No. 15 Saint Mary’s will have important business to tend to first, in advance of a highly anticipated rematch with No. 12 Gonzaga that looms on the horizon.

The Gaels host Pacific on Thursday night in Moraga, Calif., and a victory would allow Saint Mary’s to grab a share of the West Coast Conference regular-season title for the first time since 2015-16.

Gonzaga has won the crown the past six seasons but the Gaels (24-5, 13-1 WCC) are in the driver’s seat thanks to their 78-70 overtime home win over the Bulldogs on Feb. 4. Saint Mary’s plays the Zags in Spokane, Wash., on Saturday night in the regular-season finale.

The Gaels protected their WCC lead with a 71-65 home victory over BYU last Saturday. It was their 15th win in the past 16 games.

Logan Johnson scored 27 points against the Cougars for his third stellar outing in four games. Johnson scored a then-career-high 31 points in a 78-74 overtime road loss to Loyola Marymount on Feb. 9 and established a new one two nights later, when he tallied 34 in an 81-64 road victory over Portland.

Johnson shot 60 percent or better in each of the big outings, including 12 of 19 against BYU. Two nights earlier, he missed all three field-goal attempts and had just three points in a 62-59 road win over San Diego.

“I try to pick my spots and I felt like I wasn’t being myself in San Diego,” said Johnson, who ranks second on the Gaels with a 13.8 scoring average. “It’s always a goal to be more aggressive. … Whenever I can find those gaps and be aggressive and play my brand of basketball, which my teammates and coaches encourage me to do, I feel there’s no telling what can happen.”

Gaels coach Randy Bennett is on board with Johnson’s on-court style.

“Logan’s inspiring, the way he plays,” Bennett said. “He plays so hard. He’s a really smart player, too. He gets everybody in that arena going and he gets everybody on the team going and he certainly gets himself going.”

Aidan Mahaney leads Saint Mary’s with a 15.1 scoring average while Alex Ducas and Mitchell Saxen each contribute 12.2 per game. Saxen is the leading rebounder at 8.4. Ducas (73) and Mahaney (67) have combined for more than 60 percent of the Gaels’ treys.

Saint Mary’s is playing Pacific for the 125th time but has dominated the recent meetings, winning 15 of the past 16.

The Tigers’ most recent victory was memorable — 107-99 in quadruple-overtime on Jan. 4, 2020.

Pacific (13-16, 6-8) has lost its past two games and four of five.

The Tigers had six players score in double digits on Saturday but lost 90-88 to host Loyola Marymount.

Pacific led by 11 with 3:23 left before the Lions closed with a 15-2 surge. Loyola Marymount held a 34-22 rebounding advantage and an 11-2 edge in second-chance points.

“Rebounds and second-chance points were the difference,” Tigers coach Leonard Perry said afterward. “We had the lead, got crucial stops, but couldn’t get the rebounds.”

Judson Martindale was 8-of-9 shooting and matched his season best of 19 points. Keylan Boone scored 15 points to inch his team-best scoring average to 14 per game. Jordan Ivy-Curry (10.3) and Luke Avdalovic (10.1) also average in double figures.

–Field Level Media

Familiar stakes surround Georgetown’s clash with longtime Big East foe St. John’s on Wednesday night at Washington, D.C.

For the Hoyas (7-21, 2-15 Big East), the showdown brings a chance to win consecutive league games for the first time since March 2021. Meanwhile, the Red Storm (16-12, 6-11) aim to use their date with the league’s worst team to recover from a loss against Creighton.

The same applied in the teams’ initial matchup on Jan. 29 at Madison Square Garden. Georgetown was fresh off its first league win in 29 games while St. John’s limped in following a 104-76 drubbing at the hands of the Bluejays.

The Red Storm ultimately eked out a 75-73 win over the Hoyas, keyed by AJ Storr’s game-winning 3-pointer in the final seconds.

Georgetown lost its next five games until it upset Butler 68-62 at Indianapolis on Sunday to snap a 22-game road losing streak that dated back to Feb. 27, 2021.

The Hoyas fed on 17 points from Brandon Murray and a 45-29 rebounding advantage to win Sunday after trailing by as many as 13 in the first half.

“For the most part we fought. We made mistakes in the first half, I got on them at halftime (and) they stayed focused,” Georgetown head coach Patrick Ewing said. “Everyone did some positive things to be able to come away with a win.”

The Red Storm tightened up defensively in Saturday’s rematch against No. 18 Creighton, even holding the Bluejays scoreless over a six-minute period in the second half to take a one-point lead at 49-48 with under 12 minutes to play.

