The Power Rankings and standings are completely cleared up at the top but are becoming even more jumbled at the bottom.
San Diego and Santa Clara are separated by one game for fourth place. Although San Diego would have to be two games better than Santa Clara because the Broncos hold the tiebreaker.
San Francisco, Pepperdine, and Portland are all separated by one game for sixth place. This is a battle to stay out of eighth place and have to play in the first round game.
Let’s see where they stand now:
1. Gonzaga (25-2, 12-0). RPI: 11, SOS: 61
Last week: 1, Season high: 1, Season low: 1
Gonzaga started the season on top of the Power Rankings and, unless something catastrophic happens, they will remain on top the remainder of the season. It was Gary Bell, Jr. and Kevin Pangos against Saint Mary’s and Kelly Olynyk and Elias Harris against USF. They can go in and out on any night. Will they end up No.1?
2. Saint Mary’s (22-5, 11-2). RPI: 47, SOS: 129
Last week: 2, Season high: 2, Season low: 4
Saint Mary’s had its chance to move to the top but came up short against Gonzaga. The Gaels have trailed by 20 to Gonzaga, 19 to Harvard, 18 to BYU, 17 to Gonzaga. In two cases, they did come back to win but this is a dangerous trend against potential NCAA Tournament teams.
3. BYU (19-8, 9-4). RPI: 63, SOS: 97
Last week: 3, Season high: 3, Season low: 3
BYU faces another big week with games against Utah State and Saint Mary’s. The Cougars have a big uphill climb if they hope to get anywhere near the NCAA Tournament and these two games would be big steps in the right direction. BYU should be well rested as they only had one game last week.
4. Santa Clara (19-8, 7-5). RPI: 95, SOS: 127
Last week: 6, Season high: 3, Season low: 6
A sweep of San Diego will move you up. The skinny on Santa Clara? They are 7-1 against teams below them in the standings and 0-4 against teams in front of them. Sounds like the perfect No. 4 team. Santa Clara’s magic number to clinch the four-seed is three.
5. San Diego (13-14, 6-6). RPI: 164, SOS: 108
Last week: 4, Season high: 4, Season low: 8
San Diego had its chance to put distance between themselves and Santa Clara but the loss to the Broncos has them needing to be two games better than Santa Clara to claim the four seed and earn a bye to the quarterfinals. San Diego has one left against Gonzaga but Santa Clara has Saint Mary’s and the Zags left on the schedule.
6. San Francisco (11-15, 4-9). RPI: 156, SOS: 55
Last week: 5, Season high: 5, Season low: 7
The Dons had a disappointing loss to Portland last week. This came only days after their best win of the year at BYU. This two-game set showed the peaks and valleys this team has gone through this season. They will likely by the most dangerous team in the WCC Tournament. Also Cody Doolin is two assists from tying Gerald Walker for second on the school’s all-time assist list.
7. Pepperdine (12-14, 4-9). RPI: 191, SOS: 157
Last week: 7, Season high: 6, Season low: 7
They are tied again with San Francisco and the two faceoff on Thursday. San Francisco and Pepperdine could very well be the matchup in the 6-7 matchup in the WCC Tournament. Jordan Baker is averaging 15.3 points in his last three games.
8. Portland (10-18, 3-10). RPI: 230, SOS: 121
Last week: 8, Season high: 8, Season low: 9
The Portland offense continues to improve and it showed that in its victory over San Francisco. The Pilots shot 50 percent from the field for the second time in three games. They have also split their last four games. Tough road ahead though: vs. San Diego, vs. Santa Clara, at Gonzaga.
9. Loyola Marymount (8-18, 1-12). RPI: 244, SOS: 131
Last week: 8, Season high: 7, Season low: 9
The Lions have only one league game this week and that is against a sporadic USF team. Ashley Hamilton is a big difference maker in the offense but he has not played to his capabilities for much of WCC play. He has only scored in double figures in three of his last eight WCC games.
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