WCC Power Rankings: League Play Edition
After just one week of games, the standings often look a bit wonky. But this year, the WCC went 100% chalk in its first week. Eight games, each seeing the better team win and the worse team lose.
Will that continue this week? For a league that is looking like a one-bid league and hoping for maybe two, maybe, teams in the NIT, I hope it does. But there are some interesting games, both involving the Broncos, which could shake up the standings and further imperil postseason hopes.
Let’s get to the rankings.
1) Gonzaga Bulldogs
Record: 11–4 (2–0)
AP: 23; KenPom: 23; NET: 43
Last week: W 86–60 vs. Pepperdine, W 101–74 vs. San Diego
This week: 1/11 at Santa Clara
Heading into last week I would’ve had one and two flipped in these rankings, but I’ve seen enough through one week, albeit against two of the league’s worst, to remind me that this is Gonzaga’s league until the Ghost of Matthew Dellavedova returns, mouthguard and all.
Since Mark Few took over, the mouthguard and only the mouthguard, has proven capable of keeping Gonzaga from taking home at least one of the regular season or tournament trophies. And last I checked, Delly (I love him as a player, but as a financier I’m not so sure) is somewhere down under tweeting about crypto or whatever.
It’s Gonzaga’s league.
Ryan Nembhard entered league play shooting 15% from deep. He’s up ten whole percentage points for the season after a 6-of-8 showing last week. Nolan Hickman is sitting at 38.4% from deep on the season and Dusty Stromer is at 33.3%. There’s no dead-eye, knock-down shooter among them, but they’re all on the up and Nembhard is no longer pulling the team down … as long as he can keep up his improvement.
He should. Over two years at Creighton, Nembhard averaged 33.7% from deep. His 15% number was the outlier. Get anywhere near 33% and Gonzaga’s backcourt goes from questionable to serviceable to, honestly, decent.
Equally important, Graham Ike is averaging 20 and 9 over his past four games. Big man, big performances.
Gonzaga is rounding into, well, Gonzaga, and just in time to run roughshod over a bunch of teams Gonzaga has traditionally, well, run roughshod over.
2) San Francisco Dons
Record: 12–4 (1–0)
KenPom: 58; NET: 42
Last week: W 92–88 (OT) at Pacific
This week: 1/11 at San Diego, 1/13 vs. Portland
Let’s keep this short and sweet. They won at Pacific.
San Francisco’s body of work, over the whole season, at least as far as the NET is concerned (and we should all be concerned with that because, it’s what matters) is surprisingly good. They’re №43. They’re the best in the WCC.
They needed overtime to beat the worst program in the WCC (on the road, but also, Pacific is hot garbage bad).
Anyway, Jonathan Mogbo earned WCC Player of the Week honors after his 30 point performance against the Tigers. Throw 18 (!!!) rebounds, three assists, one steal and one block into that mix as well.
Mogbo (14.8 points, 10.6 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, 1.1 blocks) has been fantastic all year long. He’s far from the only weapon this team has, too.
Their NET is great, their resume is fine, they’re second in the WCC. They don’t have the look of an at-large team yet, and frankly it will be hard to find that between now and March, but they have done better than I would’ve expected so who knows.
3) Saint Mary’s Gaels
Record: 11–6 (2–0)
KenPom: 50; NET: 51
Last week: W 81–70 at San Diego, W 68–64 at LMU
This week: 1/11 vs. Portland, 1/13 vs. Santa Clara
I think, or at least I hope, we can start to put the disastrous early-season behind us when looking at Saint Mary’s. They are playing much better.
Unfortunately, we can’t. Those games count. They’ll need a near miracle to move back in to at-large contention. It’s Vegas or bust for Randy Bennett’s team, and no matter how well they play between now and then, that’s going to be true.
Share the ball more? Great, you’re doing it. Find the bottom of the net, especially with Marciulionis and Mahaney (finally)? Great, you’re doing it. The offense is finally looking kind of sort of like we thought it would, and the Gaels look better as a result.
But it’s probably too little, too late.
Saint Mary’s is a spoiler from here ‘til March and barring a miracle they’re nothing more.
