NCAA Basketball: Houston rises, Duke, Arizona, UConn and Baylor fall in latest top-25 power rankings

14. Saint Mary’s Gaels - 23-6 (14-0 WCC)

With UConn and Samford recently losing, the nation’s longest win streak now lies in the WCC, with Saint Mary’s still unbeaten in WCC play. But it’s not all roses for the program, as they lost starting forward Joshua Jefferson for the rest of the season. The sophomore had a nice breakout campaign, averaging 10.2 ppg, 6.5 rpg, and 2.3 apg on the season.

We’ll see how Saint Mary’s looks without him but they managed to hold on in its first test without him. It was a hard-fought home win against San Francisco, with the final score being 70-66. Big man Mitchell Saxon was the MVP of the game with 20 points and 13 rebounds, while Alex Ducas had 18 points and six rebounds.

The next game against San Diego went a lot easier, coasting to an 88-62 win. Saint Mary’s shot 56% from the field, with Saxen having 20 points to lead the way. Ducas had 18 points and 12 rebounds, while Augustas Marciulionis had 13 points, 10 assists, and four steals. Mason Forbes, who is getting the start and minutes in place of Jefferson, had 13 total points on the week.

With the win, Saint Mary’s has clinched at least a share of the WCC regular-season title. They can get it outright and the No. 1 seed in the upcoming tournament with a road win at Pepperdine on Thursday. But they also host Gonzaga right after, looking for not only a regular-season sweep but potentially sending the Bulldogs to the NIT if they can’t win in Vegas.