6. Loyola Marymount 6-4
Last week: Defeated Tulsa 60-55, Lost to New Mexico State 58-63
This week: at Nevada
This may be it for the Lions’ chances. They needed to have a spotless remainder of the nonconference and an incredible regular season run to redeem their darkhorse tournament chances, but their loss to the Aggies shuts the book on that fairytale.
Ultimately, the Lions needed to improve their defense coming into the year and they’ve only gotten worse. Perhaps what has been most surprising is seeing this veteran team so prone to turnovers. LMU is averaging 16 turnovers per game, with senior leader Eli Scott averaging an absurd 4.2 per game, a number only made worse by the Lions being ranked 188th in KenPom’s adjusted tempo.
5. Santa Clara 7-4
Last week: Defeated Mount Saint Mary’s 88-77, Lost to California 60-72
This week: at Boise State, Florida A&M, Montana
The Broncos have been .500 in the eight games they’ve played without their best player Jossip Vrankic. Rocco Miller tweeted that Vrankic could be back as early as next week, which could help give Santa Clara an outside shot to the tournament with some unlikely wins against the top of the conference. Jalen Williams has taken a massive step as a primary option, averaging 19.5 points with a 54% field goal average.
4. Saint Mary’s 9-2
Last week: Defeated UC Santa Barbara 80-59
This week: San Diego State
The Gaels had perhaps their best total game against the Gauchos on Saturday. They completely dominated the pace and were red hot from three. The Gaels are still looking for a top 50 KenPom win and will have their chance against the Aztecs. It will be great to see how the Gaels respond to a team that also likes to control the pace and dominate on defense.