However, an 11-0 Creighton run down the stretch ultimately proved too much for coach Mike Anderson’s unit to overcome in a 77-67 defeat at New York.

“I think we got away from the things we did to get ourselves back in it,” Anderson said. “We tried to make the home-run play when all we probably needed to do was make three or four more passes. I thought we had Creighton on their heels, and we didn’t take advantage of it.”

Joel Soriano led St. John’s with 15 points, while David Jones added 14 off the bench in the loss.

The Red Storm have won the last four meetings against the Hoyas and lead 64-57 in a series that dates to 1909.

–Field Level Media

Kentucky will look to continue its late push toward an NCAA Tournament berth when it plays at Southeastern Conference rival Florida on Wednesday in Gainesville, Fla.

The Wildcats (18-9, 9-5 SEC) have won two straight and are coming off a 66-54 victory over then-No. 10 Tennessee on Saturday.

ESPN projects Kentucky as an 8-seed in the NCAA Tournament in its latest bracketology. But the Wildcats can’t afford a late-season stumble if they want to return to the NCAA Tournament for the 11th time in 14 seasons under coach John Calipari.

“Talking us out of the NCAA Tournament does not work,” Calipari said. “You either play yourself in or you play yourself out …

“Everything is us going forward. So we have a tough game. We got road games, two tough road games. We got two tough home games. Play the games. Let’s see how we are. Let’s see if we get healthy. Let’s see if we get better.”

Of late, Kentucky has had success working the ball inside to center Oscar Tshiebwe (15.0 points, 13.8 rebounds) and forward Chris Livingston, who earned SEC freshman of the week honors after averaging 12.5 points and 7.5 rebounds in wins over Mississippi State and Tennessee.

Cason Wallace scored 20 points in Kentucky’s 72-67 win over Florida on Feb. 4.

Florida (14-13, 7-7) struggled in its first game without leading scorer, rebounder and shot blocker Colin Castleton, falling 84-65 at Arkansas last Saturday. Castleton broke his hand in Florida’s 79-64 win over Ole Miss on Feb. 15 and is out for the season.

Without Castleton’s ability to protect the rim (3.0 blocks per game), Florida surrendered 52 points in the paint in the Arkansas loss.

“Collectively we weren’t strong enough, weren’t tough enough in terms of keeping them out of the paint,” Gators coach Todd Golden said. “We knew going into that game it was going to be a challenge as we try to re-invent ourselves.”

The Gators will look for freshman guard Riley Kugel to continue to step up offensively in Castleton’s absence. Kugel has scored in double figures in four straight games, averaging 15.5 points per game during that span.

“We can still compete,” Golden said. “We have four games left in the regular season. All four are winnable games for us, one way or the other. Obviously, it’s going to be more difficult for us now, but I want to make sure guys are going about it with the mentality of we’re here to win every game.”

– Field Level Media

If Minnesota’s players were wondering what life in the NBA would be like, they are getting a taste of it this week.

On Wednesday night, when Minnesota (7-18, 1-14 Big Ten) plays at Maryland (18-9, 9-7), the Golden Gophers will be in the middle of an NBA-style three-game road trip.

The schedule includes four games in a span of eight days, necessitated by Minnesota’s postponement of a contest earlier this month at Illinois because of COVID-19 health and safety protocols.

The makeup came Monday night when the Golden Gophers lost on the road to the Illini, 78-69. That game came two days after Minnesota fell 76-69 at home to Penn State.

It’s a rugged slate for a team already hampered by injuries and saddled with a 10-game losing streak.

On Monday night at Illinois, Jamison Battle had a season-high 31 points but the Golden Gophers got zero points in 33 minutes from their bench.

One of the injured Golden Gophers, Dawson Garcia, returned Saturday after missing six games and provided 41 points and 15 rebounds in the two defeats.

“We show up in the first half of some games and then in other games it’s the second half,” Minnesota coach Ben Johnson said. “We have to find a way for 40 minutes to combine it.”

Maryland, coming off a 70-66 overtime loss Sunday at Nebraska, will be happy to return home where they are 8-0 in conference games.

At Nebraska, Julian Reese continued to show his progression as an interior force with 16 points and 16 rebounds. Jahmir Young added 16 points and six assists but missed an open look at the end of regulation.

“We had our opportunities,” Maryland coach Kevin Willard said. “I love our shot at the end of regulation but give them credit.”

Donta Scott continued his struggles on the road as he made just 2 of 16 shots from the floor. In seven league losses, Scott is shooting just 29.1 percent from the field.

