SAN BRUNO, Calif. - West Coast Conference men's basketball currently features three teams in the top 36 of the latest NET rankings and two teams receiving recognition in this week's national polls. More opportunities to rise in both rankings are on tap this week, highlighted by No. 11 Gonzaga playing No. 18 Kentucky in Nashville on Friday at 4 p.m. PT on ESPN2.  

Notes From Around The Coast
Three In Top 36 In NET Rankings
Three West Coast Conference men’s basketball programs stand inside the top 36 of the initial NCAA Men’s Basketball NET rankings that were announced Monday with Gonzaga leading the way at No. 5, Saint Mary’s at No. 27 and Santa Clara at No. 36. The West Coast Conference, the Big Ten, the Big 12, the ACC, the SEC and the Big East are the only conferences with three teams in the top 36. The conference also boasts four in the top 100 with Pacific at No. 83.  

In The National Polls
Gonzaga enters the week ranking No. 11 in both national polls and Saint Mary’s is receiving votes in both national polls.  

Broncos Off To Solid Start 
Santa Clara (7-1) is one possession away from still being undefeated with a one-point loss coming to Saint Louis, a team with a NET ranking of No. 48. The Broncos currently rank No. 32 in ESPN’s strength of record rankings. Two big opportunities are coming up for the Broncos - at New Mexico on Dec. 6 and vs. Arizona State (NET No. 102) in Henderson, Nev.   

Saint Mary’s Leads On D Again
Saint Mary’s once again currently boasts the league’s top defense, allowing 63.8 ppg, tied for 25th in the nation. The Gaels (8-1) will play three teams this month currently in the top 100 in the NET (No. 75 Northern Iowa, No. 80 Boise State, and No. 87 Davidson).

More Notes From Around The Coast
Currently 7-1 on the year, Gonzaga ranks No. 10 in ESPN’s strength of schedule rankings. The Bulldogs also rank No. 8 on ESPN’s strength of record rankings. The tough tests keep coming for the Zags as they face No. 18 Kentucky in Nashville on Friday at 4 p.m. PT on ESPN2.

Three West Coast Conference teams rank in the top 42 in WAB (Wins Above Bubble) led by No. 10 Gonzaga and followed by No. 27 Saint Mary’s and No. 42 Santa Clara.

Most recently, Santa Clara drilled 16 treys in an 86-75 win over Minnesota in the Acrisure Invitational in Palm Desert. Defensively, the Broncos limited the Golden Gophers to shoot 7-for-24 from three-point distance and Santa Clara leads the league in three-point percentage defense (.277).   

Gonzaga leads the league in rebounding at 44.6 rpg, tied for 10th in the nation. Graham Ike is second in the league in rebounding at 7.9 rpg.

Among conference leaders, the West Coast Conference ranks No. 3 in field goal percentage led by Seattle U as the Redhawks currently rank fifth in the nation in field goal percentage (.532).

The Redhawks also rank No. 16 in three-point field goal percentage (.406) with Saint Mary’s right behind them in 17th (.404).

Three Gaels pace the West Conference leaderboard in multiple stat categories. Paulius Murauskas, the reigning West Coast Conference Player of the Week, leads the league in scoring at 19.2 ppg. Andrew McKeever leads the conference in rebounding (10.3 rpg) and Mikey Lewis leads the way in three-point shooting at .490 (25-51).     

The West Coast Conference’s fourth team in the top 100 in the NET, Pacific (No. 83) heads to Berkeley this Saturday to face a California team that currently boasts a NET ranking of No. 58. Later this month, the Tigers look forward to another big opportunity when they head to Provo, Utah, to face No. 9 BYU.   

Gonzaga’s Graham Ike boasts a conference-best four double-doubles, which rank tied for 11th in the nation. 

The 40-point performance by Ace Glass of Washington State ranks tied for fifth among all players in the nation. He is one of seven players this season to reach 40 points in a game.

Will Heimbrodt from Seattle U ranks third in the nation with his average of 3.17 blocked shots per game.