (.526).
Feast Week presents the West Coast Conference with opportunities to beat teams in the top 100 in KenPom rankings. Among the opportunities, Gonzaga plays Alabama (No. 18 in KP) on Monday and Maryland on Tuesday (No. 66 in KP) at the Players Era Festival in Las Vegas. On Wednesday Saint Mary’s will play Wichita State (No. 92 in KP) in the Battle 4 Atlantis. On Thursday at the Acrisure Series, San Francisco plays Colorado (No. 90 in KP) and Santa Clara plays Saint Louis (No. 57 in KP).
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 longest active winning streak this season with Missouri and South Alabama.
Santa Clara’s Jake Ensminger leads the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio (23.00).
Gonzaga leads the league in rebounding at 46.4 rpg, tied for 12th in the nation.
Three teams rank inside the top 40 in the nation in margin of victory. Gonzaga leads the league and third nationally at 36.2 with Saint Mary’s 28th at 24.2 and LMU 32nd 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 11th in the nation in scoring at 23.3 ppg. He has hit the 20-point mark in three of four games this season.
Gonzaga’s Graham Ike boasts a conference-best three double-doubles this season while Pepperdine’s Styles Phipps boasts two.
The West Coast Conference boasts four players who remain perfect at the free throw line. Leading the way is Joshua Dent from Saint Mary’s who has connected on all 17 of his free throw attempts. Seattle U’s Brayden Maldonado has been true on all 15 of his attempts.
Will Heimbrodt from Seattle U ranks tied for 10th in the nation with his average of 3.0 blocked shots per game. Santa Clara’s Bukky Oboye is not far behind in second in the league and tied for 22nd nationally (2.8 bspg).