Maryland’s lone road win in the Big Ten came at Minnesota, 81-46, earlier this month. It was the Terps’ eighth straight win in the series.

–Field Level Media

At this time last year — heck, at this time last month — the thought of Northwestern contending for a Big Ten Conference title seemed downright laughable.

Guess who might be cackling at this time next month?

The 21st-ranked Wildcats took full advantage of a three-game homestand, upsetting then-No. 1 Purdue, holding off then-No. 14 Indiana and then blitzing Iowa 80-60 on Sunday to wind up in the Top 25 for the first time this season.

And Northwestern also used that stretch to vault into contention for a Big Ten championship. The Wildcats (20-7, 11-5) are just 1 1/2 games behind Purdue and have put themselves in position for a double-bye at the conference tournament.

They can take another step in that direction Thursday night when they aim for a season sweep of instate rival Illinois in Champaign, Ill.

Northwestern has hung its hat on defense. Former Southern Illinois coach Chris Lowery was hired as an assistant with instructions to fix the defense. He’s done that and more, transforming the team into an attacking unit that forces turnovers while protecting the rim.

The rout of Iowa was the Wildcats at their best. They hassled the Hawkeyes into 15 turnovers and 42.6 percent shooting while canning 49.1 percent from the field, including 10 of 20 from the 3-point line.

Guard Boo Buie played at an All-Big Ten level with 23 points and eight assists, while Ty Berry added 16 points.

“This isn’t luck. It can’t be luck at this point,” Buie said.

Per kenpom.com, Northwestern’s defense ranks in the top 40 nationally in effective field goal percentage (47.6) and turnover rate (21.9). Its block rate of 13.9 ranks 16th. It’s adding up to the program’s second-ever NCAA Tournament bid, barring a late collapse.

Illinois (18-9, 9-7) avoided the dreaded bad loss Monday night, toppling struggling Minnesota 78-69 in a makeup game at home behind 22 points from Matthew Mayer and a 10-point, 11-rebound double-double from RJ Melendez.

Playing their second straight game without leading scorer Terrence Shannon Jr. (concussion), the Fighting Illini overcame 12 missed free throws by converting 48.2 percent from the field, including 10 3-pointers.

Melendez’s contributions were vital. It was just his third double-figure output in the last 18 games, a slump that might have hit bottom when he clanked a wide-open 3-pointer Saturday at Indiana that would have forced overtime.

“These guys have had my back every day,” Melendez said of his teammates. “It’s all toughness. This process has been a little hard, but having my teammates and coach trust in me is big time.”

The status of Shannon (17.0 ppg) for Thursday night isn’t yet known. If he’s not available, the offense will probably center on Mayer, who followed up a 24-point outing at Indiana with another big performance against the struggling Golden Gophers.

The Wildcats took a 73-60 win over Illinois on Jan. 4 in Evanston, Ill., largely because of the foul line. Northwestern made 32 of 40 at the stripe while the Illini hit just 6 of 10.

–Field Level Media

Three months ago, everyone talked about North Carolina as the favorite to win the national championship. These days, everyone talks about the Tar Heels missing out on the NCAA Tournament altogether.

With an 0-8 record against Quadrant 1 opponents and mediocre rankings in valuable metrics such as NET (No. 48) and KenPom (No. 44), North Carolina appears to rest on the wrong side of the bubble.

The Tar Heels (16-11, 8-8 Atlantic Coast Conference) still have four regular-season games — starting on Wednesday night at Notre Dame (10-17, 2-14) — to try to turn things around.

The Tar Heels have lost five of their last six, all by single digits. In Sunday’s eight-point loss at then-No. 23 NC State, the Tar Heels led by six midway through the second half but the Wolfpack drilled nine shots in a row down the stretch.

“It’s frustrating because consistently we’re right there in these losses,” said North Carolina coach Hubert Davis. “There’s a stretch or two where we don’t get the defensive stop, we don’t get the basket we need, and ultimately that leads to us not winning the basketball game.”

Fortunately for the Tar Heels, Notre Dame might be the only ACC team in a bigger funk. The Irish have dropped five in a row and nine of their last 10. To be fair, Notre Dame’s last two games have been a four-point loss at Duke and a two-point loss at then-No. 7 Virginia.

In the latter game, Notre Dame sharpshooter Dane Goodwin missed an open 3-pointer at the buzzer that would have given the Irish their first win outside of South Bend this year.

“It’s in the air and I’m thinking, ‘Don’t we kind of deserve this one?'” Notre Dame coach Mike Brey told reporters after the game. “I guess not. I’ll take it Wednesday.”

