Six WCC Men's Basketball Teams Rank in Top 80 of NCAA Net Rankings

Following two wins over West Coast Conference opponents in three days, the Washington State Cougars men's basketball team are riding a wave of positivity. WSU are up to a 15-5 record with a 5-2 mark in conference play.

As the season rages on with the month of January more than half over, WSU are one of six WCC teams within 2.5 games of the conference lead. All six of those teams are currently ranked in the top 80 of the NCAA’s NET computer rankings updated January 19.

The NET rankings take into account winning percentage, game results, strength of schedule, game location, net offensive and defensive efficiency, as well as quality of wins and losses.

Mark Few's Gonzaga Bulldogs dropped contests to Oregon State and Santa Clara this week and sit 1.5 games behind the conference leaders. Even so, Gonzaga are the highest-ranked WCC squad at #18 in the rankings The Saint Mary’s Gaels are first in the WCC with a record of 16-3 and 6-0 league record. However, they are ten spots behind Gonzaga at #28.

WSU's fellow Pac-12 holdover Oregon State are #60, following one of the program's biggest wins under Wayne Tinkle: a 97-89 win over Gonzaga in Corvallis on Thursday. However, OSU followed that with a road loss to San Francisco. The Beavs are 14-6 and 2.5 games out from the conference lead.

Santa Clara's win over Gonzaga on Saturday night helped propel the Broncos to the #62 spot. That marked their first win at Gonzaga since 2007. While they're 13-7 overall, Santa Clara are 5-2 in the WCC and 1.5 games out. San Francisco also crack the top-70 at #68, largely thanks to league-leading scorer Malik Thomas (20.4 points per game). The Dons are 16-5 and one game behind Saint Mary's.

Finally, David Riley's Washington State squad comes in at #78. The Cougars are also 1.5 games out from the top spot in the league in Riley's first season as head coach. The Cougs took down both San Diego and Portland this week.

WSU will continue their season on January 23 at Santa Clara tipoff is scheduled for 8 PM PT.

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