Busting Brackets
Fansided

WCC Basketball power rankings: Unbeaten San Fran makes case for top-2 spot

By Tuck Clarry

Nov 29, 2020; Uncasville, Connecticut, USA; San Francisco Dons guard Khalil Shabazz (0) drives to the basket against the Rhode Island Rams in the second half at Mohegan Sun Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 29, 2020; Uncasville, Connecticut, USA; San Francisco Dons guard Khalil Shabazz (0) drives to the basket against the Rhode Island Rams in the second half at Mohegan Sun Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
2 of 4
Next
Santa Clara Broncos guard Jalen Williams James Snook-USA TODAY Sports
Santa Clara Broncos guard Jalen Williams James Snook-USA TODAY Sports /

6. Loyola Marymount (5-3)

Last week: Lost to Grand Canyon 72-78, Defeated Long Beach State 77-74
This week: at Tulsa, New Mexico State

No teams out west have received the hype this preseason like the Lions of Los Angeles. And for good reason, their core of future professional Eli Scott, Joe Quintana, and Keli Leaupepe came back, Dameane Douglas was returning from injury and they made a major splash with senior transfer Cam Shelton choosing to join them. But things have not come easy in the first two months of the season.

The Lions have looked surprisingly average on offense and pretty bad to terrible at times on defense. Despite having Scott, the mini Draymond Green of college basketball, the Lions are outside of the top 50 in offense and rank in the bottom third of college basketball when it comes to turnover percentage.

They give up an absurdly high field goal percentage and offensive rebounds on defense, ranking in the low 200s in nearly every defensive metric in KenPom. Now, for a team that was picked as the sleeper team not only in the WCC but out west, LMU will need to punch their tickets the hard way.

5. Santa Clara (6-3)

Last week: Defeated Hawai’i 70-58, Lost to Louisiana Tech 75-78
This week: Mount Saint Mary’s, at California

The Broncos are perhaps the most surprising team in the WCC in this early season. The Broncos entered Feast Week undefeated with an average winning margin of 20 points, with three of the five games against top 100 KenPom teams. Then, the Broncos faced the tough news that star post player Josip Vrankic would be out extended time with mononucleosis.

Santa Clara, despite dominating against Texas Christian without Vrankic, has clearly not been the same without him. He was averaging 16.3 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 6 assists in the early season and looked poised to battle for All-Conference honors.

Jalen Williams has proven to be a star in Vrankic’s absence, averaging 20.1 points, 4.1 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.9 steals now that he’s back to playing in his natural off-ball guard position. Transfer PJ Pipes has also been great for the team, getting guys like senior Keyshawn Justice more involved, averaging a career-high 15.1 points and 7.4 rebounds. The Broncos can compete with the top of the conference if and when Vrankic returns and is in game shape. They just need to hope it’s sooner rather than later for their tournament résumé.