NCAA Basketball: Duke, Arizona, Texas rise in latest top 25 power ranking

21. Saint Mary’s (26-7)

The work that Saint Mary’s has done in recent years has been impressive, especially as the eternal backstop to Gonzaga. This season has been a good one in Moraga for Randy Bennett and company and they’ve certainly lived up to any expectations from the preseason. These Gaels won a game in last year’s NCAA Tournament and could certainly repeat the feat this year, even if they came up well short in their conference tournament.

Recipients of the triple-bye in the WCC Tournament, the top-seeded Gaels took care of business in a 76-69 semifinals win over BYU. Alex Ducas had 23 points and 7 rebounds while stellar freshman Aidan Mahaney added 18 points. Their Tuesday night clash with Gonzaga in the WCC championship game was far less fruitful, with Gonzaga beating them 77-51 in a game that was never close. The Gaels got a 20-point performance from Logan Johnson but shot just 33% and were outworked by the Bulldogs from the beginning.

Their two losses to Gonzaga in the last two weeks were the only defeats by more than five points this season for the Gaels. When you combine their wins over Gonzaga and San Diego State and their excellent position in the metrics, it won’t be a surprise to see the Gaels in a good spot in the NCAA Tournament next week. Current projections have them somewhere near a 6-seed, which would be a good spot for this team.