North Carolina topped Notre Dame 81-64 on Jan. 7 in Chapel Hill. For the Irish to reverse that verdict, they’ll need to find a way to slow down Armando Bacot. He earned one of his UNC-record 66 double-doubles in that meeting with game-high totals of 21 points and 13 rebounds. The Tar Heels outrebounded the Irish 45-32.

–Field Level Media

Butler hasn’t won a road game since New Year’s Day, while DePaul hasn’t won any games since Jan. 18.

The Bulldogs will look to avoid a third straight loss and hand the host Blue Demons their ninth straight defeat when they meet for a Big East contest on Wednesday night in Chicago.

Butler (13-15, 5-12) won back-to-back games against St. John’s and then-No. 13 Xavier, both at home, on Feb. 7 and 10. The Bulldogs then lost consecutive contests to Villanova and Georgetown by a combined 18 points.

They went 7-for-26 from 3-point range, were outrebounded 45-29 and committed 19 fouls while going to the free-throw line just six times during Saturday’s 68-62 home loss to the lowly Hoyas.

“We didn’t have it,” said Butler coach Thad Matta, whose team has failed to reach 70 points in nine straight contests.

“We gave up 14 offensive rebounds. We fouled 19 times … Fouling is a sign of weakness. You are not playing hard enough when you are fouling.”

Butler was whistled for 15 fouls but made 23 of 30 free throws during a 78-70 home victory over DePaul on Jan. 4.

The Bulldogs’ current six-game road losing streak is their longest since dropping seven straight in 2003-04.

The Blue Demons (9-18, 3-13), though, are stuck in their worst rut since a 10-game slide during the 2016-17 campaign. DePaul shot 42.1 percent, trailed by 22 at the half and lost 82-68 at then-No. 16 Xavier on Saturday.

“These guys are resilient,” said DePaul coach Tony Stubblefield, whose squad has allowed its last three opponents to average 85.0 points.

However, in the last four games, DePaul’s Umoja Gibson has averaged 18.3 points while making half of his 54 field-goal attempts and going 15-for-34 from 3-point range. Gibson scored 16 at Butler last month.

Butler’s Eric Hunter Jr. had 23 points and Jayden Taylor added 16 in the first meeting against the Blue Demons.

Taylor scored 21 in the loss to Georgetown and has averaged 19.8 points in five February contests.

–Field Level Media

Streaking is back in style in Southeastern Conference basketball, but Vanderbilt and LSU are going about it in different ways.

On Wednesday, Vanderbilt (15-12, 8-6 SEC) will travel to Baton Rouge, La., where it will face LSU (12-15, 1-13) with both squads carrying sizable streaks.

On one side, the Commodores are trending in the right direction.

Coach Jerry Stackhouse’s group has won five straight, which ties it with No. 25 Texas A&M for the longest active stretch in the SEC. The five-game winning streak is Vanderbilt’s longest since 2015.

The impressive run includes beating Auburn for the first time in six meetings.

Big man Liam Robbins had 24 points and 12 rebounds, and guard Ezra Manjon’s high layup off the backboard with one second left ultimately beat Auburn 67-65 on Saturday.

A three-year player at UC Davis, Manjon said the basketball nation needs to be on notice for his new school.

“We’re back, and we’re coming for everybody,” said Manjon, who is averaging 8.7 points and 3.7 assists per game. “You guys need to look out for Vanderbilt.”

The victory put the Commodores in a fourth-place tie with Auburn, only one game behind third-place Tennessee and Kentucky.

After winning 11 of 12 non-conference games, LSU opened SEC play by beating then-No. 9 Arkansas Razorbacks 60-57 on Dec. 28 at home.

However, it has been all downhill since the calendar flipped to 2023.

The Bayou Bengals have dropped 14 straight, starting with a 74-71 loss to Kentucky on Jan. 3. Also in that skid on Jan. 28 was a 76-68 setback against Texas Tech in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge.

On Saturday, hot-shooting South Carolina netted 15 of 32 shots (46.9 percent) from long distance. The Gamecocks went on to win 82-73 for their first win at LSU since 2017.

“(South Carolina) had great energy and shot the ball incredibly well from the three-point line and that was ultimately the difference in the game,” LSU coach Matt McMahon said. “You look at a lot of the other statistical categories that were fairly favorable to us, but we were minus-24 points from behind the three-point line.”

The Tigers’ Cam Hayes tied a career high with 25 points and added eight rebounds in the setback.

