SAN BRUNO, Calif. - In the final week of the regular season in West Coast Conference men's basketball, No. 9 Gonzaga holds a one-game lead with a rematch against Saint Mary's set for Saturday. Prior to that game, Santa Clara visits Moraga for a key game against the Gaels. The conference will be on national television five times this week.
Gonzaga, Saint Mary's And Santa Clara Stand Tall In NET And WAB
Three West Coast Conference men’s basketball teams rank in the top 40 in the latest NET rankings - No. 5 Gonzaga, No. 26 Saint Mary’s and No. 40 Santa Clara. In addition, these same teams stand inside the top 41 in the latest WAB rankings - No. 14 Gonzaga, No. 29 Saint Mary’s and No. 41 Santa Clara. The West Coast Conference ranks No. 8 among conferences in the latest KenPom rankings.
In The Polls
Gonzaga is ranked No. 9 in both national polls, while Saint Mary’s is receiving votes in both national polls.
National Broadcasts This Week
West Coast Conference men’s basketball will be featured on national television five times next week, three on CBS Sports Network and twice on the ESPN platform. On Wednesday, LMU hosts Washington State on ESPNU and Saint Mary’s hosts Santa Clara on CBS Sports Network. Both games will start at 8 p.m. Saturday features a CBS Sports Network doubleheader starting at 3 p.m. with Pacific hosting San Francisco followed by Santa Clara hosting Oregon State at 5 p.m. In the final game of the regular season, Saint Mary’s hosts Gonzaga on ESPN at 7:30 p.m.
More Notes From Around The Coast
After knocking off the Bulldogs in Portland earlier this season, the Pilots play at Gonzaga on Wednesday in the second meeting of the season. Graham Ike looks to extend his nine-game, 20-point scoring streak against Portland.
Ike leads the conference with three 30-point games, all in the past nine games, and he ranks 16th in the nation, and first in the West Coast Conference, with 13 double-doubles this season.
Santa Clara set a program record with 14 conference wins this season. In conference games, Santa Clara ranks No. 4 in scoring offense (88.1 ppg). Santa Clara owns eight Quad 1 and 2 wins combined this season. SCU has won its last 10 out of 11 with the only loss during that span coming against Gonzaga. Three of the Broncos’ six losses have been by three points or less and four of their six losses are Quad 1 losses.
SCU’s 23 wins overall this season are tied for the most in the Herb Sendek era. The Broncos are 18-1 this season with scoring 80 or more points.
In true road games dating back to the 2022-23 season, Saint Mary’s is 31-5 after its win at Washington State, the second-best road record among all DI teams during that span.
SMC continues to lead the nation in free throw percentage at .804, the only team shooting better than 80 percent. Individually, Joshua Dent ranks third (.927). Seattle U’s Brayden Maldonado is fourth (.925).
Saint Mary’s ranks eighth in the nation in scoring defense (64.3 ppg). Since Jan. 13, only Gonzaga has scored more than 70 points against Saint Mary’s in nine games during that span.
In rebounding margin, Saint Mary’s is No. 6 (10.6) while Gonzaga ranks 10th (9.0). In addition, both teams rank in the top 10 in offensive rebounding percentage allowed - No. 5 Saint Mary’s and No. 7 Gonzaga.
Portland’s Joel Foxwell leads all freshmen nationally and the conference in assists per game (6.8). The standout freshman scored a season-high 35 points against Pepperdine last week, which ties for fourth-highest single-game total in the conference this season.
Aaron Clark has reached double figures in scoring in the last 10 games, and since Jan. 28, he is averaging 26.0 ppg, which ranks ninth in the nation during that span. He has reached 30 points in scoring in two of the last three games.