We're three weeks into the season and the season-long narratives are starting to ever-so-slightly begin to take shape. The WCC is looking to be about as competitive at the top as its been in recent memory, with four teams well within the top 100 of KenPom, two of which playing some of the best basketball in the country over these twenty-some days.

But there remains a hopeful case for a three-bid league, something that hasn't been done since 2021-2022. This week we'll look at a handful of WCC players that elevate their clubs and look at the MWC preseason favorite, who added to the conference's laundry list of losses to lower level competition.

Gaels’ sharpshooting tandem

We’re five games in and the Saint Mary’s offense still isn’t showing any signs of slowing. The Gaels are shooting 45.6% from deep and hold an effective field goal percentage of 58.5%. The perimeter sharpshooting has been provided up and down the roster, but most notably from returning sophomore Mikey Lewis and redshirt freshman Liam Campbell.

Fairly or unfairly, questions were raised whether Lewis would be able to turn a corner and be efficient on higher volume after hot and cold spells throughout his freshman season. But those concerns seem to be relieved early on, averaging 21 points with an effective field goal percentage of 65%. 

Lewis, in an expanded role, is dangerous because of how quickly he can explode as a scorer. Just ask North Texas, who Lewis outscored 18-17 by himself in the first half of their matchup last Friday. Headed into their game against Arkansas State, he averaged 1.52 points per possession as a spot-up shooter, with an effective field goal percentage of 75% and 1.21 points per possession in the pick-and-roll, according to Synergy.

And then in comes Campbell off the bench, averaging 10.2 points on 62.5% three-point shooting and an effective field goal percentage of an absurd 92.31% on 26 attempts. Campbell serves as a catch-and-shoot sniper, fulfilling a role that Randy Bennett’s team had been missing since the departure of Alex Ducas after the 2023-2024 season, albeit in a slightly different context as a guard. 

Campbell has shown an ability to shoot in the midrange and locate decent looks in the paint. Having this level of shooting from deep significantly lowers the pressure for the inexperienced front court who are still developing and allows for better spacing for forward Paulius Murauskus, who is averaging 18.4 points over his first five games.

Herb Sendek found another one in Bukky Oboye

The Santa Clara Broncos are now 5-0 on the season and have climbed from 105 to 71 in KenPom since the season started and rank 31st in Torvik when you remove preseason bias. The Broncos find themselves skyrocketing up analytics, thanks in large part to the talented wings mentioned in last week’s round-up and the impact from the guard and center positions.

We’ll no doubt talk about the high-level execution from Brenton Knapper and Christian Hammond in the backcourt as the season goes on if Herb Sendek’s game is going to play like this. But what’s become abundantly clear over Santa Clara’s last three games is that the Broncos have found their front-court piece in redshirt sophomore Bukky Oboye.

Oboye is 7-1 and has turned a corner with his touch and fluidity, looking like a potentially game-changing two-way player while averaging 10.3 points, 1.5 rebounds and 2.8 blocks in just 13.5 minutes per game. The big man played just 1 minute in the first two contests of the season after rolling his ankle on a breakaway dunk in the season opener.

It is worth noting that Oboye needs to work on avoiding foul trouble, averaging a foul every 3.7 minutes over the last three games. But to say he’s taking advantage of his limited minutes on the court is a vast understatement. His per-40 in points is in the 98th-percentile, blocks 100th-percentile and steals 89th-percentile. His Hakeem percentage (sum of a player’s block and steal percentages) is 27.8%, the highest in the country.

What makes Oboye such a dynamic piece is his mobility and ability to extend his offense and defense out to the perimeter, making 2 of his 4 attempts from outside, with good form and rhythm and recording blocks from above the nail of the free throw line. His game is complementary to modern offense, with 14 of his 22 attempts coming at the rim, where he’s shooting 85.7% largely as a roll man.

Oboye’s size at the rim deters opponents and is a major component to the Broncos’ defense, giving up just 57% shooting at the rim. He holds an 87.2 defensive rating, balanced by his 140 offensive rating on 26% usage. Santa Clara may need to win one of their matchups against Saint Mary’s or Gonzaga to have a shot at an at-large bid, and if Oboye is able to grow into his role and learn how to stay on the floor, Santa Clara has a real shot to play in the tournament for the first time in 30 seasons.

San Diego State and the down bad Mountain West

The Mountain West Conference has not come out of the gates swinging, losing games against the Ohio Valley, Big West, Atlantic Sun, Big South, Big Sky, Mid American, Northeast and even a Division II school. And after Wednesday night, you can add the Sun Belt after conference favorites San Diego State lost in double overtime to Troy.

The loss is puzzling, considering how good the Aztecs looked in their first two games, winning by 24 points in each. They were the top “and receiving votes” in last week’s AP Poll. However, the Aztecs were impeded by their inability to handle the ball effectively, committing 20 turnovers at a rate of 22%. 

But as Aztec fans begin contemplating whether their team is already in scrambling mode for their tournament resume, it's worth noting that Troy does have the prospects to be a team somewhere in between 76-160 in the NET rankings, which is good enough for the loss to avoid being deemed flat-out disqualifying for March as an at-large bid.

San Diego State is still very much rounding into shape as well. Senior guard Reese Dixon-Waters missed the season opener and junior guard Latrell Davis and sophomore big man Magoon Gwath haven’t suited up for the team’s first three contests. It’s an absurd amount of depth, allowing Brian Dutcher to go 9-11 deep in his rotation. However, that will also require patience as the team takes on a different look once those two suit up.

Gwath’s absence is clearly being felt in terms of interior defense, going from a defensive field goal percentage of 56% at the rim to 63%. San Diego State has also seen a 5-point spike in paint points allowed this season compared to last against Quad 3 and 4 level opponents. Their blocks per game have gone from 3 per matchup against Quad 3 and 4 to 1.3 this season.

The components of another solid Dutcher team are there, as a havoc-causing, turnover-creating team on the defensive end. But if the team needs to limit their own errors and bring down their 18.2% turnover rate, which puts them in the bottom 20% in the country for taking care of the basketball.

Key Weekend Games

Seattle at Stanford (Friday, November 21st, 10 pm ET)

Despite the heartbreaking one-possession loss to Cal Poly in their second game, Seattle has been a fun team early on out west. Chris Victor’s team has transformed into an offense-minded squad as they enter one of the more offense-first conferences in teh country: the WCC. The Redhawks have the eighth-best team effective field goal shooting in the country, shooting 62.4%. If they can take care of the basketball and hit shots, things could get sweaty down in Silicon Valley.

San Francisco vs. Minnesota (Saturday, November 22nd, 5:30 pm ET)

Chris Gerlufsen’s Dons get another shot at a quality win this weekend when they face the Gophers in a neutral game played in South Dakota. San Francisco forward Ndewedo Newbury has yet to play this season, and he’d certainly be a big help against Minnesota’s front-court forwards Cade Tyson and Jaylen Crocker-Johnson. If the Dons' offense is near their average, it’s going to be tough for the Gophers to pull this one out.

Utah State and the Charleston Classic ( Friday, November 21st, 1 pm ET and Sunday, November 23rd, TBD)

After San Diego State, there’s a considerable void in solid expectations for the Mountain West. If the league has any chance of maintaining its multibid output this season, it’s going to need its upper echelon teams, like Utah State, to secure wins in this early window of the non-conference. As an appetizer for Feast Week, the Aggies face off against Tulane and then either Davidson or Boston College on Sunday. Utah State should be able to leave South Carolina with two wins this weekend. But if they don’t, it could be a difficult winter for the MWC.