–Field Level Media

North Carolina State has produced an incredible turnaround this season, and the Wolfpack want to keep it going.

There’s no shortage of momentum for NC State, which is set to host Wake Forest in Raleigh, N.C., on Wednesday night.

The Wolfpack (21-7, 11-6 Atlantic Coast Conference) conquered rival North Carolina 77-69 on Sunday in a riveting home game, holding fifth place in the ACC with a chance to move up with a pair of home games this week.

“This has been a really good year for us because I have 100 percent buy-in (from our players),” NC State coach Kevin Keatts said.

The Wolfpack have vastly improved compared to last season, when they finished 11-21.

“We have had a great turnaround,” Keatts said. “I am happy with the way we played and the way we turned it around.”

The Wolfpack went 2-2 since entering the national rankings two weeks ago, and they dropped out of the AP Top 25 this week.

Wake Forest (17-10, 9-7) might be running out of chances for signature victories, particularly on the road. Wednesday’s in-state visit to Raleigh looms large in terms of the Demon Deacons’ postseason aspirations.

“We still have a lot in front of us,” Wake Forest coach Steve Forbes said. “NC State poses another big game for us. We still have a chance to have a really good year.”

The Demon Deacons have won only three of their past eight games, with each of the defeats coming by a single-digit margin. They are coming off a 96-87 loss at then-No. 15 Miami on Saturday.

NC State will be going for a regular-season sweep of the Demon Deacons after prevailing 79-77 on Jan. 28.

The Wolfpack played that first meeting without forward Jack Clark, who came back to action earlier this month and has provided a boost. His playing time could grow, though Keatts said Clark is still working on raising his conditioning level.

“It gives us another dimension, his ability to pick and pop,” Keatts said. “I do expect when Jack is on the floor, it makes things a little easier for DJ (Burns Jr.) because now you have four shooters around him when we throw the ball inside.”

–Field Level Media

The last time top-ranked Houston played Tulane, the Cougars maintained sole possession of first place in the American Athletic Conference by beating the second-place Green Wave.

Houston still sits perched atop the conference, and when the teams meet again Wednesday, the Cougars can clinch at least a share of the AAC regular-season title with another win over visiting Tulane.

The Cougars (25-2, 13-1 AAC), who ascended to No. 1 in the AP poll for the third time this season on Monday, have won seven straight and 16 of their past 17 games. Their latest victory was a 72-64 home decision against Memphis on Sunday.

“The makeup of this team is winners,” Houston coach Kelvin Sampson said. “These kids know how to win.

The Cougars have had a habit of building big leads, watching them shrink, then regaining command.

Such was the case against the Tigers, as Houston used a 17-3 surge to help build an 11-point halftime lead before watching Memphis get within four points with 15:55 remaining. The Cougars then went on a 9-2 run to take back control.

“We did a good job staying composed and handling their run and coming back and getting our run,” said Houston senior guard Marcus Sasser, who went 8-for-8 at the free-throw line, all in the second half, and wound up with 20 points.

J’Wan Roberts scored a career-high 20 points and grabbed 12 rebounds. The Cougars made just 3 of 17 3-point attempts but forced 18 turnovers that led to 22 points.

The Cougars followed a similar script in their victory against Tulane on Jan. 17 in New Orleans. That game was played during Houston’s second stint at No. 1.

Sasser scored the first eight points of the second half to extend Houston’s lead to 48-32. The Green Wave got within 54-49 midway through the half, but the Cougars scored seven straight points to pad their lead en route to an 80-60 victory.

Tulane, which regained sole possession of second place when Memphis lost to Houston on Sunday, earned its fifth win in a row by beating South Florida 84-66 on Saturday. The Green Wave took a five-game winning streak into the first meeting with the Cougars.

Tulane was playing its first game in 11 days on Saturday and looked rusty in the early going. The Green Wave missed all seven of their 3-point attempts in the first half but still managed a 35-31 halftime lead.

“I was worried about the start of the game because of the layoff,” Tulane coach Ron Hunter said. “I was happy to just be ahead at halftime, and the second half you could see us start playing like we normally do.”

Jalen Cook, who finished with a career-high 30 points, provided most of Tulane’s first-half offense by scoring 17 points. His teammates heated up in the second half, when the Green Wave scored 49 points.

Tulane, which matched its season low with four turnovers and added 11 steals, saw the lead shrink to 58-52 but responded with a 22-4 run.

“I’ve got some tough guys,” Hunter said. “We’re going to get after you.”

The Green Wave have matched their AAC win total from last season with five league games remaining.

–Field Level Media