4) Santa Clara Broncos
Record: 11–6 (2–0)
KenPom: 113; NET: 103
Last week: W 68–57 at LMU, W 78–72 at Pepperdine
This week: 1/11 vs. Gonzaga, 1/13 vs. Saint Mary’s
Two road wins to open league play, who am I to argue with that?
Now, good luck with your slate this week.
I’ll have more to say after those results, because this time next week we could reasonably be looking at a Santa Clara team that is 4–0 with two seismic wins on their resume. Just as easily, the Broncos could be 2–2 and right where they’re supposed to be.
This is a well balanced team that almost always has a guy, or two, who steps up. They’ll have to be that team in back-to-back games this week. And like I said, if they’re that, we’ll talk.
For now, they’re a clear fourth in the WCC. Not one of the big boys, but not among the mess of teams digging ever-deeper into their holes.
5) LMU Lions
Record: 7–9 (0–2)
KenPom: 164; NET: 207
Last week: L 68–57 vs. Santa Clara, L 68–64 vs. Saint Mary’s
This week: 1/13 vs. Pacific
Congrats, you have a scheduled win. Please don’t lose to Pacific.
For the sake of the teams who have lived up to their postseason expectations, even if it is just the NIT, please don’t lose to Pacific.
LMU’s NET ranking has been dropping with incredible speed (an 0–5 record in Quad 3 will steadily keep pulling the Lions down all season). They’ve fallen nearly 40 spots since New Years alone. At this rate, playing at LMU will be a Q4 game by season’s end, and there are already too many of those to keep the top of the league afloat as it is.
It’s too late for you, LMU, but it’s not too late for the teams above you. Please don’t lose to Pacific.
6) Portland Pilots
Record: 7–9 (1–0)
KenPom: 266; NET: 281
Last week: W 78–64 vs. Pacific
This week: 1/11 at Saint Mary’s, 1/13 at San Francisco
Conference opener at home versus Pacific, now that’s easing into league play.
This week? Just about as close to polar opposite of that as you can get.
What happened to the turnaround? The rebuild? Portland’s fallen more than 100 spots in KenPom since the season started and is careening towards a sub-300 NET. Playing Portland in Portland is a Quad 4 game, and it’s not looking like it will ever be any better this season.
The Pilots aren’t 8th simply because they won last week, but they also got lucky in that they played the only team that is worse than 8th in the league. It’s all uphill from here.
7) San Diego Toreros
Record: 10–7 (0–2)
KenPom: 221: NET: 222
Last week: L 81–70 vs. Saint Mary’s, L 101–74 at Gonzaga
This week: 1/11 vs. San Francisco, 1/13 vs. Pepperdine
Hey, they went 0–2 vs. the league’s traditional powers. Tough spot.
About the only team I can see doing any better than that against those two is San Francisco, and that’s who the Toreros have this week. Tough spot again.
Deuce Turner scored 58 points last week. Bright spot.
8) Pepperdine Waves
Record: 7–10 (0–2)
KenPom: 224; NET: 239
Last week: L 86–60 at-ish Gonzaga, L 78–72 vs. Santa Clara
This week: 1/11 vs. Pacific, 1/13 at San Diego
Michael Ajayi leads the league in scoring and is third in the sport in double-doubles. Houston Mallette has NBA potential. Jevon Porter’s back (not that it’s mattered).
There is too much talent on this roster for this team and program to be so bad.
How many years in a row have we been able to say those exact words?
There is some change coming, though. The school debuted a new logo this week.
9) Pacific Tigers
Record: 6–11 (0–2)
KenPom: 341; NET: 352
Last week: L 92–88 (OT) vs. San Francisco, L 78–64 at Portland
This week: 1/11 at Pepperdine, 1/13 at LMU
Bottom 10 in the NET.
Pacific has been abysmal — one good year (they finished fourth) under Damon Stoudamire aside — since rejoining the WCC. They’ve been that bad and yet somehow, never as bad as they are now.
Bottom 10 in the NET.
On the positive side of things, their absolutely disgusting non-conference schedule is over. On the negative side of things, now WCC teams are forced to allow that schedule to impact their metrics by playing Pacific.
