SAN BRUNO, Calif. - West Coast Conference men's basketball looks to take advantage of multiple big-win opportunities during Feast Week. The week started strongly for the conference with No. 12 Gonzaga taking down No. 8 Alabama Monday night in Las Vegas. The West Coast Conference currently ranks No. 8 in the KenPom rankings with four teams in the top 70, led by No. 3 Gonzaga. 

Notes From Around The Coast
Feast Week Opportunities
Resume building wins are featured this week. No. 12 Gonzaga defeated No. 8 Alabama last night and face Maryland tonight (No. 63 in KP) at the Players Era Festival in Las Vegas. Saint Mary’s will play Wichita State (No. 91 in KP) in the Battle 4 Atlantis. At the Acrisure Series, San Francisco plays Colorado (No. 88 in KP) and Santa Clara plays Saint Louis (No. 50 in KP).  

Best Non-Conference In Recent Seasons
The West Coast Conference currently boasts a non-conference winning percentage of .726. When the conference got three teams in the NCAA Tournament in 2021-22, the conference boasted a .635 non-conference winning percentage. 

High Ranking Team In KenPom
The West Coast Conference ranks No. 8 in KenPom with four teams in the top 70, led by No. 3 Gonzaga. Also in the top 100 are Saint Mary’s (26), Santa Clara (55) and San Francisco (70).   

Eleven Teams Over. 500
The West Coast Conference features three undefeated teams and 11 of the 12 teams boast records of .500 or better.

In The National Polls
Three West Coast Conference teams are currently garnering national recognition in the Associated Press poll. Gonzaga moved up to No. 12 while Saint Mary’s is once again receiving votes and Santa Clara received votes this week, as well.  

More Notes From Around The Coast

Among conference leaders, the West Coast Conference ranks No. 2 in field goal percentage (.484) and No. 2 in three-point field goal percentage (.362).

Four teams rank inside the top 20 nationally in three-point FG percentage - No. 1 Saint Mary’s (.457), No. 11 Seattle U (.429), No 17 LMU (.415) and No. 19 San Francisco (.412).

Two teams rank inside the top 20 national in field goal percentage - No. 10 Seattle U (.530) and No. 18 Gonzaga (.523).

The West Coast Conference is 7-4 vs. Top 100 KenPom teams and 15-4 vs. Top 100 teams from last year’s NET rankings.

Gonzaga took care of business against No. 8 Alabama on Monday night, 95-85, in Las Vegas. The Bulldogs rank No. 3 on ESPN Strength of Record rankings. 

Santa Clara’s Jake Ensminger continues to lead the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio by a wide margin at (26.00). The second ranked player sits at 14.00. Ensminger only has one turnover this season and has collected at least three assists in all but one game this season.   

Gonzaga leads the league in rebounding at 46.7 rpg, tied for sixth in the nation.

Three teams rank in the top 20 in scoring defense. Saint Mary’s is tied for fourth (57.8 ppg), Santa Clara is tied for 15th (61.5 ppg) and Gonzaga is 20th (62.3 ppg).     

Gonzaga and Saint Mary’s are also among the national leaders in margin of victory. The Zags are second at 31.8 and the Gaels are sixth (29.2). SMC recently held UC Merced to a conference-low 42 points. West Coast Conference teams have held opponents to fewer than 50 points four times this season. 

Gonzaga’s Graham Ike boasts a conference-best four double-doubles, which ranks tied for eighth in the nation. 

Joshua Dent from Saint Mary’s and Seattle U’s Brayden Maldonado are two of 16 players in the nation who are still perfect at the free throw line. Dent is 22-for-22 and Maldonado is 21-for-21.

Will Heimbrodt from Seattle U ranks second in the nation with his average of 3.75 blocked shots per game.

Brayden Maldonado continues to lead the league in scoring (20.2 ppg) and also ranks 13th in the nation in three-point FG percentage (.560, 14-for-25).