SAN BRUNO, Calif. - West Coast Conference men's basketball begins conference play this Sunday with all 12 teams in action. The conference boasts five teams in the top 101 of the latest NET rankings and five teams in the top 100 of the Wins Above Bubble rankings. Gonzaga remains in the top 10 in the national polls, as well. 

Notes From Around The Coast

Strong Non-Conference Record
The West Coast Conference went 98-57 in non-conference play this season. The .632 winning percentage is just shy of the .635 non-conference mark from 2021-22 when the league was a three-bid league in the NCAA Tournament.  

Five In Top 101 In NET Rankings
Five West Coast Conference men’s basketball teams are currently ranked in the NET’s top 101. Gonzaga leads the way at No. 4, followed by No. 28 Saint Mary’s, No. 89 Santa Clara, No. 94 Seattle U and No. 101 Pacific. Ranked No. 8 among conferences in KenPom, the league also features four teams in that top 100, as well - No. 4 Gonzaga, No. 33 Saint Mary’s, No. 80 Santa Clara and No. 97 San Francisco.

In The National Polls
Gonzaga is ranked No. 7 in both national polls this week. Saint Mary’s is receiving votes in the Coaches Poll. 

Start of Conference Play
Conference play starts on Sunday with all 12 teams in action. The first conference game of the 2025-26 campaign features Washington State heading to Portland at 2 p.m. San Diego hosts Pacific at 3 p.m. while Oregon State hosts Santa Clara also at 3 p.m. In later games, Saint Mary’s treks to LMU at 4 p.m. The two 5 p.m. games will see Gonzaga at Pepperdine and San Francisco at Seattle U. All games will be broadcast on ESPN+.     

More Notes From Around The Coast

The West Coast Conference went 4-1 against the SEC, 2-1 vs. the Big East and 2-2 against the ACC, while also recording six wins against the Big Ten and two against Big 12 teams.

Five West Coast Conference teams rank in the top 100 in WAB (Wins Above Bubble) led by No. 4 Gonzaga and followed by No. 27 Saint Mary’s, No. 76 Seattle U, No. 96 Santa Clara and No. 99 Pacific.

Seattle U’s six-game winning streak is its longest since the 2022-23 season (8 consecutive). The 11-2 start is the best since 1966-67 when SU also started 11-2. The Redhawks own two Quad 2 wins this season vs. Washington (NET No. 54) and a road win at Stanford (NET No. 76). SU is 7-1 at home and 3-0 in true road games this season.   

Pacific is 5-0 in home games this season. Currently 9-4, this season marks the highest non-conference win total for the Tigers since they won 12 in 2019-20. The Tigers have no bad losses this season as they went 7-0 in Quad 3 and 4 games during non-conference play. Their four losses came against teams all in the NET’s top 103.       

Saint Mary’s defeated Northern Iowa (NET No. 74) in the final non-conference tune-up. The victory improved the Gaels to 4-0 in Quad 2 games this season, also defeating Davidson on the road (NET No. 119) and two neutral-site wins over Virginia Tech (NET No. 62) and Wichita State (NET No. 85).   

Based on NET, Saint Mary’s currently has played the 14th toughest schedule in the nation.

SMC begins conference play with the league’s top defense, allowing 64.3 ppg, which also ranks No. 20 in the nation.

Gonzaga concluded non-conference play with, according to ESPN, the No. 6 strength of record and the No. 10 strength of schedule. The Bulldogs defeated four top-25 teams during non-conference play.   

Gonzaga’s Braden Huff ranks tied for sixth nationally in field goal percentage (112-168, .667). He was good on his first 12 shots in the win over Campbell, part of his 37 points on the night, and added 20 points in the win over Oregon. For his efforts, Huff won both West Coast Conference Player of the Week and was named a USBWA Oscar Robertson National Player of the Week.

Four West Coast Conference teams rank inside the top 25 nationally in free throw percentage - No. 2 Saint Mary’s (.809), No. 14 Pepperdine (.784), No. 16 Oregon State (.781) and No. 22 San Diego (.777).