Around the WCC

Saint Mary’s Gaels (20-7 overall, 7-3 in the WCC) are one of 15 teams in the nation with at least 20 wins. The Gonzaga Bulldogs (19-4, 9-2) could join the Gaels on that list with a win over San Diego (13-10, 5-5) this evening. … USD’s 69-61 victory over San Francisco last week was the Toreros’ 161st under 11th-year head coach Brad Holland, which made him the winningest coach in the program’s history. … After being held to a season-low nine points in that loss to San Diego, San Francisco’s John Cox slipped to No. 18 in the country in scoring with a conference-best average of 20.4 points per game. … Greg Doyel, writing for CBS Sportsline, had this assessment of basketball in the West: “Pacific, from the Big West Conference, and Saint Mary’s of the West Coast Conference have neared the point of powerhouse. Pacific and Saint Mary’s would be strong candidates to win the WAC and Mountain West and challenge for third place in the Pac-10. West Coast colleague Gonzaga, which thumped Pac-10 co-leader Washington by 12 points, could win any of those three major conferences.”