Saint Mary’s is ranked in the Associated Press poll for the first time all season. The No. 23 Gaels now turn their focus to continuing their domination of Loyola Marymount when the two West Coast Conference schools meet Thursday night in Los Angeles. Saint Mary’s (25-4, 15-1) recorded an 81-56 home victory over the Lions on Jan. 7 to mark its 35th win in the past 37 meetings between the schools. But Loyola Marymount (16-13, 8-9) just needs to look back two years to find an upset victory as it recovered from a 16-point deficit to notch a 78-74 overtime win over the then-No. 15 Gaels. The Gaels enter this contest as the outright WCC regular-season champion for the second

Wake Forest had avoided the pitfalls of what might be considered “bad losses” for most of the season. However, after suffering a couple recently, the Demon Deacons can ill afford another when Virginia visits for an Atlantic Coast Conference matchup Wednesday night in Winston-Salem, N.C. Wake Forest (19-8, 11-5 ACC) clings to a share of fourth place despite dropping two of its last three games. Virginia (13-14, 6-10 ACC), which has lost two in a row, still has work to do to secure its spot in the 15-team ACC tournament. The Deacons’ puzzling 85-73 defeat at North Carolina State on Saturday put a dent in their NCAA Tournament resume. A bright spot for Wake Forest was the return of guard

It seems every time Kyle Neptune’s seat gets piping-hot, Villanova pulls it off the burner with an unexpected win. Neptune’s Wildcats remain on the periphery of the NCAA Tournament bubble thanks in large part to an 81-66 upset of then-No. 16 Marquette on Friday. Villanova has three games to go before the conference tournament, starting with a must-have contest Wednesday night at Seton Hall in Newark, N.J. Villanova (16-12, 9-8 Big East) has won four of the past six games and is listed as one of the “Next Four Out” in ESPN’s latest bracketology update. A 3-4 start to the season had many calling for Neptune to be fired, but the team since has beaten four ranked opponents — Cincinnati,

As the losses accumulate for two-time defending national champion UConn, the Huskies’ flaws have become increasingly apparent. Inefficiency on the perimeter and a troubling turnover disparity have derailed what was once a promising season. UConn’s perimeter defense has been a glaring issue, allowing opponents to shoot 35.9 percent from beyond the arc—slightly worse than their own 35 percent accuracy from three-point range. In Big East play, turnovers have further compounded their struggles, with the Huskies giving the ball away 195 times while forcing only 154 takeaways. These shortcomings have left UConn (18-9, 10-6 Big East) searching for answers as the postseason approaches. The next opportunity to correct course comes on Wednesday when they host Georgetown (16-11, 7-9) in Hartford. However,