Notes on Saint Mary's 71-51 thrashing of USF on Thursday night and a look ahead to the Gaels' game at Washington State on Saturday …
As of Friday morning, the West Coast Conference boasted six teams in the top 86 of the NET rankings: Gonzaga (19), Saint Mary's (25), Santa Clara (56), Oregon State (60), San Francisco (72) and Washington State (86).
Before the Gaels (17-3, 7-0) took on USF on Thursday night in Moraga, they had built a 6-0 conference record against teams in the bottom half of the standings. In their first game against one of the upper-echelon teams, the Gaels put together an upper-echelon performance.