SAN BRUNO, Calif. - West Coast Conference men's basketball features two key games on national television this week including the first meeting between No. 6 Gonzaga and Saint Mary's. Also, Santa Clara (No. 45 in NET and No. 51 in WAB) hosts San Francisco (No. 99 in NET) on Wednesday.
Four In Top 100 In NET Rankings
As of Tuesday morning, four West Coast Conference men’s basketball teams rank in the top 100 in the latest NET rankings - No. 4 Gonzaga, No. 30 Saint Mary’s, No. 45 Santa Clara and No. 99 San Francisco. Ranked No. 8 among conferences in KenPom, four teams stand in the top 100 in the latest rankings - No. 9 Gonzaga, No. 34 Saint Mary’s, No. 43 Santa Clara and No. 100 San Francisco.
In The National Polls
Gonzaga is ranked No. 6 in both national polls, while Saint Mary’s is receiving votes in both polls.
Three In Top 51 In WAB
The West Coast Conference boasts three teams ranked inside the top 51 in the latest WAB rankings - No. 11 Gonzaga, No. 34 Saint Mary’s, No. 51 Santa Clara.
National Broadcasts This Week
West Coast Conference men’s basketball will be on national television twice this week with the league’s top four teams in the NET squaring off. On Wednesday, Santa Clara hosts San Francisco at 8 p.m. on CBS Sports Network. On Saturday, Gonzaga hosts Saint Mary’s at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN.
More Notes From Around The Coast
There are only 11 Division I teams in the country still undefeated in conference play. Gonzaga is one of four teams that are 9-0 in conference play (best conference record in the country). The Bulldogs will face another test this week when they host Saint Mary’s on Saturday at the Kennel.
Three teams rank inside the top 20 in margin of victory in conference games, including No. 1 Gonzaga at 18.8. Santa Clara is not far behind at No. 5 (16.3) with Saint Mary’s coming in at No. 16 (13.1).
In conference games, Santa Clara ranks No. 6 in scoring offense (87.3 ppg). Santa Clara owns a combined five Quad 1 and 2 wins this season. SCU has won its last four in a row and eight of its last nine with the only loss during that span coming at Gonzaga. Three of the Broncos’ five losses have been by three points or less and three of their five losses are Quad 1 losses.
Enjoying a 14-game winning streak, Gonzaga picked up two wins last week without Braden Huff and Graham Ike. Huff has missed the last four games, while Ike has missed the last three. Prior to their injuries, the Bulldogs’ defense was allowing 67.7 ppg, and in the three games played without both standouts, Gonzaga is allowing just 58.7 ppg, a conference best during that span.
Saint Mary’s ranks No. 12 in the nation in scoring defense (64.5 ppg). The Gaels have held their last four opponents to fewer than 70 points. SMC also leads the nation in free throw percentage at .810, the only team in the nation shooting better than 80 percent.
Three teams rank inside the top 11 in rebounding margin - No. 8 Saint Mary’s (10.7), No. 9 Gonzaga (10.5) and No. 11 Pacific (9.8). In conference games, the Tigers rank third (10.6) as they have outrebounded their opponent in every conference game this season.
San Diego’s Ty-Laur Johnson took over as the conference leader in scoring in conference games after posting 19 points vs. Santa Clara. He also added five rebounds, four steals and two assists. Averaging 20.3 ppg, he sits a tenth of a point better than Paulius Murauskas of Saint Mary’s (20.2). Johnson has reached double figures in scoring in every conference game with four 20-point performances.
Pacific improved to 9-0 at home with its 56-54 win over Seattle U last Saturday. The Tigers have also surpassed their overall win total by five games from last season.