The Saint Mary's Gaels completed a 1-1 week in which they lost a tough road contest against the Gonzaga Bulldogs and won a home game against the Santa Clara Broncos. They retain a one-game lead in the West Coast Conference, but they will likely slip a bit when the new college rankings come out Monday morning. They should not slip too far as there was quite a bit of turmoil in the Top 25 this week.
Saint Mary's currently sits at 23-3 and is ranked No. 16 in the AP Poll and No. 13 in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll. UNLV will likely climb ahead of Saint Mary's, as will Marquette, even in a Coaches Poll that has them six spots back of the Gaels. Wisconsin will also gain some ground, although it remains to be seen how much. Other than that, anybody within striking distance of Saint Mary's also lost at least once this week.
This will be an interesting week to gauge just what the rest of the country, both media and coaches, think of Saint Mary's. They lost a road game against an always solid Gonzaga. Will it get some measure of respect, or will the rest of the country drop SMC like a rock?