NCAA Basketball Power Rankings: Butler, Villanova rising for the Big East

Saint Mary’s pretty much fell out of the national spotlight in the opening week of the season after it dropped a home game to Winthrop. Since then, though, the Gaels’ elite offense has been on full display as they have rattled off some incredible performances to reach 12-2 on the young campaign. Their lone other loss en route to their current record came at a neutral-site against Dayton – nothing to complain about there.

Additionally, Saint Mary’s secured away-from-home wins over Arizona State and Nevada during this past week alone to propel itself back into these rankings.

As one would expect, the Gaels’ offense has been at the core of these recent successes. With star guard Jordan Ford (21.4 points), this team holds the ninth-best adjusted offensive efficiency rating in the entire country. Ford, though, is not a one-man show as several other players have stepped up offensively so far this season. Most notably, Malik Fitts (16.4 points, 7.5 rebounds) and Tanner Krebs (11.0 points) have both been particularly effective in the scoring department as upperclassmen forwards.

Saint Mary’s depth might not be all that impressive but their main rotation is very talented and experienced. That makes this team particularly dangerous heading into conference play. The WCC, as a whole, is a vastly better conference than it has been in recent years with (at least) three teams worthy of at-large consideration for the Big Dance. Gonzaga is the clear favorite as always but the Gaels – and BYU – might be able to compete.