MORAGA, Calif. — There is no hotter team in the WCC than the Saint Mary's Gaels. The Gaels have won each of their first nine WCC contests, 10 in a row, and 15 of their last 16 en route to taking sole possession of first place with a two game cushion in the conference. Saint Mary's will have only three more true road contests for the season, two of which come this week, as they head to Pacific and Portland.

THE DETAILS
Saint Mary's Gaels at Pacific Tigers
Tuesday, February 6 at 8 PM
Alex G. Spanos Center – Stockton, Calif. 
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Saint Mary's Gaels at Portland Pilots
Saturday, February 10 at 5:30 PM
Chiles Center – Portland, Ore. 
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PAST THE HALFWAY MARK
All but one WCC team have surpassed the halfway points of their conference slate, and the Gaels are in the driver's seat at this point. Saint Mary's has defeated every WCC school, except for Pepperdine, who they have yet to play, and sits unbeaten in first place with a two game lead over Gonzaga and San Francisco. The Gaels still have a tough slate that will feature third place San Francisco, surging San Diego and a rematch with Gonzaga, but all three of those contests will be played within the friendly confines of UCU Pavilion.

TAKING CARE OF THE BASKETBALL
The Gaels turned the ball over just five times against Gonzaga. It was their fourth consecutive game with fewer than 10 turnovers, and their 10th overall this season. In those instances, Saint Mary's is 9-1, falling only to Utah when having less than 10 giveaways. Since the start of conference play, the Gaels lead the WCC with a 2.11 assist to turnover ratio with only 70 turnovers over the last nine games. 

ABOUT THE TIGERS
Pacific sits at 6-18 and is still in search of their first WCC win, but third year Head Coach Leonard Perry has certainly had his team moving in the right direction since the Gaels routed the Tigers 76-28 in Moraga two weeks ago. Over their last three games, Pacific's average margin of defeat has been less than seven points, taking Gonzaga, Portland and San Francisco to the brink. Judson Martindale is the Tigers' lone double digit scorer, doing most of his damage beyond the arc as a 40% three point shooter, while point guard Moe Odum ranks second in the conference with 115 assists. The biggest strength for the Tigers is their depth, with 11 players averaging at least 10 minutes per game. They are the lowest scoring team in the conference. All-time, the Gaels are 82-44 against the Tigers. 

ABOUT THE PILOTS
The Portland Pilots are trying to make a late surge in the WCC, having won each of their last two matchups. Overall, the Pilots are 9-15 and sit in seventh in the conference at 3-6. That said, they have their toughest week of the season coming up, taking on Gonzaga on Wednesday before Saturday's date with the Gaels. Third year Head Coach Shantay Legans has amassed a 41-48 record in his time at Portland, and hopes to climb closer to 0.500 as the season progresses. The Pilots can be an extremely explosive offensive team, headlined by double digit scorers Tyler Robertson (16.5 PPG), Vukasin Masic (13.2 PPG), Tyler Harris (11.8 PPG) and Yuto Yamanouchi-Williams (10.5 PPG). Portland is a team that lives and dies by the three, averaging nine made three pointers and 26 attempted three pointers per game. Starting point guard Tyler Robertson and reserve point guard Juan Sebastian Gorosito each have hoisted up over 130 three point attempts, while Vukasin Masic and Yuto Yamanouchi Williams each are shooting better than 40% from three. Defensively, however, this team struggles, as was on display against the Gaels a month ago, as the Pilots allowed the Gaels to shoot 56% from the field, 50% from three, and forced just five turnovers, as Saint Mary's powered past Portland, 95-52. All-time, the Gaels are 73-30 against the Pilots.

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