NCAA Basketball: Purdue, Virginia falls, Marquette and Gonzaga rise in top 25 power rankings

20. Saint Mary’s – 25-6 (14-2 WCC)

The matchup that everyone was waiting for was on Saturday against Gonzaga, with the chance for the Gaels to win the WCC regular-season title outright. But first was a game against Pacific, their lone matchup of the year. It ended up being a blowout, with Saint Mary’s winning, 83-52. Logan Johnson had 29 points and seven assists to lead the team, while Alex Ducas chipped in with 17.

Then came the game in Spokane, where the Bulldogs were looking for revenge after the earlier loss in Moraga. And Gonzaga took it to Saint Mary’s, leading by nearly 20 points in the first half. The Gaels did make a run to keep it close in the final 10 minutes but couldn’t get the lead back, falling 77-68. Johnson had another 27 points, while Ducas had 10. Aidan Mahaney, who was the hero in the first go-around, was held to just nine points on 3/10 shooting.

But in a way, Saint Mary’s was the big winner of the second half but kept the deficit within single digits. Even though they now share the WCC regular-season title with Gonzaga, the Gaels will be the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament due to having a better NET ranking. Had they been blown out, that very well could’ve changed.

Saint Mary’s looks ahead to the WCC Tournament, where they have a triple-bye to the semifinals. Assuming they win next Monday night, they’ll likely have a Round 3 with Gonzaga in Las Vegas.