Saint Mary’s hosts Pepperdine Thursday while Gonzaga is home vs. San Francisco.
They're the elite of the West Coast Conference, and all three will be on their home courts Thursday night looking to keep pace with each other at the top of the league standings.
The Saint Mary's Gaels currently hold that top slot in the conference ranks with a perfect 6-0 mark, followed by the Brigham Young Cougars (5-1) and Gonzaga Bulldogs (4-1). Saint Mary's has already beaten both the Cougars and Bulldogs who have yet to face each other. The Gaels are the only team to crack either the coaches or writers polls, sitting 23rd and 24th in the two rankings respectively. All three teams currently crowd the top 10 in the mid-majors poll published by CollegeInsider.com.
Depending on how much weight RPI holds in a couple of months, all three teams would seem safe bets to get an invite to the NCAA Tournament this March. Simply relying on that, however, could be a fatal mistake with so much basketball yet to be played.
The Gaels' hold on first in the conference is shaky at best with road games at both BYU and Gonzaga, and a sweep by either the Cougars or Bulldogs in their two upcoming matches could relegate the loser to the NIT. Additionally, none of the three can get caught looking ahead to games against one another as a slip against some of the trailing teams in the conference could also blow a Big Dance invite.
Should any of those potential slip-ups come Thursday, it will be big news with Saint Mary's, Gonzaga and BYU each at home where they are a combined 10-0 straight up in early West Coast play (7-3 against the spread). Here's a quick glance at all three games.
Loyola-Marymount at Brigham Young (-16½, 149)
Marriott Center – 8:30 p.m. (ET)
Dave Rose and the Cougars probably face the toughest battle among the WCC leaders on Thursday when they take on the Lions. Loyola is presently trailing the top trio in fourth place, and the Lions are also off to a 3-0 mark (SU & ATS) in conference road games. In fact, LMU has covered the spread in all five West Coast contests.
That includes a 73-65 defeat at home to BYU just two weeks ago. The Cougars were laying 9½ in the tilt that never really threatened the 152½-point total.
Loyola could be without guard Jarred DuBois for this one, with the junior doubtful because of a concussion. DuBois is fourth on the team in scoring (10.4 PPG), but the Lions did recently get both Drew Viney (15.3 PPG) and Ashley Hamilton (14.3 PPG) back on the floor to help negate being without DeBois.
The Cougars enter with a 5-game win streak that started after opening the WCC schedule with a loss at Saint Mary's. BYU covered three of the five during this stretch, the 'under' going 4-1. Rose's squad probably won't be thinking about Saturday's game at Pepperdine, but the Cougars have no doubt glanced out beyond that with an upcoming trip to Virginia Tech and home games vs. Saint Mary's and Gonzaga to follow.
Pepperdine at Saint Mary's (-23, 123½)
McKeon Pavilion – 10:00 p.m. (ET)
The Gaels and Waves are also getting together for the second time already. Saint Mary's was a 14-point favorite when registering an easy 74-45 victory at Pepperdine on New Year's Eve, part of the Gaels' current 7-game winning run.
Saint Mary's is a pedestrian 4-3 ATS during the present streak, but has been asked to cover as the favorite in each game, some of the spreads sizable in the 14-24 point range.
The first meeting at Malibu's Firestone Fieldhouse was decided by the 3-point shot. The Gaels sank 10 of their 23 long-range tosses while the Waves went oh-for from beyond the arc, missing all 10 of their attempts. That laugher started a 5-game losing skid for Pepperdine, on the floor and at college basketball betting windows.
Saint Mary's will be at Santa Clara on Saturday to begin a 3-game road trip that has stops at Loyola-Marymount and BYU to follow.
San Francisco at Gonzaga (-16, 147)
McCarthy Athletic Center – 10:00 p.m. (ET) ESPNU
This series has been pretty one-sided on the floor in the Bulldogs' favor, especially at home in Spokane. But the Dons have been the money-makers for those playing the NCAA odds, covering five of the last six meetings and two of the last four at Gonzaga.
In fact, San Francisco outplayed the Zags when the two last faced off in Las Vegas during the WCC Tournament last March. After the Bulldogs built an early lead and were up 13 early in the second half, the Dons found their rhythm and almost pulled off the outright upset in a 71-67 loss with Gonzaga backers giving up 14 on the board.
Thursday's tilt will feature a real clash of trends on the totals side of the ledger. San Francisco is 10-3 'over' on the campaign, including each of the last three games skipping above the total. Gonzaga comes in 11-3 'under,' meanwhile, five of its last six failing to make the number.