It's a real shame to see how bad the West Coast Conference is. In our second week of power rankings, there are only three legit teams in this conference. Gonzaga, St. Mary's, and San Diego have all been impressive throughout the season. Portland has been another bright spot in the WCC but won't challenge for the championship. After that...it gets really bad. Here is how they stack up after a couple conference games...
| Rank | EDZ's Pick | Movement | BuffZag's Pick | Movement |
| 1 | St. Mary's Gaels (17-1) | - |
Gonzaga Bulldogs (12-4) | - |
| 2 | Gonzaga Bulldogs (12-4) | - |
St. Mary's Gaels (17-1) | - |
| 3 | San Diego Toreros (12-7) | - |
San Diego Toreros (12-7) | +1 |
| 4 | Portland Pilots (11-7) | - |
Portland Pilots (11-7) | +1 |
| 5 | San Francisco Dons (8-11) |
+1 |
San Francisco Dons (8-11) | +1 |
| 6 | Pepperdine Waves (4-15) |
+1 |
Santa Clara Broncos (7-13) | -3 |
| 7 | Santa Clara Broncos (7-13) |
-2 |
Pepperdine Waves (4-15) | - |
| 8 | Loyola Marymount Lions (1-18) | - |
Loyola Marymount Lions (1-18) | - |
continue reading this post for our rankings explained...
Everydayezag's rankings explained...
1) St. Mary's (17-1; 4-0): The Gaels have now won a school record 14 straight games as they head into a huge game against USD. I expect them to remain at the top of my power rankings until the January 29 match up against Gonzaga.
2) Gonzaga (12-4; 3-0): Austin Daye has started to emerge as a go-to scorer for this team. He has scored 20 or more points in three of the last four games, and is the type of talent that can carry this team to the WCC title.
3) USD (12-7; 4-0): This team just finds ways to win. Despite losing Brandon Johnson to a season-ending injury, the Toreros are capable of competing for the WCC title. Gyno Pomare is starting to provide a consistent threat in the post for this team.
4) Portland (11-7; 2-1): Where did Jared Stohl come from? The sophomore sharp shooter scored 33 points in the 78-60 victory over USF. The Pilots will cause problems for every opponent in the WCC because of their style of play and toughness.
5) USF (8-11; 0-4): Despite being run out of the gym by both Portland and Gonzaga this week, I was impressed by how hard the Dons played in both losses. Any team that has a player like Dior Lowhorn can cause some upsets in the WCC.
6) Pepperdine (4-15; 1-2): Pepperdine is bad....I mean really bad. However, they do have Mychal Thompson, and they do play relatively hard for Tom Asbury. I firmly expect Pepperdine to be #7 in my ranking once Santa Clara figures everything out.
7) Santa Clara (7-13; 0-4): It's tough to ignore the 95-53 loss to Gonzaga, but I was pleased to see the Broncos play Portland tough. In the 53-52 loss, John Bryant scored 15 points and grabbed 22 rebounds. At some point they must figure out how to win close games.
8) LMU (1-18; 0-3): At least it can't get any worse for LMU. With the news that Max Good is now the permanent head coach, hopefully LMU can try to make something positive out of this already disastrous season.
BuffZag's rankings explained...
1) Gonzaga- We'll be able to settle the debate in ten days over the top spot but for now I still have the Zags as the team to beat. Saint Mary's has had one hell of a run but I am more impressed with the way Gonzaga is playing right now and their body of work.
2) St. Mary's- Like I said, the Gaels have the opportunity to take down the Zags in ten days. Samhan and Simpson have been the keys in their early season success and really drive this team. They're a sure fire NCAA Tournament team.
3) San Diego- This is the sleeper team. Everyone thought that at the start of the year it was going to be a three team conference but then Brandon Johnson got hurt and everyone wrote off the Toreros. They have proceeded to play some excellent basketball and are a team to watch.
4) Portland- Led by Nik Raivio, the Pilots have exceeded expectations so far this season. Eric Reveno has finally instilled his tough attitude in Portland and their young players are really starting to respond.
5) San Francisco- This is where it all gets a little bit hazy. The Dons have an outstanding talent in Dior Lowhorn but the rest of the team is below average to say the least.
6) Santa Clara- How did I put them third last week with a straight face? I was so excited to watch John Bryant play live and in person and I came away very disappointed. He'll continue to have nice stats but the Broncos will continue to struggle.
7) Pepperdine- I have hopes for Pepperdine for some odd reason. Mychal Thompson is a very good player and they have tons of youth but it's not pretty in Malibu right now...
8) LMU- What else can you say? The walls have caved in on this program. Bayno is out, their star recruit has asked for his release and the Lions have won one game so far. Yikes.