WCC Basketball power rankings: BYU stumbles, Pepperdine takes positve step
By Tuck Clarry
It was a pretty quiet week for WCC Basketball this week. BYU had probably the best win of the week against Utah State, only to look completely overwhelmed by Creighton’s size on Saturday. Gonzaga, San Francisco, and Saint Mary’s played just one game apiece this week. Here is how things have moved since last week.
10. Portland 7-3
-1 spot
Last week: Did Not Play
This week: Cal Poly, at Oregon, San Jose State
9. Pacific 4-6
-1 spot
Last week: Lost to San Jose State 66-78
This week: UCSB, North Dakota State
8. Pepperdine 4-8
+2 spots
Last week: Defeated San Jose State 82-69, Defeated Alabama State 79-62
This week: Southeast Missouri State
This week’s action reassured a lot of what we already thought of the basement of the WCC. The Pacific Tigers’ 12 point loss to the now 5-4 San Jose State Spartans warrants them to fall here and reminds us all that the bottom three are largely interchangeable. The Waves have turned things on with a couple of wins against the same Spartans and Alabama State.
We should learn more about this group of teams after this week, with the Pilots playing three teams in six days including a sputtering Oregon and Pacific plays a middling North Dakota State.
7. San Diego 6-5
Last week: Defeated California Lutheran 84-55
This week: Northern Arizona
The Toreros may be better than a lot of folks may assume. While their 6-5 record suggests a level of ordinary, San Diego has played a decent enough defense all year to suggest they might give the top half of the conference fits for say 30-plus minutes.
They’re first in the country 54th in KenPom’s effective field goal defense as well as allowing the fewest three-point attempts per field goal in the country. This coupled with their 39.5% team three-point shooting and the Toreros could hang around with a lot of teams when they get hot.