Saint Mary's won 83-57 at Pepperdine late Thursday to improve to 24-6 overall, and 15-0 in the West Coast Conference, with just one regular-season game remaining. Everybody else in the WCC has at least two losses in the league.
So that'll do it.
The Gaels are officially the outright WCC champs regardless of what happens Saturday against Gonzaga. This marks just the second time in the past 24 seasons that somebody has prevented the Zags from getting at least a share of the West Coast Conference regular-season title. So it's history, kinda.
"That was the goal going into this thing — and they got it done," said Saint Mary's coach Randy Bennett. "[It's] hard to [win it outright] with Gonzaga in the league."
For those keeping track, Bennett now has five WCC regular-season titles -- two outright. And it's also worth noting that this is the 24th straight year that either Saint Mary's or Gonzaga has won at least a share of the WCC regular-season title. The last team besides the Gaels or Zags to win the WCC outright was Pepperdine in 2000.
"It's a really good feeling," said Saint Mary's guard Augustas Marčiulionis, "to have that title and not have to share it with anyone."
That Saturday's game will have no impact on the WCC standings — Saint Mary's is winning the league no matter; Gonzaga is finishing second in the league no matter what — doesn't mean it's not massive.
Because it's still massive.
Gonzaga needs a win to additionally improve its shaky at-large resume after Thursday's win at San Francisco while Saint Mary's needs a win to complete a rare perfect run through its conference schedule. Plus, it's Gonzaga-Saint Mary's. And Gonzaga-Saint Mary's tends to deliver.
"It's a huge rivalry," Marčiulionis said. "It's probably one of the best rivalries in college basketball."
The Gaels are 24th in Friday morning's updated CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings, where Purdue remains No. 1 for the 10th consecutive day. Gonzaga is not in the Top 25 And 1 -- but the Zags are a No. 11 seed in Jerry Palm's latest Bracketology. He has them playing Utah in the First Four as one of the "last four in" the bracket.
Friday's Top 25 And 1 rankings
Rk | Teams | Chg | Rcrd | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Zach Edey finished with 35 points and 15 rebounds in Sunday's 84-76 win at Michigan. The Boilermakers' next game is Saturday against Michigan State. | -- | 34-5 |
| 2 |  | Cam Spencer finished with 25 points and four rebounds in Saturday's 78-054 win over Villanova. The Huskies' next game is Sunday against Seton Hall. | -- | 37-3 |
| 3 |  | L.J. Cryer finished with 22 points and three steals in Tuesday's 67-59 win over Cincinnati. The Cougars' next game is Saturday at Oklahoma. | -- | 32-5 |
| 4 |  | Dalton Knecht finished with 39 points and three steals in Wednesday's 92-84 win over Auburn. The Vols' next game is Saturday at Alabama. | -- | 27-9 |
| 5 |  | Demarion Watson finished with 15 points and nine rebounds in Wednesday's 58-45 win over Oklahoma. The Cyclones' next game is Saturday at UCF. | -- | 29-8 |
| 6 |  | Kam Jones finished with 17 points and two assists in Wednesday's 91-69 win over Providence. The Golden Eagles' next game is Saturday at Creighton. | -- | 27-10 |
| 7 |  | RJ Davis finished with 42 points and four steals in Monday's 75-71 win over Miami. The Tar Heels' next game is Saturday against NC State. | -- | 29-8 |
| 8 |  | Oumar Ballo finished with 14 points and 13 rebounds in Wednesday's 85-67 win at Arizona State. The Wildcats' next game is Saturday against Oregon. | -- | 27-9 |
| 9 |  | Ryan Kalkbrenner finished with 23 points and six rebounds in Wednesday's 85-64 win over Seton Hall. The Bluejays' next game is Saturday against Marquette. | -- | 25-10 |
| 10 |  | Nick Timberlake was 1 of 9 from the field in Tuesday's 76-68 loss to BYU. The Jayhawks' next game is Saturday at Baylor. | -- | 23-11 |
| 11 |  | Ja'Kobe Walter finished with 16 points and four rebounds in Monday's 62-54 win at TCU. The Bears' next game is Saturday against Kansas. | -- | 24-11 |
| 12 |  | Auburn allowed the Vols to shoot 50.9% from the field in Wednesday's 92-84 loss . The Tigers' next game is Saturday against Mississippi State. | -- | 27-8 |
| 13 |  | DaRon Holmes II finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds in Tuesday's 80-66 win over Davidson. The Flyers' next game is Friday at Loyola Chicago. | -- | 25-8 |
| 14 |  | Great Osobor finished with 21 points and 11 rebounds in Tuesday's 77-73 win at Fresno State. The Aggies' next game is Friday against Air Force. | -- | 28-7 |
| 15 |  | Jeremy Roach finished with 19 points and six rebounds in Wednesday's 84-59 win over Louisville. The Blue Devils' next game is Saturday against Virginia. | -- | 27-9 |
| 16 |  | Jaedon LeDee finished with 27 points and 11 rebounds in Tuesday's 72-64 win over San Jose State. The Aztecs' next game is Tuesday at UNLV. | -- | 26-11 |
| 17 |  | Marcus Domask finished with 22 points and five assists in Wednesday's 105-97 win over Minnesota. The Illini's next game is Saturday at Wisconsin. | -- | 29-9 |
| 18 |  | Mark Sears finished with 26 points and five rebounds in Wednesday's 103-88 win at Ole Miss. The Crimson Tide's next game is Saturday against Tennessee. | -- | 25-12 |
| 19 |  | Dallin Hall finished with 18 points and four rebounds in Tuesday's 76-68 win at Kansas. The Cougars' next game is Saturday against TCU. | -- | 23-11 |
| 20 |  | Reed Sheppard finished with 32 points and seven assists in Tuesday's 91-89 win at Mississippi State. The Wildcats' next game is Saturday against Arkansas. | -- | 23-10 |
| 21 |  | Myles Rice finished with 16 points and eight assists in Thursday's 75-72 win over USC. The Cougars' next game is Saturday against UCLA. | -- | 25-10 |
| 22 |  | Meechie Johnson finished with 22 points and five rebounds in Wednesday's 70-68 win at Texas A&M. The Gamecocks' next game is Saturday against Florida. | -- | 26-8 |
| 23 |  | Tyrese Samuel finished with 28 points and 10 rebounds in Wednesday's 83-74 win over Missouri. The Gators' next game is Saturday at South Carolina. | -- | 24-12 |
| 24 |  | Augustus Marciulionis finished with 17 points and 11 assists in Thursday's 83-57 win at Pepperdine. The Gaels' next game is Saturday against Gonzaga. | -- | 26-8 |
| 25 |  | Chase Hunter finished with 15 points and two assists in Tuesday's 69-62 win over Pitt. The Tigers' next game is Saturday at Notre Dame. | 1 | 24-12 |
| 26 |  | Nick Martinelli finished with 27 points and seven rebounds in Wednesday's 68-61 win at Maryland. The Wildcats' next game is Saturday against Iowa. | NR | 22-12 |
