Best of the West: Gonzaga on top, followed by Arizona and Saint Mary’s as UCLA tumbles

The Best of the West offers fans a candid assessment of the top teams in the western third of the country – a collection that includes the Mountain West and the former Pac-12 schools now scattered across the ACC, Big 12, Big Ten and West Coast Conference.

(All times Pacific)

1. Gonzaga (2-0)

Preseason: 1

Results: beat Baylor 101-63 and Arizona State 88-80

Up next: vs. UMass Lowell (Friday)

Comment: They can’t all be 38-point blowout victories over top-10 opponents (Baylor). Sometimes, you just have to squeak by against the second tier.

2. Arizona (2-0)

Preseason: 2

Results: beat Canisius 93-64 and Old Dominion 102-44

Up next: at Wisconsin (Friday)

Comment: After their trip to Madison, the Wildcats have a week off to prepare for Cooper Flagg and Duke, which makes its first visit to McKale Center since 1991.

3. Saint Mary’s (3-0)

Preseason: 9

Results: beat Towson 76-69, Chattanooga 86-74 and Akron 87-68

Up next: vs. Nebraska (Sunday)

Comment: The schedule gets significantly tougher quite quickly. Or maybe not – the Cornhuskers barely beat Bethune.

4. San Francisco (2-0)

Preseason: 8

Results: beat Cal Poly 86-78 and Boise State 84-73

Up next: vs. Long Beach State (Wednesday)

Comment: If the Dons have more than two losses when West Coast Conference play begins, we would be mildly surprised.

5. Arizona State (2-1)

Preseason: Not ranked

Results: beat Idaho State 55-48 and Santa Clara 81-74, lost to Gonzaga 88-80

Up next: vs. Grand Canyon (Thursday)

Comment: The Fightin’ Hurleys are the early front-runner in the sweepstakes to produce the region’s biggest upside surprise, in part because an eight-point loss at Gonzaga translates to a victory over just about everyone else.

6. San Diego State (2-0)

Preseason: 4

Results: beat UC San Diego 63-58 and Occidental 100-49

Up next: vs. Gonzaga (Monday)

Comment: Good chance the showdown of future Pac-12 powers early next week in Viejas Arena turns into a lopsided affair in the visitor’s favor. The Zags have too many scorers; the Aztecs have too few.

7. Oregon (3-0)

Preseason: 5

Results: beat UC Riverside 91-76, Montana 79-48 and Portland 80-70 (OT)

Up next: vs. Troy (Sunday)

Comment: The Ducks were 9 seconds away from losing to Portland, a result that would have stained their resume for the next four months. But Jadrian Tracey’s layup forced overtime and led to the eventual victory.

8. Boise State (2-1)

Preseason: 6

Results: beat Oakland 87-43, lost to San Francisco 84-73, beat Corban College 100-65

Up next: vs. Clemson (Sunday)

Comment: The loss to USF won’t look as bad in three months as it does today. But the Broncos can’t afford many more in nonconference play if they hope to return to the NCAAs.

9. Grand Canyon (2-0)

Preseason: 7

Results: beat Cal State Fullerton 89-79 and Western Kentucky 74-72

Up next: vs. Arizona State (Thursday)

Comment: Lopes star Tyon Grant-Foster is expected to make his season debut against the Sun Devils. Whether he’s capable of making a lasting impact over 40 minutes is not as clear.

10. USC (2-0)

Preseason: 10

Results: beat Chattanooga 77-51 and Idaho State 75-69

Up next: vs. UT Arlington (tonight)

Comment: The schedule stiffens later this month with Cal and Saint Mary’s, followed by a round of conference play in early December. We expect the Trojans to keep right on rolling.

11. New Mexico (3-0)

Preseason: Not ranked

Results: beat Nicholls 91-84, UCLA 72-64 and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 100-81

Up next: at St. John’s (Sunday)

Comment: The Pitino Bowl this weekend in Madison Square Garden might tell us more about the Lobos than their victory over the Bruins. Certainly, it will be more challenging. They led start to finish against UCLA.

12. UCLA (2-1)

Preseason: 3

Results: beat Rider 85-50, lost to New Mexico 72-64, beat Boston U 71-40

Up next: vs. Lehigh (Friday)

Comment: You might find this hard to believe (sarcasm alert), but the Bruins didn’t shoot well in the loss to Nevada. Remove forward Tyler Bilodeau (and his 23 points) from the equation, and the rest of the team made just 12 field goals.

13. Nevada (2-0)

Preseason: 11

Results: beat Sam Houston 91-75 and Washington 63-53

Up next: vs. Weber State (Wednesday)

Comment: We weren’t the least bit surprised by the Wolf Pack’s victory over Washington, which says a little something about UW and a lot of something about the solid state of Nevada’s program in the sixth year of the Steve Alford era.

14. Utah State (2-0)

Preseason: 12

Results: beat Alcorn 101-46 and Charlotte 103-74

Up next: vs. Westminster (Wednesday)

Comment: In the absence of all-everything big man Great Osobor, who followed coach Danny Sprinkle to Washington, guard Ian Martinez has assumed the role of primary scorer.

His considerable skill set fits the requirements.

15. UC Irvine (3-0)

Preseason: 14

Results: beat Chapman 82-52, LMU 66-51 and Northern Iowa 80-60

Up next: vs. Pepperdine (Saturday)

Comment: All Anteaters coach Russell Turner does is win, year after year after year.

Also considered: Brigham Young, Cal, Colorado State, Santa Clara, Seattle, Stanford, UC Santa Barbara, UNLV, Washington and Washington State