WCC basketball preview: Gonzaga, Saint Mary’s should battle for title

Saint Mary’s has been Gonzaga’s primary challenger in the WCC for more than a decade, but perhaps never to this degree.

The Gaels’ bona fides include a national ranking and 13 NCAA statistical categories in which they rank in the top 27. They swept the regular-season series with Gonzaga last year en route to a co-WCC championship.

Time will tell if the Gaels can unseat Gonzaga, but it does portend an intriguing conference race. That should keep more eyes on the WCC at a point on the calendar when national attention usually centers on the big-name conferences.

The perception that GU strolls through the conference every year and simply adds to its trophy collection is mostly true, other than it overlooks numerous close calls through the years. The Zags have won or shared 15 of the last 16 titles. The Gaels own three titles in the last six seasons, including a solo crown in 2012 that ended GU’s 11-year stranglehold on the trophy.

The seventh-ranked Zags (12-0) are off to the best start in program history and the seemingly annual debate – Is this coach Mark Few’s best team? – has resumed as they await Pepperdine’s visit Thursday in the WCC opener.

Equal-time rule: This could be the Gaels’ best crew under veteran coach Randy Bennett.

“That’s as legitimate a team as we’ve had in our league during this whole run,” Few said of the 19th-ranked Gaels (10-1). “We’ve never had (another) team that was worthy of the top 10.

“They’re smart and they’re tough. They don’t beat themselves. That’s what makes them such a good squad.”

That’s a byproduct of bringing back nearly every key player from last year’s 29-win team. Junior post Jock Landale (17.9 points, 9.5 rebounds) has emerged as a conference MVP candidate after being a role player last season.

Saint Mary’s cracked the preseason rankings for the first time and reached a program-best No. 12 in Week Five. The Gaels have had glossy records in the past but rarely cracked the rankings and their RPI usually suffered from a weak nonconference schedule. Before falling to Texas-Arlington, the Gaels were No. 11 in KenPom’s RPI.

“I’ve never seen where you have pretty much every point and every rebound back from a team that beat us the previous year two out of three,” Few said. “That’s a formidable challenge, but it’s also an awesome opportunity that we haven’t had that I can remember.”

Perhaps the closest scenario was in 2013 when four WCC teams were in the RPI top 25 before a rough pre-Christmas stretch. BYU was 16th in RPI at the outset of conference play, but the Zags rolled to the championship with a 16-0 record.

BYU hasn’t been ranked or won a WCC regular-season or tournament title since joining the conference five years ago. Still, the Cougars routinely win 20-plus games and they’ve advanced to eight NCAA tournaments in the last 10 years.

The Cougars have an interior presence with Eric Mika (20.5 ppg, 8.8 rpg) and guards Nick Emery and TJ Haws combine for 28.5 points and 6.5 assists.

“They have experience,” Few said. “I know Mika is a sophomore, but he’s probably a year or two older than Domas (Sabonis), and he’s really physical. He reminds me of Domas a lot.”

It’s anybody’s guess how the rest of the conference shakes out after Gonzaga, Saint Mary’s and BYU. Pepperdine was fourth and Santa Clara fifth in the preseason coaches’ poll but the Waves have the conference’s worst record (4-8) and the Broncos haven’t been much better (6-7).

San Francisco, picked ninth, sports a 10-3 record. The Dons are led by former Bennett assistant Kyle Smith, one of four new coaches in the WCC.

Portland, Loyola Marymount and San Diego, picked to finish last, have winning records. The Toreros are led by University High product Brett Bailey (18.6 ppg, 7.2 rpg).

“Having a target on our back is not always fun, but this group of guys, we love it,” Gonzaga sophomore guard Josh Perkins said. “We’re going to embrace it.”